Sadly this is our last passion blog post. This week instead of giving you a summary of a musical, I would like to give you some suggestions. Tip: If you want to watch a Broadway musical on YouTube just look up slime tutorials.

• Phantom of the Opera – a classic honestly, they are going to put their performance on YouTube (The Shows Must Go On), I highly recommend it for the music
• Burlesque – this movie musical stars Cher and Christina Aguilera
• Hairspray – Baltimore set during the times of the civil rights movement, watch the newer one with Zac Efron
• Mamma Mia – a girl finds out she has three dads and her mom is Meryl Streep
• Little Shop Of Horrors – this is a great musical if you like plants
• Grease – the looks in this movie musical are just top notch, my friends and I dressed as greasers for spirit day at school
• Singing in the Rain – I loveee this musical, the portrayal of the friendships is just so great
• Mary Poppins – another classic, Disney did a great job and Lin Manuel Miranda is in the sequel
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show – a Halloween favorite of mine, it’s different than most movie musicals but it has a cult following
• Spring Awakening – perfect for if you want to see some Glee characters again
• An American in Paris – I actually was able to watch this on Broadway, it was a little confusing but overall a fun show to watch
• Cats – Cats the Broadway show is much better than Cats the movie
• Mean Girls – it’s Mean Girls what else do I have to say
• Come From Away – a friend of mine recommended this to you
• Matilda – everyone knows Matilda, the musical just adds music
• Spongebob Squarepants – a fun time, very energetic
• Lion King – my best friend saw the Lion King and loved it so
• Aladdin – Aladdin is basically Robin Hood
• The Little Mermaid – Ariel just reallyyyy wants to have feet
• Annie – a sweet story about a little girl getting adopted
  • I was in the Jr. Production of the last three when I was in middle school, I may be a bit bias

It was nice sharing my love of musicals with you all! I hope some of you have found a new view about musicals, if not that’s okay too.

So I love Legally Blonde, I love the story it tells and I would love to see the musical. The 2007 musical is based on the 2001 movie.

If you haven’t watched this movie, it is about a bubbly, kind, sorority girl Elle Woods, the president of Delta Nu, who leaves UCLA to go to Harvard to follow the love of her life.

Omigod You Guys – we begin right in the middle of the action, the girls of Delta Nu sing about how Elle and her boyfriend Warner are the best couple; everyone assumes that Warner will be proposing to Elle; the lyrics in this song really play into dumb blonde/sorority girl stereotypes; they all go to find a perfect getting engaged dress; it is at the store where the audience finds out that Elle is very smart when it comes to clothes, knowing that an employee is trying to sell her an old season’s dress for this season’s price

Serious – Elle and Warner are at dinner, Elle is expecting Warner to propose because he says he has something to tell her; Warner believes that Elle knows what he is going to say which shows just how little they actually know about each other; Warner begins to tell Elle that his life is all planned out so he needs to be more serious, and ends up telling her that to do so he needs to break up with her; Warner tells Elle that he needs someone who is more like Jackie Kennedy than Marilyn Monroe

What You Want – the other girls of Delta Nu take magazines to Elle because she has locked herself in her room; Elle sees a picture of Warner’s brother and his wife on a cover of a magazine and she thinks this is what Warner wants; Elle decides she’ll go to law school to meet Warner but she is doubted by everyone around her; her friends help her study for her LSAT and instead of writing a personal letter they all go to perform in front of the Harvard admissions board

The Harvard Variations – Emmett is showing around a group of recent Harvard admissions, they all share what they have done as an undergrad and seem very different from what we have seen of Elle; Elle and the rest of the group head off to class which happens to be with Warner; Elle pretends to be shocked when she sees Warner

Blood in the Water – this song plays on the saying that lawyers are sharks; Elle’s law professor, Mr. Callahan, describes that you can only be the best lawyer if you are willing to put your morals aside to win the case; he picks on Elle to discuss the readings which she did not do, she is thrown out of class on her first day

Positive – Elle finds out that Warner is dating another girl named Vivienne; she imagines her sorority sisters in a Greek choir giving her advice ranging from fighting Vivienne to giving Warner a lap dance; Elle doesn’t want to do that though, instead she said she wants to dye her hair brown so people won’t see her as just a blonde

Ireland – Elle goes to a hair salon to get her hair dyed but the owner, Paulette, doesn’t let her; Elle tells her about Vivienne and Warner; Paulette tells Elle that she shouldn’t change herself for a man

Ireland (reprise) – Vivienne is at the hair salon making plans with another student; she invites Elle and tell her it’s a costume party; Paulette convinces Elle to go

Serious (reprise) – the party turns out not to be a costume party but Elle is dressed as a playboy bunny; she still tries to win over Warner but he does not want to relive his years at UCLA

Chip on My Shoulder – Elle runs into Emmett after leaving the party and they get to learn more about each other; Elle decides that she wants to start studying seriously and Emmett helps her; the song goes through Thanksgiving and Christmas with Elle learning more and more; the song ends at a mock trial in their class, where she wins their case; Elle applied for an internship, her resume on pink perfumed paper showing that she doesn’t need to change who she is; Emmett is proud of how far Elle has come

So Much Better – Warner proposes to Vivienne which upsets Elle until Emmett shows her that she has been picked for the internship; Elle acknowledging that Warner doesn’t want her says that she looks forward to working with him; she celebrates, Elle enjoys that she is being accepted by her classmates now

Whipped Into Shape – the internship is a case defending Brooke, a disk workout instructor and a former Delta Nu; Brooke is being accused of killing her husband but claims she didn’t do it; because she is a former Delta Nu, Elle believes her; Elle gets her alibi promising not to tell anyone else, winning the trust of her client

Take It Like a Man – grateful for all the help Emmett has given her, Elle takes him shopping; Emmett realizes that he would do anything for her and Elle realizes she wouldn’t change him to be more like her even if she wanted to; poor Emmett goes in for a kiss but gets a hug instead

Bend and Snap – the iconic bend and snap; Paulette likes the guy that makes deliveries, Kyle, but doesn’t think he’ll notice her; Elle and the Greek Choir get the whole salon to do the bend and snap with them; Paulette gains confidence and attempts to bend and snap in front of Kyle but ends up injuring him

There! Right There! – Elle is at her internship trial where Brooke is accused of having an affair with the pool boy; Elle bends and snaps, but he shows no reaction so Elle believes that he is gay; the whole courtroom is then wondering whether he is gay or just European; Emmett, trusting Elle, tries to get the pool boy, Nikos, to confess that he is gay; Emmett asks questions quickly and Nikos admits to have a boyfriend which he promptly changes to best friend; Nikos boyfriend, Carlos doesn’t want him to lie anymore so he tells the courtroom that he is gay and European

While they are finishing celebrating this part of the trial, Mr. Callahan asks Elle to stay behind. That is when Elle learns that she was only picked for her looks, and Mr. Callahan kisses her.

Legally Blonde – Elle realizes that she only made it this far because of her looks; she decides to leave it all behind and go back to UCLA even though she enjoys her time at Harvard and will miss Emmett; Elle says she will go back to being the peppy blonde she’s always been, never dreaming too big or reaching too far; Emmett is upset and wants Elle to stay, she became the best part of Harvard and Emmett had fallen in love with her

Legally Blonde (remix) – Elle goes to say goodbye to Paulette, where she runs into Vivienne who tries to convince her to stay; Vivienne admires Elle for not changing who she was; Elle decides to stay but instead of wearing her usual navy blue suits she puts on a bright pink one; Brooke fires Callahan and hires Elle

Find My Way – she wins the trial and Warner later tries to propose, Vivienne having dumped him; Elle is flattered but says no; we flash forward to their graduation ceremony where Elle is the valedictorian; Vivienne is training for the Peace Corps; Warner is in modeling; Callahan’s wife hired Emmett for their divorce; Paulette married Kyle; at the end of Elle’s speech she proposes to Emmett

So we’re back with another musical by Lin Manuel Miranda, called 21 Chump Street. This musical is based on a true story about Justin Laboy from 2011. Back in 2011, police officers were sent undercover to three high schools in Palm Beach County, Florida to arrest students who were selling and buying drugs.

Lin took some of the lyrics to these songs directly from the This American Life podcast which I have linked if you want to learn more about this. I really recommend watching this, its about 20 minutes long, very interesting, and catchy.

Podcast: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/457/what-i-did-for-love

Musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBGa6-uOhc

The narrator, played by Lin himself, assumes the role of Robbie Brown who interviewed Justin on This American Life.

What the Heck I Gotta Do – the narrator introduces the plan as Operation D- (possibly a failing grade in schools or getting rid of drugs from schools); one school was Park Vista Community High School where Justin was 18, an honor roll student, and in his last semester of senior year; a girl named Naomi Rodriguez moved to his school from New York; at this time Justin did not know that Naomi was an undercover cop, but he did like her; in his interview Justin described Naomi as mature (because she was older); she did her part acting as a student, falling asleep in class, letting Naomi copy his homework; Justin trusted Naomi, he told her about his life and thought she liked him as well; he asked her to prom and serenaded her in front of the whole class “what the heck I gotta do to be with you?”

One School – Naomi (25 year old undercover at the Palm Beach Police Force) says that she can’t tell Robbie Brown her real name but she did say she was asked to prom; Naomi was given the assignment to find students that are selling and buyings drugs so she told Justin that she couldn’t go to prom; according to Justin, Naomi asked him if he smoked weed which he didn’t but he could get her some if she wanted him to because he liked her so much

Cousin – Justin had to ask a lot of people to get weed for Naomi, eventually he gets it from his cousin’s friend; Naomi asks Justin where he’s getting weed from, if his dealer is a student or not; when he finally gets it, Naomi asks to get it from him at school knowing that Justin’s punishment could have been worse if he sold drugs on school property

The Money – Justin, nervously, brings the bag of weed to class the next day; Naomi tells him to put it in her purse so he does; Naomi attempts to give Justin money but he doesn’t accept it, he wanted Naomi to love him back so he doesn’t want her money; in the end they kiss and Naomi leaves the money in Justin’s hand

Epilogue – Justin was 18 so he was charged with a felony, not only for selling marijuana but also for selling it on school grounds; the undercover cops arrested 30 other students that May; Justin took a plea because they had the text messages between himself and Naomi; Naomi revealed that she had personal history with drugs in her family; Justin recalls what he liked in Naomi and why he got her weed, saying that if anyone else asked him for weed he would’ve said no; Justin was not able to get in touch with Naomi, or even find out her real name, but if he did he would ask her, “What the heck did you do?”; Justin wanted to join the Military after high school but was unable to, after his probation he enrolled in community college

I really recommend listening to the podcast, as the musical and my own writing is bias in favor of Justin. Let me know your thoughts about this situation.

West Side Story debuted on Broadway in 1957 and was inspired by Romeo and Juliet. I’m sure you all know the premise so we’re just going to jump right in.

Two gangs, both alike in dignity

In Manhattan, where we lay our scene . . .

So we have our Jets and Sharks, a white American gang and a Puerto Rico gang. The gangs get in a fight which Officer Krupke breaks up.

Jet Song – the boys express their pride of being a Jet; the leader – Riff, plans on challenging the Sharks at a dance, which will take place in neutral territory

Riff wants his best friend Tony to fight alongside the Jets. He goes to invite him to the dance but Tony is uncertain.

Something’s Coming – Tony sings about a feeling he has that something important is coming to him; Riff suggests that this is because of the dance or upcoming fight

Dance at the Gym – Maria, the Sharks’ leader’s (Bernardo) little sister, and Tony meet at the dance; they fall in love and kiss but Bernardo tells Tony to stay away from her; the gangs plan to meet at Doc’s drug store, another neutral area

Maria – Tony’s song about how he loves Maria

America – Bernardo sends Maria home; Bernardo’s girlfriend, Anita, tells him that he is being overprotective; the Sharks and their girlfriends compare life in Puerto Rico and America

Tonight – here we get the famous balcony scene; Tony visits Maria secretly where they confirm their love for each other; it is a hopeful song

The two gangs meet and agree to have fight the next day. Officer Krupke, believing that the Jets are planning something, visits the Jets. Krupke tells the Sharks to leave.

Gee, Officer Krupke – the Jets make fun of Krupke by saying that they don’t cause trouble because they want to, they cause trouble because of the bad situations they grew up in

I Feel Pretty – Maria is very happy to be in love, she sings about how pretty she feels

Anita accidentally tells Maria about the fight happening that night. Tony arrives to see Maria and Anita warns them about Bernardo’s reaction when he finds out. Maria makes Tony promise to stop the fight.

One Hand, One Heart – Tony and Maria fantasize about their wedding

Tonight Quintet – before the fight begins, the Jets, Sharks, Anita, and Maria reveal how they want the night to end; the Jets and Sharks both want to win; Anita just wants Bernardo to come back safely; Maria believes that Tony will stop the fight so they can be together

The Jets and Sharks meet under the highway to start the fight. When Tony tries to stop them, Bernardo insults him. Taking offense, Riff starts a knife fight, instead of a fist fight which they intended. Tony intervenes which causes Bernardo to kill Riff and Tony, in turn, kills Bernardo. As a fight breaks out, they hear the police and run away.

Maria is waiting for Tony when Chino, her arranged fiancé, tells her that Tony killed her brother. After Chino leaves, Tony finds Maria and tells her that he did kill Bernardo. He wants her forgiveness before he goes to the police.

Somewhere – Maria forgives Tony and assures him that she still loves him; Maria and Tony decide to elope

Cool – the Jets’ new leader, Ice, tells everyone to keep cool and not make any rash decisions now that Riff is dead; now that Chino is after Tony, they go to warn him

Maria and Tony are planning on running away and Anita sees him leaving through the window.

A Boy Like That/I Have A Love – Anita chides Maria for loving someone who could kill their brother; Maria says she knows this logically but she does love him; Anita eventually decides to help Maria and Tony get eloped

Anita gives Tony a message from Maria to make the rest of the Jets believe she died. Just as Maria and Tony are about to be reunited, Chino shoots Tony. The rest of the Jets and Sharks find Maria holding Tony’s dead body in her arms. Maria takes the gun from Chino and threatens to kill everybody there. The gangs hold a funeral while Chino is arrested.

Wicked is a 2003 Broadway musical, based on the Wizard of Oz. In this musical we follow the story of how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West. It also explores the notions of goodness and wickedness.

No One Mourns The Wicked – the Ozians are celebrating Elphaba’s death; Glinda tries to foster sympathy for Elphaba saying it couldn’t have been easy, being green; Elphaba’s mother had an affair with a man who gave her a green potion, which is probably the reason for Elphaba’s green skin; when Elphaba is born her father is appalled at his daughter and orders “it” to be taken away

Dear Old Shiz – an Ozian asks Glinda if she was friends with Elphaba; she dismisses this by saying they only crossed paths at school; as they school’s Alma Mater is sung, Glinda sees the past Elphaba walking around school with her father and sister

Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose is born with leg damage and has to use a wheelchair. Their mother died during Nessarose’s birth. Their father prefers Nessarose and gives her a pair of silver slippers. The headshiztress, Madam Morrible, who is also a witch, decides to take Nessarose under her wing. Elphaba is left with Galinda as her roommate.

The Wizard and I – when Elphaba tries to take her sister back she exhibits her telekinetic powers; Morrible recognizes this and wants to teach Elphaba; she convinces Elphaba to practice with her so that she may one day be able to work with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

What is This Feeling? – the song is written like a love song but it is the exact opposite but there is subtext that suggests otherwise; Elphaba and Galinda, who will become the Good Witch, dislike each other from the very beginning; this song shows how different they were brought up – Elphaba’s letter to her father is very formal while Galinda’s is cheerful

Something Bad – Dr. Dillamond, a goat, tells Elphaba that the animals of Oz are losing their ability to speak; Elphaba is certain that the Wizard will be able to help them because nothing like that could possibly happen in Oz

Dancing Through Life – Prince Fiyero begins studying at Shiz and talks about how school is pointless; he invites everyone to his orientation party; Boq, a Munchkin, invites Galinda to the ball but she is already going with Fiyero; Galinda convinces Boq that she would love it if he asked Nessarose instead; Nessarose is so excited that she asks Elphaba to become friends with Galinda; Galinda gives Elphaba her iconic witch hat as a joke; when Boq tries to tell Nessarose why he asked her, she assumes that it is because he feels bad for her; Boq cannot come out and say that he only invited her because of Galinda so he asks her to dance instead

Morrible, at Elphaba’s request, tells Galinda that she can join their sorcery class. Elphaba goes to the dance wearing the witch hat, which she gets laughed at for. Elphaba dances alone until Galinda joins her, feeling guilty. After that everyone joins them. They continue to bond back in their room, Galinda talking about her plans to marry Fiyero and Elphaba telling her about the green potion bottle that made her green.

Popular – Galinda decides to give Elphaba a makeover to make her more popular; Galinda wants to teach Elphaba how to talk to boys, be poised, and charming; although she is trying to help she still manages to insult Elphaba’s personality and looks; Elphaba gets flustered and leaves after Galinda calls her beautiful

Dr. Dillamond tells his students that he has been excommunicated. A replacement teacher arrives and introduces the students to a cage that keeps animals from being able to learn how to speak. In the cage there is a baby lion. In her fury, Elphaba casts a spell that distracts her classmates. Fiyero helps her take the lion cage and he goes off to set it free.

I’m Not That Girl – it starts to rain; Elphaba tells herself that she shouldn’t get her hopes up because Fiyero loves Galinda, not her

Morrible tells Elphaba that the Wizard has decided to meet with her. Nessarose, Galinda, and Fiyero come to see her off. Fiyero gives her a bouquet of flowers, ignoring Galinda completely. To get Fiyero’s respect Galinda changes her name to Glinda, because Dr. Dillamond always pronounced her name that way.

One Short Day – Elphaba seeing how upset Glinda is, invites her to the Emerald City with her; both girls are excited about different aspects of the city, Elphaba wants to explore the libraries and museums while Glinda wants to shop

A Sentimental Man – the Wizard is less intimidating than Elphaba and Glinda expected; he says that he feels parental towards Elphaba, which is ironic considering he is her actual father

Morrible, the Wizard’s new press secretary, shows up to give Elphaba the Grimmerie book. They ask Elphaba to perform a levitation spell on the Wizard’s monkey, Chistrey. It does not go smoothly but in the process Elphaba learns that the Wizard is the one keeping the animals of Oz from talking. Instead of staying with a fraud, Elphaba decides to take matters into her own hands and runs away. Morrible spreads the rumor that Elphaba is a “wicked witch” so nobody would believe if she told people about the Wizard.

Defying Gravity – you probably know this song, its quintessentially Broadway; this song continues to show the differences between Glinda and Elphaba; Glinda believes Elphaba could have stayed and changed things from the inside but Elphaba believes change can only happen when you fight it head on; Elphaba continues saying that she can’t go back to the Wizard when she knows how horrible he is; Elphaba asks Glinda to run away with her, which Glinda actually considers; although they are saying goodbye to each other they understand the choices the other has to make; Elphaba rides away on an enchanted broom

Thank Goodness – Elphaba has earned her title as the Wicked Witch of the West; Glinda becomes the face of the Wizard’s schemes and is known as Glinda the Good; Fiyero becomes the captain of the guards in order to find Elphaba as the Ozians panic; Morrible announces his and Glinda’s engagement; Fiyero runs off, angry; although Glinda got what she wanted, popularity, she also lost her best friend in the process

The Wicked Witch of The East – Elphaba visits Nessarose who is governor of Munchkinland after their father dies; Elphaba tries to get her sister to help her fight the Wizard but Nessarose is preoccupied with her own problems; Elphaba turns Nessarose’s silver slippers to ruby slippers that allow her to walk; Nessarose is convinced that Boq must love her now but instead he finally tells her that he is in love with Glinda; a hurt Nessarose attempts a spell on him but shrinks his heart instead, earning the name of the Wicked Witch of the East

Elphaba casts another spell to save Boq’s life, turning him into the Tin Man. While Elphaba tells Nessarose that she has to leave to set the monkeys free, Nessarose knows she only wants to see Fiyero. On her way to free the monkeys, Elphaba runs into the Wizard.

Wonderful – the Wizard attempts to get Elphaba to join him; he tries to convince her that he is just a regular guy who unexpectedly came into power

She almost gives in until she sees Dr. Dillamond, who has lost his speech. Elphaba tries to accuse the Wizard of wrongdoing but he calls the guards on her before she can. Fiyero, the guards, and Glinda arrive and Fiyero helps Elphaba escape.

I’m Not That Girl (reprise) – Glinda realizes the Fiyero is in love with Elphaba

Glinda suggest that they lure Elphaba by announcing that her sister is in danger. Morrible conjures a tornado to put Nessarose in danger.

As Long As You’re Mine – Elphaba and Fiyero are together at last; they sing about using their time wisely because it is not guaranteed that they will be together forever

Elphaba has a vision of a house in a tornado and Nessarose. Fiyero tells her about a castle that she can stay in. Elphaba meets with Glinda in Munchkinland where Nessarose has been killed by a house. Elphaba finds out that Glinda gave Dorothy Nessarose’s ruby slippers. Angry over this and Fiyero, the two girls fight. Guards arrive to arrest Elphaba but Fiyero helps her escape by holding Glinda hostage. The guards kill Fiyero for his actions even though Glinda begs them not to.

No Good Deed – Elphaba tries to cast a spell to protect Fiyero but is unable to; upset about losing everyone she has ever loved she vows to never do a good deed again

March of The Witch Hunters – the lion that Elphaba and Fiyero saved at the beginning of the musical grows up to be the Cowardly Lion since he never learned to fight for himself; Boq also has a fight to pick because he is only a Tinman because of Elphaba; the Ozians declare war on the Wicked Witch and go to find her

At Fiyero’s castle, Elphaba has Dorothy and Toto. Elphaba refuses to let them go unless Dorothy gives her Nessarose’s ruby slippers. Glinda goes to warn Elphaba about the Ozians. Elphaba won’t let Dorothy and Toto go until she gets news that Fiyero is dead. Elphaba gives Glinda her Grimmerie spell book.

For Good – both realize that they have made mistakes in the past; they acknowledge that over the course of the musical they have learned and molded each other; at the end of the song they hug for the final time

Elphaba tells Glinda to hide when the Ozians get to the castle. Glinda has to stay hidden as Dorothy pours water over Elphaba who appears to melt away. All that is left is her hat and her mother’s green potion bottle. Glinda takes the bottle back to the Wizard who realizes that he was Elphaba’s biological father. Glinda banishes the Wizard from Oz and sends Morrible to jail.

Finale – Fiyero, who was turned into the Scarecrow, knocks on a trap door which reveals Elphaba; Elphaba pretended to be dead so she could live with Fiyero; Elphaba regrets having to leave Glinda behind; the musical comes full circle to the first song

After about seven years of development, The Book Of Mormon opened on Broadway in March of 2011. The musical follows two members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS Church) on a mission trip to Uganda.

Hello! – Elder Price introduces us to other Latter Day Saints and the door-to-door way the Mormons get people to convert to the LDS Church; they try to convince the residents that Jesus lived in America; the Elders show they go to other countries because they know other languages; Elder Cunningham is very insistent asking the people

Two By Two – Elder Price is hoping to go to Orlando, Florida for his mission trip; some pairs will be going to Norway, France, and Japan; Elder Price and Elder Cunningham find out they will be going to Uganda

You and Me (But Mostly Me) – Elder Price and Elder Cunningham are preparing for their trip to Uganda; Elder Price is convinced that he is destined to be the best LDS while Elder Cunningham is insecure but still supportive of Elder Price

Hasa Diga Eebowai – in Uganda Elder Price and Elder Cunningham get robbed by two soldiers and are taken in by a group of villagers; the villagers tell the Elders about their living conditions such as famine, drought, AIDS, female circumcision, and raping of small children; they say the phrase “hasa diga eebowai” when something goes wrong in their lives because it roughly translates to f*** you God; when the Elders realize what they are singing they try to tell the villagers that they have God all wrong and to listen to them about the book of mormon

Turn It Off – Price and Cunningham meet other missionaries near the village who have not been able to convert anyone yet; Elder McKinley, the district leader, teaches the other Elders about suppressing their thoughts; McKinley uses the personal example of homosexuality while Price was concerned with how well he would do on his mission trip

I Am Here For You – still worried about the lack of success of other Mormons, Price tries to get to sleep; Cunningham reassures Price by saying that it’ll be a miracle when Price baptizes the villagers since no one has done that before

All-American Prophet – this song is set up as a commercial, with Price acting as the main voice and Cunningham in the background asking questions; the audience and Ugandans learn the history of the LDS; Price tells the villagers that he will take them to the “promised land” of the Mormon Church

Sal Tlay Ka Siti – the village leader’s daughter dreams about going to Sal Tlay Ka Siti (Salt Lake City) after hearing about all the great things there

Man Up – Price is shocked by the realities of Africa and requests to be transferred to Orlando without Cunningham; the village leader’s daughter asks Cunningham more about the LDS; Elder Cunningham becomes the protagonist of the musical

Making Things Up Again – Cunningham is a liar; he makes up stories about Jesus to get the Ugandans to convert to the Mormon Church; he adds sci-fi and fantasy pop-culture references; his conscience comes into play but he tells himself that if he’s doing it to help people it can’t be all bad

Spooky Mormon Hell Dream – Elder Price thinks he wakes up in Orlando but is actually dreaming; he remembers that the worst thing he’s done is blame his brother for eating a donut; he feels guilty for leaving Elder Cunningham in Uganda

I Believe – Elder Price goes back to Uganda and helps Elder Cunningham convert the Ugandans; Price tries to get the General to convert so the rest of the villagers can but the General does not comply; Elder Price is reestablishing his faith in the Mormon Church after coming back from Orlando

Baptize Me – as the village leader’s daughter is about to get baptized, she and Elder Cunningham have a moment; she says she’s never been baptized before and he replies that he has never baptized someone before either; the way they talk about baptism makes it sound like they’re about talking about something way more explicit

I Am Africa – after the baptism Elder Cunningham celebrates with the Ugandans that have converted to the Mormon Church; the other Elders feel connected to the village now that more villagers have converted

Joseph Smith American Moses – the villagers honor the Mormon Church by putting on a pageant; they refer to stories that Elder Cunningham told them; the visiting missionary president is horrified by this and orders all of the Elders to go back to Salt Lake City; he also tells the villagers that they are not members of the Church

Tomorrow Is A Latter Day – Elder Price and Cunningham uses the lies Cunningham tells as metaphors for what they should actually do; the Elders of Uganda stay and advocate for The Book of Arnold

I would like to warn you because this post will be completely insufferable as I love this musical soooo much. The movie adaptation is being released on June 26th this year and you already know I’ll be the first to see it. In The Heights is another musical by Lin Manuel Miranda. He was a freshman in college, which I toured specifically for this reason, when he wrote it. It was performed in 2000 at Wesleyan University and with the help of some seniors and alumni In The Heights became a Broadway production in 2005. In The Heights takes place in three days in Washington Heights, a Hispanic-American neighborhood.

In The Heights – this first song is almost 8 minutes long and yet it’s always over too soon; all of the characters and their backgrounds are explained in this song; the main protagonist, Usnavi, introduces himself as the owner of a bodega; Abuela Claudia is not really anybody’s grandmother but she acts as the neighborhood grandmother and helped raise all the children; the Rosarios have a daughter, Nina, who goes to Stanford which they struggle to afford; Daniela and Carla work at the local salon and love to gossip; Sonny is Usnavi’s younger cousin who doesn’t like to work at the bodega; Benny is Usnavi’s best friend who works at the Rosario’s cab company; Vanessa is a popular girl who wants to move out of their barrio (neighborhood), Usnavi has a crush on her

Breathe – Nina is home from her first year at Stanford; however, she dreads having to tell everyone that she dropped out since she was the one who finally “made it out”; she had to work two jobs because she could not pay tuition which distracted her from going to classes; I see myself in Nina since we are both first generation students

Benny’s Dispatch – on the way to tell her parents about dropping out, Nina runs into Benny; having hidden their feelings for each they other they bond over working at the dispatch station; Nina stays with Benny while they wait for her parents

It Won’t Be Long Now – Vanessa works at Daniela and Carla’s salon but she dreams about living in the West Village; Sonny asks out Vanessa for Usnavi; although Usnavi is excited to go on a date with Vanessa he is worried that she is trying to leave behind their community

Inutil – Nina eventually tells her parents that she has dropped out and lied to them about doing well in school; her father, Kevin, is distraught because he wanted to be able to provide for his family in a way that his father didn’t; he is ashamed that he was unable to give Nina an education

Daniela and Carla are moving their salon from Washington Heights to the Bronx.

No Me Diga – Nina goes to the salon to get comfort from Vanessa; Daniela and Carla want to talk about Nina’s and Vanessa’s new love interests; they all praise Nina for being able to get out of their barrio, which causes Nina to tell them she dropped out; Daniela, Carla, and Vanessa don’t understand how this could happen since they expected so much from her

96,000 – this is a complicated song, much like the first one, the harmonies and overlapping lyrics sound amazing; at the end of the day Usnavi, Sonny, and Benny learn that the bodega sold a winning lottery ticket for $96,000; the barrio starts fantasizing what they would do with the winning money; Benny would go to business school; Daniela and Carla would buy a new salon; Usnavi would pay off the bodega, spend some on Vanessa because “the only room with a view is a room with [her] in it” (honestly what a line), and go back to live in the Dominican Republic; Sonny would spend the money improving the barrio, getting better access to technology and educating the youth; Vanessa would move out of the barrio

Paciencia Y Fe – means patience and faith; Abuela Claudia reminisces about her life in La Vibora, Cuba; she remembers her mother struggling for work, which is why they moved to New York in 1943; they struggled when they got to New York as well, trying to learn English, working as a maid; Abuela reveals that she has the winning lottery ticket and thanks her mother for telling her to have patience and faith

When You’re Home – Nina and Benny spend time reminiscing over their childhoods growing up in Washington Heights; Benny reminds Nina that things are easier when you’re home as they walk past their usual hangout spots; Nina doubts herself since she dropped out but Benny reassures her that she is still destined for greatness

Piragua – the Piragua Guy sells piragua, or shaved ice/snow cones; he sings about his competition with Mr. Softee; even on the hottest days he will sell piragua since it is his job

The Rosarios have dinner with Nina, Benny, Usnavi, Vanessa, and Abuela Claudia. Nina’s father announces that he sold their cab company to pay for Nina’s education. Nina and her mother, unaware of this decision, are shocked. Benny gets upset because he had dreamed about taking over the company. Nina’s father says that would have never happened because it was a family company and Benny would never be family. Benny leaves. Nina refuses to take the money and follows Benny out.

The Club – Usnavi is nervous about his date with Vanessa; Benny is getting drunk, after getting fired from his five year job with the Rosarios cab company; Vanessa dances with another guy to make Usnavi jealous; Nina finds Benny at the club to apologize about her father but Benny brushes her off; Usnavi finds a girl to dance with to make Vanessa jealous

Blackout – this song is chaotic from start to finish; the heat and humidity cause a citywide blackout; both couples try to find each other and Sonny has to find a way to protect the store from thieves; Nina and Benny end up finding each other; Sonny sets off fireworks to ward off the thieves; Usnavi finds Abuela Claudia and she shows him the money from the lottery ticket; Nina and Benny kiss

Sunrise – so it was night and now it’s morning, I’m sure you can figure out what is heavily implied here; Nina and Benny spend the night together while her father looks for her; this might be my favorite song, Nina teaches Benny some words in Spanish; Benny worries about what Nina’s father with say but is happy to be with Nina anyways

Hundreds of Stories – the bodega gets robbed, Usnavi and Abuela discuss what they should do with the money; Abuela decides that her, Sonny, and Usnavi should each get a third; she encourages Usnavi to use the money to get back to the Dominican Republic; they imagine all the stories they will create where “the sea meets the sky” (I see what you did there Lin)

Nina comes home to her worried parents. Nina and her father start to argue because he disapproves of Benny.

Enough – Camila, Nina’s mom, takes control of the situation by telling both Nina and Kevin that when they have a problem they should come home instead of figuring out their own solutions; Nina should not have hidden the fact that she left school and Kevin should not have sold the company without talking to her

Carnaval del Barrio – Daniela leads the barrio in celebrating their cultures even when it is extremely hot outside; Carla, when asked to sing, sings about her identity as being from four hispanic countries as well as acknowledging her American identity; the community teases Vanessa about her and Usnavi’s obvious affection; Usnavi comes in with the news that Abuela Claudia won the $96,000 lottery and reveals that they’ll be leaving for the Dominican Republic the next day (Vanessa is upset by this news); they celebrate by raising the Mexican, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuban flags; Daniela teases Benny about spending the night with Nina; Sonny, hearing all of this for the first time, is angry that Usnavi is just leaving and that Benny is with Nina, who was his babysitter and who he had a crush on; Sonny is also upset because with everyone leaving, the bodega and cab company shutting down there will be no more barrio as they know it; Usnavi ensures that Sonny will get a third of the money and that although the barrio is changing he should still celebrate the night everybody is still together; Usnavi asks Vanessa for one last dance before he leaves; Daniela says her goodbyes before she leaves for the Bronx

Nina frantically pulls Usnavi away from the celebrations.

Atencion – a short song; Kevin uses the cab company’s dispatch station to make an announcement; at noon that day, Abuela Claudia passed away

Alabanza – Abuela Claudia passed away in her sleep; Usnavi holds a memorial for Abuela Claudia; she would say “alabanza” all the time, which means to raise something to God and sing “praise to this”; everyone in the barrio sings Abuela Claudia’s praises, lighting candles and leaving them at her door, showing just how much she was loved in the barrio

Everything I Know – Usnavi and Nina go through Abuela’s old boxes; it them they find all of their old photographs and everything else they gave her, like Nina’s graduation program; Abuela made sure Nina always did her homework even though she couldn’t even spell her own name; Nina decides to take the money from her parents company and go back to Stanford

Piragua (reprise) – the Piragua Guy makes a  reappearence; Mr. Softee’s truck broke down so now he can sell piragua without any competition

Vanessa prepares to move out when Daniela tells her that Usnavi convinced her to cosign on Vanessa’s lease.

Champagne – Vanessa brings Usnavi champagne while he’s closing up for the day; she tries to convince him not to leave without telling him the reason is because she loves him; Usnavi tries to get the bottle open, not paying attention to what Vanessa is saying; Usnavi is confused as to why Vanessa is acting like this when she’s also leaving the barrio; the song ends with Vanessa kissing Usnavi and telling him it’s too late since he’s already made up his mind about leaving

When the Sun Goes Down – another favorite; Sunrise opened on Nina and Benny’s relationship at the beginning of summer while this song sees them pursuing a long distance relationship when Nina goes back to college on Labor Day; while they may not stay together forever, Benny still tells Nina that he will support her no matter what; they promise to think of each other when the sun sets

Finale – this song parallels the first; Usnavi is working at the store before he gets on his plane; all of the characters storylines are overlapping here, Kevin’s company is closed, Daniela and Carla are leaving for the Bronx, and Vanessa is moving downtown; Usnavi remembers all the great things in Washington Heights, all the memories he has with Benny and Abuela Claudia; Sonny had Graffiti Pete spray paint a portrait of Abuela Claudia on the store grate; Usnavi realizes that his home has been there all along, he tells Sonny to tell everyone he’s staying; Usnavi takes up Abuela’s role as the storyteller, the memory keeper, remembering everyone even after they’ve left because Washington Heights is their home

This week we’re going to be discussing Rent, the movie version. Rent the musical was first performed in 1994 on stage and the movie came out in 2005. Set in the East Village, NYC in 1989-1990 the main characters struggle with their sexuality, drugs, paying rent, and living through the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Seasons of Love – all eight characters are each in the spotlight on a stage; there are moments that take up a year; one of the most iconic musical songs

Rent – on Christmas Eve, Mark (filmmaker) and Roger’s (musician) old friend and landlord Benny is making them pay rent; Mark and Roger sing about not being able to pay rent because nobody wants to hire artists; during the song they set fire to screenplays and posters, they throw it out their building; their old roommate Tom Collins (Collins) attempts to visit but get mugged

You’ll See – Benny has a plan to get all the homeless people out of a nearby lot to create a cyber studio for the Arts; Mark and Roger, although wanting the Cyber Arts studio, oppose it since it would get rid of the lot and they have to pay rent; Benny won’t have them pay if they get Maureen, Mark’s ex-girlfriend, to cancel her protest concerning the tent city that Benny is trying to get rid of

Angel and Collins meet on the street where Angel is drumming; they bond over both having AIDS

One Song Glory – Roger is HIV positive; he is trying to write a final song before he dies

Light My Candle – Mimi, a dancer, visits Roger; there is sexual tension between the two and Roger realizes that she takes heroin because he recognized the signs of an addict; the audience learns that Roger’s ex-girlfriend died from HIV, he contracted it from her by sharing needles

Today 4 U – on Christmas, Collins and Angel visit Mark and Roger; they got these presents because Angel killed a dog for a rich lady; they invite Mark and Roger to attend an AIDS support group which Roger declines; Mark goes to help Maureen fix her sound system

Tango: Maureen – Mark meets Maureen’s current girlfriend, Joanne, there and they are hostile towards each other at first; Mark begins to speak about Maureen’s actions while she was with him and Joanna realizes Maureen does the same to her; Mark and Joanne Tango while they bond over Maureen’s flirtatious nature

Life Support – Mark attends the Life Support AIDS support group; he films the meeting for a documentary he is making about people living with HIV/AIDS; the people at the meeting are talking about living one day at a time because they are still alive even though their doctors said they should have died by now

Out Tonight – Mimi visits Roger again and says she wants to go out, to dance, to party, possibly to get more drugs

Another Day – Roger, still hurt from his last girlfriend dying, does not want to enable Mimi by going out with her; he also wants to share that he is HIV positive but doesn’t think it’s the right time yet; Mimi has AIDS but wants to live everyday as if it’s her last

Will I – Roger joins Mark, Angel, and Collins at a Life Support meeting; the groups wonders whether they will lose their dignity if they tell someone they have HIV/AIDS

Santa Fe – as they leave the meeting, Roger, Mark, Angel, and Collins wonder what it would be like to leave New York and open a restaurant in Santa Fe

I’ll Cover You – Roger and Mark leave; Angel and Collins realize they are falling in love

Over The Moon – Roger and Mark help Maureen set up this performance; her protest calls out Benny for trying to shut down the tent city; it ends in a riot

La Vie Boheme – Mark, having recorded Maureen’s performance and the riot, sold the footage to the news station; they celebrate at a cafe; Roger and Mimi both figure out they have HIV/AIDS

I Should Tell You – Roger and Mimi take a moment aside to reveal their feelings to each other

La Vie Boheme (reprise) – everyone continues to celebrate at the cafe

Seasons of Love (reprise) – this song holds the same premise as the original; it is about the moments that take up a person’s last year on Earth

Since Mark and Roger didn’t pay rent Benny locks their apartment; Angel breaks the lock with a garbage can; Mark gets a job at the news station that he sold Maureen’s performance video to;

Take Me or Leave Me – Maureen proposes to Joanne after they get into an argument; they break up again when Maureen flirts with another woman at their engagement party

Benny and Mimi used to be couple; she persuades Benny to give Mark and Roger their apartment back

Without You – Roger becomes suspicious of Mimi and they eventually break up even though they are miserable without each other

I’ll Cover You (reprise) – Angel dies in Collins arms; the group mourns Angel’s death and go their separate ways, except for Maureen and Joanne who find each other again

Halloween – Mark, who has been filming everyone since Christmas of 1989, watches the tapes; he wonders why any of the events of that holiday season happened now that they’re all split up

Goodbye Love – Roger has sold his guitar and gone to Santa Fe but comes back for Mimi; this is probably my favorite song, the way Mimi sings “goodbye love” gives me chills

What You Own – Mark quits his job at the news station to create his own movie; he and Roger have both found the inspiration they need to create their art

Finale – Joanne and Maureen find Mimi on the street, about to die; after a conversation with Roger it seems as if she has; Roger says she can’t go before she hears a song he wrote for her

Your Eyes – as you can probably tell this song is about Mimi’s eyes; it plays on some lyrics from the night they first met and the last time they saw each other

Finale (reprise) – Mimi awakens and says that she heard Angel telling her to go back to their friends; they choose that there’s “no day but today” to live

Love Heals – Mark’s documentary has been shown for the first time; they reaffirm the title of the song “love heals”

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a good break. We’re just going to jump right into the musicals again.

Six the Musical is a fairly new musical.  It was written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss in 2017 to be performed by the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society.  Throughout 2017 and 2018 the musical performed at sold out venues across the United Kingdom.  In May 2019 Six made its way to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and will be on Broadway beginning on February 13.

Ex-Wives – this song sets up the musical as the story about King Henry VIII’s Six wives; it introduces Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr

Six – this song reimagines the lives of these six women if they hadn’t married the King; they become a successful band and release many popular hit songs; the chorus “But now we’re one of a kind No category Too many years Lost in history” plays on the word “history” sings it as “his story” to show that their stories have been overshadowed by the King’s

Last passion blog! Last week we left off with Jefferson, Madison, and Burr wanting to prevent Alexander from gaining political power.

We Know-Jefferson, Madison, and Burr confront Alexander about extorting his position as Secretary of the Treasury; he ends up telling them that he has been having an affair with Maria Reynolds

Hurricane-this is an inside look into Alexander’s thoughts; he equates his success with writing to success in general; the audience learns about the traumatic experience of having his mother die in front of him when he was twelve; during this song there are different themes playing in the background such as Burr’s “wait for it,” and Washington’s “history has its eyes on you”; Burr is patiently waiting for Alexander to self-sabotage himself while Angelica, Eliza, Maria, and Washington warns him of the consequences of doing just that

The Reynolds Pamphlet-this was the actual name of the pamphlet and was the first sex scandal in the Colonies; some of the lyrics are from the actual pamphlet; Alexander writes this thinking that Burr wouldn’t be able to use it against him if everybody already knows; Angelica comes back from London to support her sister – she tells Alexander that she hopes he’s satisfied with his actions; Jefferson, Madison, and Burr are overjoyed to learn that Alexander is “never gon’ be President now,”; King George III also makes an appearance here

Burn-opens with a lantern and letters; Eliza burns the letters onstage because she is “erasing [her]self from the narrative”; this song makes use of words with two meanings-Eliza had a burning passion for Alexander when they first began courting and now she hopes that he burns; she praises his writing skills “you built me palaces out of paragraphs, you built cathedrals,” and then berates him for only thinking about how others think about him, “and you are paranoid in every paragraph, how they perceive you!”; this is one of the reasons Eliza’s hair is up during Act II, she has hardships during the second half where she didn’t in the first half

Blow Us All Away-this is an upbeat song that contrasts from Burn and Stay Alive; we meet back with Philip who is now nineteen years old and a graduate from King’s College; like his father, Philip’s mouth gets him into trouble-he demands to have a duel with another man, George Eacker; Alexander advises him to fire in the air; Philip reverts back to his rap from when he was nine years old (which hits hard); at seven paces, Eacker fires and shoots Philip

Stay Alive (reprise)-Alexander comes in a frenzy, he is worried about his son; Philip ensures that he took Alexander’s advice to which Alexander responds that he knows and to save his strength; Eliza comes in distraught; Philip tries to apologize for forgetting what Eliza taught him (numbers in French); they count together, Philip dies

It’s Quiet Uptown-they move after Philip’s death; Alexander repeats some of Eliza’s themes back to her; they are grieving over Philip’s death; at the end, when Eliza finally takes Alexander hand she forgives him; I’m sure you could infer this but I cried

The Election of 1800-this takes place as the same as It’s Quiet Uptown; it’s the election of Jefferson v Burr-their old themes also come up; Alexander endorsed Jefferson because Jefferson had beliefs while Burr was vague with his values; Jefferson wins

Your Obedient Servant-Burr and Alexander send letters back and forth; Burr blames Alexander for his Vice President position; Alexander does not regret his choice; they plan to duel at Weehawken

Best of Wives and Best of Women-short and sweet; the entire musical is basically a love letter to Vanessa, Miranda’s wife; this was from the last letter Alexander left to Eliza the morning of the duel; Eliza tries to get Alexander to go back to bed

The World Was Wide Enough-this song is from mostly Burr’s perspective; they are in the same spot where Philip died; Alexander has a Macbeth-esque soliloquy about death; Burr shoots Alexander and has immediate regret about it; Burr realizes that he and Alexander could have worked something out since the world was wide enough for both of them

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story-Washington’s words from earlier; after Hamilton dies Jefferson and Madison show their respect for him; this last song is not about Alexander, the protagonist, but Eliza-she tells his story; Eliza outlives the people she loves most, including Peggy, Philip, Alexander, and Angelica; Angelica is buried in Trinity Church near Alexander; she spends her days doing things that Alexander would have, speaking out again slavery, raising funds for the Washington monument, interview the soldiers he fought alongside; she is dressed in blue, the only one in a different color, as the focus of the song

Thank you for sticking around this long! As you can tell I loveeeee musicals, even ones I haven’t seen before. Everyone can relate to music but I love musicals because they take words and show it through actions. The choreographers are skilled at moving the bodies in ways that I feel the same thing the characters are feeling. I’m a little sad that this is the last one but I might keep this up if I have time. Good luck on finals and have a fun break!