(no subject)

1. SpongeBob SquarePants the Musical

Eh...it was fun for the most part, but also way too loud. Reminded me a great deal of Spamalot and Avenue Que except on Speed. And in the music arena, more Spamalot. There aren't any catchy tunes or songs. I've no clue why it was nominated for a Tony.

But, it was fun. I was sitting near a small child who was having a blast. Also a lot of twenty-thirty somethings who loved it to pieces. They apparently grew up with the cartoon. (I discovered it while interviewing for a job at Nickleodean in 2003.) Also my co-workers talk about it a lot because they either grew up with it or their kids watched it.

There's an underlying socio-political satire to the musical that again reminded me a great deal of Avenue Que. It's very adult in places and a lot of the humor would go over a kid's head.

They also have a lot of playful stunts. Wirework with a jet pack, big plastic balls rolling down to the stage. Graffitti and bubbles falling from the sky at the end.

Yet...it's very loud. At one point, I wanted ear-plugs. My friend had her fingers in her ears. They were screaming into their microphones and we were sitting near the front of the Mezzanine, so above yet not far from the stage. I felt like I was being blasted with sound.

So...lukewarm recommendations. It's okay. I can see why it's closing in September. The performance they gave on the Tony's really is the only true highlight from the show.

2. Hot and humid day. Considering doing laundry, but not sure I want to deal with it. It's hot down there in the basement. And someone else was down there last I checked. I might try again in a minute or two.

(no subject)

After a lot of bored tooling about, tried Reveri (Hulu), Jessica Jones (got bored - Netflix), A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Mama Mia...I found this really odd anime entitled Ouran High School Host Club on Netflix. (Was hunting Black Butler S1, but it's not available and I'm not buying it.)

Ouran High School Host Club is about a club of boys who act as a sort of male form of Geishas or Gigolos to wealthy high school girls. Their goal to make every girl happy and to host them. They are from elite families. A commoner female student who is attending on scholarship. posing as a boy, goes hunting for a private room to study. And stumbles upon the elite host club. S/he breaks an 8 million dollar vase and is conscripted into the club. The head of the club, Tomiki, is highly attracted to h/ir and then, discovers s/he is really girl. And he is a goner. He's also a bit vain and insecure.

The boys in the club appear to be bisexual. And they are really satirizing gender and class differences. It's Japanese anime and dubbed in English, with English subtitles here and there.

Also, like most anime -- the leads look more like English White Caucasians. White. Blond. Big Eyed. And Blue Eyed or Brown eyes. With supporting players who look Japanese. Also the boys like very feminine.

I like anime because it is insanely subversive and really satirizes socio-economic views.

Anime's fascinating because much like Magna it's not just action oriented, there's also romance, sci-fi, and other genres within it. The Japanese don't view animation and comic books in the same way the West does, they view it as another art form or medium. Most Western literary critics can't wrap their heads around it.

It's also fascinating in how Western Media and Influences have affected Japan. How they view other cultures and themselves in relation to those cultures. Also how they deliberately challenge and subvert racial stereotyping.