The Secret Garden

I became aware of the musical version of "The Secret Garden" in my choral years. The group I was in sang "Come to My Garden" and I don't think that's the only reason that the song is my favorite from the show. Later, when I watched "It Factor" they featured Daisy Egan who won a Tony for playing Mary in "The Secret Garden" but was figuring out her place in Broadway as an adult. So the combination of a local production of "The Secret Garden" that included Daisy Egan  (now playing Martha, the housemaid who encourages Mary to go outside and such) was a no brainer for me.  

As is my habit of late, other than my great familiarity with the one song, I went in mostly cold. 

One of the reasons for coming in with some additional knowledge is so that you don't spend the whole time marveling at the changes.  The musical, for reasons I do understand, focuses much more on the adults.  Also, books can get away with more internal obstacles, but theater often requires a more specific antagonist so Colin's doctor is now his uncle, who was also apparently secretly in love with Lily (Colin's Mom) but also maybe wishes Colin and Archibald would all go away and either leave him the house and property, or leave him to start over.  (Yeah, I found Neville's motivation a little conflicting.) The ghost of Lily, along with Mary's parents, Mary's Ayah and some other folks who died of the cholera outbreak act as sort of a Greek chorus throughout the show, both narrating and also reinforcing the idea that these main characters of Mary, Archibald, and Colin are all living haunted lives.  

Theater productions of books, even comparatively short books, always seem shorter, and the additional emphasis on the adults tilted that more.  So yes, Mary still does discover that being outside and in the garden is good for her, and later for Colin, but Colin barely makes an appearance in the first act, and gets a comparatively short time in the second act. (The Shakespeare Theater production also cut "Round Shouldered Man".) 

Mary's Ayah does not get a name, which is interesting because the male Indian spirit Fakir does.    

So now that I'm done discussing changes, the overall idea of learning to focus outward to get through your grief is still there.  Mary is still prominent, and the staging did some interesting things to demonstrate both the idea of the creepy dark house on the moor, and the garden that begins to flourish. 

I left wanting to re-read The Secret Garden, and overall was really glad to have had the chance to see it. 

Three Interesting Things

1. It doesn't surprise me as we have more devices that we uses to assist and track use throughout our day, that they begin to factor in things like murder cases, but this story of the police trying to subpoena info from an Amazon Echo reminded me of the discussion around the use of parrots in court cases.   

2. I don't know that it's fair to say that the efforts the Obama administration have made with the current Japanese administration are entirely because a kid from Hawaii would think to focus on that, but the visit to Pearl Harbor and the memorial was poignant, to say the least. 

3. I was pointed to this lovely tumblr that envisioned the convo that might be going on in the afterlife with Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher. 

RIP, Ms. Fisher

Being of a certain age, 2016 has become a bit of a ranking year as far as deceased celebrities.  When I heard about Carrie Fisher, I went to look, because I had just been discussing seeing Fisher when she came to DC for the Wishful Drinking tour and found I apparently didn't blog about it.  (What? I know!) One woman shows, particularly those using a lot of audience interaction are a lot of lightning in a bottle moments strung together so it's hard to describe except to say one of the many things that made Carrie Fisher's later interviews and writing and one woman shows entertaining was she had reached a very specific point of wry humor, laced with really clear eyed understanding of her life, her challenges - both internal and external, and what she needed to best make the world work for her.  So basically, I laughed and came home with a desire to be drinking buddies (even if the drinks for non-alcoholic) with her. 

Someone with that level of fame that early, that level of life challenges, could have easily opted out of the spotlight, and I'm sure there were days, weeks, and years where Fisher wished she did or had.  But she figured out how to set what seemed from my chair in the audience to be healthy boundaries. She did interviews with her assistive dog.  She told Daisy Ridley make sure they give your character clothes, so that you are not forever an action figure without clothes. She talked about addiction, mental health, and heartbreak in ways that now seem less refreshingly honest because people like her were out there talking about it early and often.  

I am so sad for her family for their loss and so grateful the rest of the world got to experience so much of her. 

Podcastery

I listen to podcasts while working.  But I had noticed a thing.  I had podcasts with male and female hosts.  I had podcasts with male only hosts.  But I had pretty much no podcasts with only female hosts.  And there were some days where about four I reached a point where my ears craved diversity and I was skipping around to find a podcast where the voices didn't all land in that lower register.  So, I looked around.  I googled podcasts with female hosts. And well, a lot of this is a lot of my own proclivities (I tend to not be into political or crafty podcasts and so far most podcasts by people famous for being funny have not been for me) but I have found some things.  So, I thought I would share.  It is terribly NPR heavy.  It is also writer and pop culture heavy.  Since I brought up gender, I will note it for each of these.

I no longer listen to all of these, but yeah, I know, it's a lot. 

Writing: 

-88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang - Discussions of books and writing.  (Female host.)

-The Business of Writing in Romance - Writing from a more business side.  (Two female hosts, varying guests.) Now defunct, but some great interviews. 

-Grammar Girl - Self-titled Grammar Girls discusses some quick grammar questions. (Female host)

-How Do You Write - A look at writing process.  (Female host, varying guests.)

-Scriptnotes - Two screenwriters talk writing and movie news (Male hosts)

-The Writers Panel - discussions with writers about writing, usually Comics and TV writers. (Male host, varying interviewees)

-Minorities in Publishing - Interviews with Minority folks in publishing.  (Female host.) 

-Writing Excuses - A panel of writers (mostly book, some comic) discuss writing (Three males and a female are the main hosts.)

Current Events: 

-Freakonomics Radio - The folks behind Freakonomics look at things through, well, a Freakonomics lens. (Main hosts male)

-On the Media - a weekly review of the news media (Female and male hosts, varying contributors)

-Serial - You may have heard of this one, from the This American Life people, stories that take place over multiple episodes.  The first season took a look at a murder case. (Main host female)

-Ted Talks - People with a viewpoint on something.  (Varying speakers.)

-TWIBPrime aka This Week in Blackness- Three (to four or five) panelists discuss the weeks news with an emphasis on things that affect people of color. (Main hosts one male, and two females)

-Planet Money - Stories told through an economic/financial lens 

Pop Culture:

-Another Round - Discussions of race, gender and pop culture.  Also squirrels.  (Two female hosts.)

-Extra Hot Great - discussions and quizzes about TV.  (Currently two female hosts, a male host, and regular guests.)

-Literary Disco - Three bookish folk discuss books.  (Two males and a female host.) I confess, this one I have fallen out of interest with, they are pretty judgey about genre fic and I reached my limit on that.  

-Pop Culture Happy Hour - Four panelists discuss pop culture. (Main contributors contain a female, and two males)

-Talking TV with Ryan and Ryan - Two TV critics discuss TV. (A male host and a female host.)

-West Wing Weekly - Discussion of "The West Wing". (Two male hosts)

Sports:

-Pardon the Interruption - Similar to the TC show of the same name, a look at the latest sports news (Male hosts) *

-His and Hers - Sports (Male and female host)

Trivia, Knowledge, and other Minutiae: 

-Ask Me Another - Humorous quiz show from NPR with weekly guests. (Female host, male house musician.)

-Good Job, Brain! - A trivia team quizzes each other on different manner of trivia.  (Two female members, two male members.)

-Hidden Brain - The science behind decision-making and behavior. (Male host.) *

-Invisibilia - A look a the things behind human behavior (Two female hosts)

-Nerdette - Two self-described Nerdette's discuss stories of interest to those of us with a nerdy bent. (Female hosts, although for the TV recaps they are regularly joined by a male.) 

-Song Exploder - the history behind a song.  (Male host)

-Stuff You Should Know- Two, um, know-it-alls do a deep dive into a subject.  (Male hosts.)

-Radiolab - Stories that look at the intersection between science, philosophy, and the human experience. (Male hosts.)

-Wait Wait Don't Tell Me - Humorous current event quiz show (Male host, varying panelists.)

Real Life Stories: 

-Criminal - Deep dive into a particular crime.  (Female host, varying contributors.)

-Judge John Hodgeman - Real people bring their real issues to fake internet court. (Male host.)

-Love and Radio - One interview about an unusual story.  (Varying interview subjects.) Some of these are NSFW, so use headphones. 

-Radio Diaries - is a pretty accurate title really. (Varying contributors)

-Snap Judgement - Stories about life, again usually with a common theme. (Male host, varying contributors.)

-This American Life - Stories about life, usually with a common theme. (Main host male, contributors vary weekly.)

-Tiny Spark - A look at philanthropic efforts and other attempts at making good. (Female host)

-Storycorps- Selected stories from the Storycorp project collecting stories of everyday people.(Varying interview subjects.)

Other podcasts: 

-2 Dope Queens - Comedy and comic bits talking about sex, romance, race, and hair.  (Two female hosts, varying guests). 

-Code Switch - Discussions of race and news (Male and female main hosts, varying contributors). 

-News in Slow Spanish - News in slow Spanish for those of us trying to maintain or relearn our Spanish (male and female host). 

-Fortification - Interviews with social justice organizers about the intersection of faith and justice (Female host, varying guests.)

-Sporkful - A look at food traditions.  (Male host.)

Now Defunct or on Hiatus

-Black Girl Nerds - Note: Does not podcast enough - A look at nerd news from some black girls. (Female hosts.)

-Firewall and Iceberg - Two TV Critics discuss TV.  (Male hosts) This podcast is now defunct. 

-How to Do Everything - Instructional tips on a variety of topics, (Male hosts.) This podcast has now ended. 

-PostBourgie - Discussions of race and news.  (Multiple hosts, male and female).  Podcast intermittent these days. 

-Rendered - Stories and interviews with creative folks. (Female host, varying interviewees.) This podcast is now defunct. 

-This Creative Life with Sara Zarr - Discussions with authors about writing.(Female host, varying interviewees).  Currently on hiatus

-The Year of Tea - It's about tea.  Short casts.  (Male Host).  This podcast is now defunct. 

-How to Do Everything - Two guys look into various questions about how best to do things.  (Two male hosts.) Now ended. 

*Enjoyed but moved out of the rotation. 

Project Runway - The Finale

In some ways, like sports, I find it hard to go into these things without having picked a bit of a side. I also feel for the designers, they were told cohesion was key, and in the end, it turned out the judges were also looking for a wow moment.  I don't think any of that is too much to ask, but I do think, now that the designers have so little time for their final collections, it's tough to get cohesive, innovative, and wow.  But, that is the crazy show they signed up for.  (I could also mention that one of their most wow shows ever did not win, but I swear I'm not bitter about that still.)

And of course, while the winner gets money, which is nothing to sneeze at, those of the finalists who wish to move on, have the chance now.  "Project Runway" has a mixed bag of successes and failures, but those who were ready, have gotten great opportunities.  

So, all of this is to say, I'm thrilled for Erin, but man, I had thought I was ready for it to be an interesting discussion of playful Erin or classic Laurence, and instead they found Laurence too, um perfect.  I like a good surprising show, and on that merit Erin and Roberi were more successful but I was in the end more attached to Laurence getting this money than I thought I was.  I really do think that these four had some really interesting things.  They are not all things I would wear, but heck, half the stuff that walks fashion week I wouldn't wear.  But these were great finalists and I'm so grateful I got to watch them make fascinating clothes all season.