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Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

So I need to start out with I wasn’t sure about going to this musical a couple weekends ago, it was this or Hamlet, and my one friend said “See The Great Comet, you won’t regret it!” and as I learned The Great Comet was closing the weekend after I was going to be in the city, we bought tickets. I wish I could go a hundred more times.

My friend and I went in not knowing what to expect, we both heard to buy mezzanine seats, so we did, and it was the most amazing experience I’ve ever been through. We walked in and it was like a maze finding out seats, but it wasn’t too terrible to find; we were in the front mezzanine. The first thing I noticed was the stage. They had designed a thrust stage, which means the stage goes into the audience, and we had staircases from the stage up into the mezzanine on either side. When the show began, we had actors come up in front, beside, and behind us, they explained “our” space and “their” space, and then the prologue commenced.

I’ve never seen a musical or play in a thrust theatre, but I do have to say it’s pretty amazing. Even in the Prologue song, we had actors dancing and singing in front of us. Speaking of singing, this show is completely done in song, so if you’ve listened to the soundtrack, you’ll know the basis of the show. I loved having action all around us. During “The Duel,” it turned into a rave and everyone was dressed in proper rave and or leather attire. It was awesome seeing people dance up and down the isles. The costumes were pretty cool, from 80s punk rock, to some classical russian clothing. I loved them all. The lighting was also phenomenal, I loved how they moved throughout the show, highlighting certain areas, or even representing the comet.

An interesting thing I found about the plot is the fact there isn’t really a main character. You can connect with Natasha, Pierre, Sonya, Maria, or even the secondary characters. The only character I couldn’t connect with was Prince Bolkonski, Andrei’s father. I did feel bad for Mary though, she had to stay home and watch over her crazy father while Andrei is off fighting in a war. I think if you haven’t listened to the music before hand you might have a slight disadvantage to understanding what is happening, but my friend seemed to enjoy it going in with minimal knowledge.

An interesting thing in contrast to seeing this show is we saw Alice Cooper the night before and Lady Gaga the night after and I think Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 blew both concerts out of the water. With so much going on around us, it was hard not to get swept away. I think everyone in the mezzanine was swept into their lives in Russia in 1812.

Writing

Kinky Boots on Broadway

So as soon as I heard Brendon Urie, the front man for the band Panic! At the Disco, was going to be playing as Charlie in Kinky Boots, I bought tickets. I’ve listened to the soundtrack for a little over a year now and I love the songs, I love the music, and I’ve wanted to see the show forever. Let me just say, I was not disappointed.

The show begins at the Price and Son’s Shoe Factory and we meet both young Charlie and Simmon. The set is amazing, the front of Price and Son’s Shoe Factory is a giant brick wall with a door that opens and a sign that flies into the air. The wall breaks apart into the wings for the inside of the factory which is the main area the musical takes place. There are moving parts, 4 treadmill like conveyor belts, and a center cube that can be used for multiple areas. Everything was beautifully done, and the actors moved the sets on stage.

Speaking of the actors, oh my god were they good. I knew there were going to be drag queens there, but I guess I forgot how well they can work the audience. Brendon Urie was a bit stiff at the top of the show, probably nerves or just how the character was to be portrayed at the beginning, and his voice is amazing, but I think J. Harrison Ghee stole the show. His portrayal of Lola and Simmon was spectacular. I loved Lola and the Angels. I also especially loved whoever was the announcer for the boxing scene. She was amazing! Lola’s song Hold Me in Your Heart towards the very end had me in tears, ugly crying for those who understand. Everyone did a phenomenal job. You will cry in this show.

I absolutely loved the costumes, not just the boots, but everything the characters wore, especially Lola. The boots were sexy, my only complaint is I can’t buy a pair for myself.

Honestly, with the lighting, acting, orchestra, costumes, and especially the funny moments, this is the best show I have seen in a long time. Everyone laughed, cried and gasped in just the right moments. Don’t just see Kinky Boots because Brendon Urie is the new front man, see it for the message and the people that shine. Just Be Who You Want to Be!

Writing

A Few New Things

So I know I’ve been away for a few months, but I have a few new things to work with. I was hired at DG at the end of January. Something happened and I didn’t begin training for two months. It sucked, but here we are today and I’m finally working on learning to be a cashier and stocking and everything else it requires. My friend asked me to be her assistant stage manager, and I would be insane not to, so now I’m also working on my local theatre group’s production of The Wizard of Oz this summer, but meetings and auditions start in 2 weeks.

During both of these things, I’m going to NYC in June to see Kinky Boots and Brendon Uri is going to be a lead! Then after show week in August, I’m going to Long Island to see my friend and to see Alice Cooper and Lady Gaga and maybe Hamlet. This is going to be insane.

So here’s my thing. I am going to try to write more. I need to. I miss it, I just don’t feel like the muses are there. I’m going to try more, and I hope to bring my stories back to life. I know most of you won’t care, but I just figured I would post an update to what is going on in my life.

Video Game Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, A Review

So I’ve been playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I have to say I am completely addicted. The art style is beautiful, and for reference I am playing this on the Wii U. I love the music and the new takes on some of the old songs, like Epona’s song that Kass plays on his accordion sometimes when you find him. The weapons were interesting, but I’m still on the fence about them breaking all the time. I also really liked the story and all of the champions and what they added to the story.

From watching the trailers, I was very wary about the new changes, the stamina bar because we all know how well that went in Skyward Sword, the breakable weapons and shields, and other things that are minor in return. I didn’t pre-order it, I watch Youtubers and people on Twitch and I knew they were going to lay it, so I stayed back in wait to see at least the first few minutes of it. I was hooked. I watched The Demodcracy on Twitch at midnight on Thursday and immediately wanted to buy it on Friday. If you were second guessing, I suggest watching someone play it.

I’m not going to say much about the plot, it’s your typical, Ganon is about to break free, defeat these four dungeons, and then defeat Ganon. I liked searching the different landscapes for the towers to bring up the maps of the areas. Finding the Master Sword was easy, but who would’ve known you needed 13 hearts to pull it out. I also found all 120 shrines, but about half I needed to use a guide for. But, I still spent 10 minutes on some even knowing where they were, or with the challenges to get into some of them. I’m really glad I did find them all because it was nice having 2.5 stamina circles and 30 hearts going into the final battle.

Now, other than the weapons breaking, I think my biggest problem with this game is the drop in frame rates. I don’t know what it is about a battle with more than two enemies, but on the Wii U, there is a huge drop in frame rate in battles. The bosses are usually fine, when I fought Ganon and he was using all of his mini goop boss weapons at the same time, no drops, but as soon as two Bokoblins or anything joins the fight, it drops. This is one thing I find to be kind of pathetic. It can load in the entire world, but can’t handle a battle?

Other than that, Breath of the Wild is amazing. The korok seeds are a little meh, they aren’t hard to find, but I guess there are over 700 of them or something? I don’t know, that’s just a thing I saw online. The shrines were pretty cool, but some are just ridiculous to find. I love the clothing though. Until the last boss, and during the certain areas where you need certain clothing to survive, I am probably always in the Sheikah stealth clothing. I upgraded it to the second level so I can move faster at night too. I would also suggest getting the Ancient armor set because it greatly helps with Hyrule Castle and kind of Ganon’s fight.

All in all, this is a really good game. I love it, played it for 2 weeks straight. I don’t know how I feel about the Master Sword, but that’s up for you guys to decide. There aren’t as many temples as Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker, but I think the story runs well with it. I loved Mipha and Urbosa, Daruk isn’t horrible, kind of just there, but I hate Revali. He was so jealous of you that he is just an asshole even in death. I think he was the only champion I didn’t like.

Get this game. If you have a Wii U, just get it for the Wii U, it’s not that much better on the Switch from what I’ve heard. I loved it, so hopefully so will you. Have fun!