#Cort Theatre

[gracie-bird]

Original program of THE FATHER, Grace Kelly's debut on Broadway. Playbill, 01/02/50, Cort Theatre, NYC.  The revival of the August Strindberg play opened in NYC on 11/16/49 and ran for only 69 performances.  The cast includes Raymond Massey, Mady Christians, Mary Morris, Philip Huston, John D. Seymour, Grace Kelly (Broadway debut), Paul Larson and Charles Snyder.  Directed by Raymond Massey.  

From eBay.

[seph7]

J.T. Walsh as Jim Beam in Cort Theatre's production of Rose - New York, 26th March 1981 - 23rd May 1981

[snap-my-kneecaps]

Can we talk for a second about the relationship between uksies Finch and Crutchie.

Finch helping Crutchie stand after the Delancey’s hit him and leaning close to check he’s okay. Finch catching Crutchie when the worlds doors open and pulling him a safe distance before letting him get back up. Stopping and nearly going back for him in the seize the day fight when Synder gets Crutchie, and having to be forced to run by Romeo.

just uksies them <3

[travsd]

On Dryden's "Indian" Plays

November is Native American History Month; next year (2025) will mark the 350th anniversary of King Phillip’s War, the beginning of the end for the native people as the dominant polity on this continent. I’m marking the occasion with a series of daily posts related to the history of the Native Americans and their interactions with encroaching Europeans. Some will have to do with pop culture;…

[plastycznyonline]

Edouard Cortes Theatre du Vaudeville

[artsy-hobbitses]

Y para qué llorar, pa' qué? Si duele una pena, se olvida Y para qué sufrir, pa' qué? Si así es la vida, hay que vivirla, la la la

Official design for Teo Cortes, codename Thundercracker! Basically the Bubbles of the Seeker Trio (With Starscream as the Blossom and Skywarp as the Buttercup)—a dreamer and romantic who really has no place on the battlefield except for his desire to help forge a better world, though at some point he realizes that he doesn’t like where his stage director is taking this narrative, and takes the script of his life back into his own hands. His design is very inspired by Raul Esparza’s rendition of Che in Evita (which whom he shares a singing voice!) and his departure from the Cons, who tend to see him as an overgrown theatre kid, actually marks a darker turning point for them (as they don’t quite realise the brevity and genuine heart he brings to the fight until it’s too late)

[citizenscreen]

Kirk Douglas starred in the original Broadway production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” which opened at the Cort Theatre on November 13, 1963. You may also recognize Gene Wilder as part of the ensemble.

[alpaca-clouds]

What are Minstrels, Jesters and Bards?

Keeping it up with me rambling about the middle ages and fantasy, let me talk about one of the things that seems to confuse a lot of people - especially because most fantasy media just kinda mixes this one up. The difference between Minstrels, Jesters and Bard. Given that all the words are so often used interchangably. But, indeed, there is a big difference, if we look at it from a historical perspective.

The very, very basic differentiation is like this:

A Bard was a Celtic song writer and storyteller

A Minstrel was a medieval travelling singer, poet, acrobat and storyteller

A Jester was a medieval singer, poet, acrobat and storyteller working at a cort. In the late medieval time they were more acrobats and people telling jokes though.

Also there is Troubadoures, who were mostly singers and storytellers at the courts.

Let me talk a bit about the different groups in detail, though.

Bards

Bard as a word comes specifically from the Gaelic word for "poet", which basically tells us most about them. as with so many things concerning the celts, the early history of them is not very well known. We do know, though, that they played a certain role within the Gaelic and Welsh societies both in keeping the oral history of the societies alive, as well as celebrating chiefs and warriors with their songs. Other than other aspects of Celtic societies, the bards did remain for a long while into the medieval period, though how the societies treated them did vary a lot by region.

While in some areas due to their connection to the Celtic (and hence indigenous) religion and culture, they were seen as "second class poets" in some areas - especially in Ireland - with the true poets being connected to the church.

Never the less: Whatever we still know about the Celtic mythology of the British isles is all only known thanks to bards. Because bards kept those oral traditions alive at times till the late and post-medieval period, allowing them to be written down.

Mistrels

Minstrels developed a lot in what their role was. In the early medieval period they were often still bound to courts of kings and lords, where they would perform a wide variety of things. Songs, poems, theatre, acrobatics and dance being most among them. But in the high medieval period it became more and more common that the courts would employ jesters and troubardores, who were more specialized. With those a lot of minstrels became travellers. They would travel the lands and always remain in cities and villages for a while, collect stories, perform their arts and then move on. As such they helped to spread stories throughout the lands - though people could not always be sure whether the stories they told and sang were true or not.

Minstrels often had close networks among each other, though. Exchanging stories and songs they had written and collected. As such they often had a very wide repatoir that they could share with the people.

It should be noted that while there were people like this throughout the entire medieval world, minstrels as we would call them were most common in Medieval France and England, with some also being around in Germany (that is the Holy Roman Empire). Travelling singers and songwriters in the rest of Europe had a bit of a different background, often being closer to the celtic bards.

And yes, minstrels are very much the closest thing here to what bards in DnD are displayed as.

Jesters

Among those noted here, jesters are probably the one occupation people have the best idea of, given that they are fairly big in even modern popculture - even outside of fantasy. I mean, in your standard deck of cards the "Joker" usually is portrayed as a jester.

Jesters were fairly interesting. While they also would at times do poetry and songs, they often were more acrobats, joksters and magicians, who most of the time were bound to the court of a lord, duke or king. In these positions they did however often serve a very important role, as they were allowed to hold a mirror to whoever they served and give them the truth. Basically: They were allowed most of the time to criticize even kings. (Which does not mean that they always got away with it - but usually they got away with way more than most people.) As such a common idea of a jester was, that they were supposed to be wise and also act as a sort of advisor to whomever they served.

Interestingly enough there is a lot of historical evidence that often enough this specific roll was filled by disabled and disfigured people, who could not work in other rolls. Which in hindsight is interesting especially because it gave some disabled people a very important role within the society.

Troubadours

Finally we have the troubadours, who were most of all singers and poets working at the courts. Their art was seen as more "high class" than the work of the normal minstrels. They often would entertain nobility during their feasts and on festivals and celebrations. While they were not the same as jesters, they often were however allowed to parody and do satire of the lords, with that also reflecting on their actions.

So, yeah. There is a difference between these words. While there definitely were bards that served as troubadours, and troubadours who ended up becoming minstrels... It was a bit of a difference between those roles.

The fact that the bards were so tied to celtic cultures is especially a fact that so often gets overlooked.

So, there you have it. xD Maybe some food for thoughts for my dear fellow bard players.

[justforbooks]

James Earl Jones

American actor hailed for his many classical roles whose voice became known to millions as that of Darth Vader in Star Wars

During the run of the 2011 revival of Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy in London, with Vanessa Redgrave, the actor James Earl Jones, who has died aged 93, was presented with an honorary Oscar by Ben Kingsley, with a link from the Wyndham’s theatre to the awards ceremony in Hollywood.

Glenn Close in Los Angeles said that Jones represented the “essence of truly great acting” and Kingsley spoke of his imposing physical presence, his 1,000-kilowatt smile, his basso profundo voice and his great stillness. Jones’s voice was known to millions as that of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars film trilogy and Mufasa in the 1994 Disney animation The Lion King, as well as being the signature sound of US TV news (“This is CNN”) for many years.

His status as the leading black actor of his generation was established with the Tony award he won in 1969 for his performance as the boxer Jack Jefferson (a fictional version of Jack Johnson) in Howard Sackler’s The Great White Hope on Broadway, a role he repeated in Martin Ritt’s 1970 film, and which earned him an Oscar nomination.

On screen, Jones – as the fictional Douglass Dilman – played the first African-American president, in Joseph Sargent’s 1972 movie The Man, based on an Irving Wallace novel. His stage career was notable for encompassing great roles in the classical repertoire, such as King Lear, Othello, Hickey in Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh and Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

He was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Robert Earl Jones, a minor actor, boxer, butler and chauffeur, and his wife Ruth (nee Connolly), a teacher, and was proud of claiming African and Irish ancestry. His father left home soon after he was born, and he was raised on a farm in Jackson, Michigan, by his maternal grandparents, John and Maggie Connolly. He spoke with a stutter, a problem he dealt with at Brown’s school in Brethren, Michigan, by reading poetry aloud.

On graduating from the University of Michigan, he served as a US Army Ranger in the Korean war. He began working as an actor and stage manager at the Ramsdell theatre in Manistee, Michigan, where he played his first Othello in 1955, an indication perhaps of his early power and presence.

The family had moved from the deep south to Michigan to find work, and now Jones went to New York to join his father in the theatre and to study at the American Theatre Wing with Lee Strasberg. He made his Broadway debut at the Cort theatre in 1958 in Dory Schary’s Sunrise at Campobello, a play about Franklin D Roosevelt.

He was soon a cornerstone of Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare festival in Central Park, playing Caliban in The Tempest, Macduff in Macbeth and another Othello in the 1964 season. He also established a foothold in films, as Lt Lothar Zogg in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove (1963), a cold war satire in which Peter Sellers shone with brilliance in three separate roles.

The Great White Hope came to the Alvin theatre in New York from the Arena Stage in Washington, where Jones first unleashed his shattering, shaven-headed performance – he was described as chuckling like thunder, beating his chest and rolling his eyes – in a production by Edwin Sherin that exposed racism in the fight game at the very time of Muhammad Ali’s suspension from the ring on the grounds of his refusal to sign up for military service in the Vietnam war.

Lorraine Hansberry’s Les Blancs (1970) was a response to Jean Genet’s The Blacks, in which Jones, who remained much more of an off-Broadway fixture than a Broadway star in this period, despite his eminence, played a westernised urban African man returning to his village for his father’s funeral. With Papp’s Public theatre, he featured in an all-black version of The Cherry Orchard in 1972, following with John Steinbeck’s Lennie in Of Mice and Men on Broadway and returning to Central Park as a stately King Lear in 1974.

When he played Paul Robeson on Broadway in the 1977-78 season, there was a kerfuffle over alleged misrepresentations in Robeson’s life, but Jones was supported in a letter to the newspapers signed by Edward Albee, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman and Richard Rodgers. He played his final Othello on Broadway in 1982, partnered by Christopher Plummer as Iago, and appeared in the same year in Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard, a white South African playwright he often championed in New York.

In August Wilson’s Fences (1987), part of that writer’s cycle of the century “black experience” plays, he was described as an erupting volcano as a Pittsburgh garbage collector who had lost his dreams of a football career and was too old to play once the major leagues admitted black players. His character, Troy Maxson, is a classic of the modern repertoire, confined in a world of 1950s racism, and has since been played by Denzel Washington and Lenny Henry.

Jones’s film career was solid if not spectacular. Playing Sheikh Abdul, he joined a roll call of British comedy stars – Terry-Thomas, Irene Handl, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan and Peter Ustinov – in Marty Feldman’s The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), in stark contrast to his (at first uncredited) Malcolm X in Ali’s own biopic, The Greatest (1977), with a screenplay by Ring Lardner. He also appeared in Peter Masterson’s Convicts (1991), a civil war drama; Jon Amiel’s Sommersby (1993), with Richard Gere and Jodie Foster; and Darrell Roodt’s Cry, the Beloved Country (1995), scripted by Ronald Harwood, in which he played a black South African pastor in conflict with his white landowning neighbour in the 40s.

In all these performances, Jones quietly carried his nation’s history on his shoulders. On stage, this sense could irradiate a performance such as that in his partnership with Leslie Uggams in the 2005 Broadway revival at the Cort of Ernest Thompson’s elegiac On Golden Pond; he and Uggams reinvented the film performances of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn as an old couple in a Maine summer house.

He brought his Broadway Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to London in 2009, playing an electrifying scene with Adrian Lester as his broken sports star son, Brick, at the Novello theatre. The coarse, cancer-ridden big plantation owner was transformed into a rumbling, bear-like figure with a totally unexpected streak of benignity perhaps not entirely suited to the character. But that old voice still rolled through the stalls like a mellow mist, rich as molasses.

That benign streak paid off handsomely, though, in the London reprise of a deeply sentimental Broadway comedy (and Hollywood movie), Driving Miss Daisy, in which his partnership as a chauffeur to Redgrave (unlikely casting as a wealthy southern US Jewish widow, though she got the scantiness down to a tee) was a delightful two-step around the evolving issues of racial tension between 1948 and 1973.

So deep was this bond with Redgrave that he returned to London for a third time in 2013 to play Benedick to her Beatrice in Mark Rylance’s controversial Old Vic production of Much Ado About Nothing, the middle-aged banter of the romantically at-odds couple transformed into wistful, nostalgia for seniors.

His last appearance on Broadway was in a 2015 revival of DL Coburn’s The Gin Game, opposite Cicely Tyson. He was given a lifetime achievement Tony award in 2017, and the Cort theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones theatre in 2022.

Jones’s first marriage, to Julienne Marie (1968-72), ended in divorce. In 1982 he married Cecilia Hart with whom he had a son, Flynn. She died in 2016. He is survived by Flynn, also an actor, and a brother, Matthew.

🔔 James Earl Jones, actor, born 17 January 1931; died 9 September 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[heaveninawildflower]

I posted the FAB silk postcard of the American actress, Maude Fealy a couple of weeks ago and said that I would post some more about her, here a are few more images of Maude from my collection of postcards and photographs.

The first postcard shows Maude as Alice Faulkner from the play 'Sherlock Holmes.' The third one shows Maude as Eunice from 'Quo Vadis'.

The sixth postcard shows a winning photograph by Burr McIntosh from the French magazine 'Paris Figaro Illustre.' Maude's photograph was sent to their competition (to find the most beautiful woman in the world) by the American photographer, William Burr McIntosh. Maude was the winner, chosen from out of 30, 000 entrants from all over the world.

Some information about Maude from Wikimedia.

Maude Mary Hawk was born on March 3/4, 1881-3 in Memphis, Tennessee (the dates vary depending upon the source) the daughter of actress Margaret Fealy and James Hawk, who divorced. Maude took her mother's name, Fealy.

In 1896, she made her debut at the Elitch Theatre in Denver playing various children's roles. Her first appearance was during the week of July 19 in Henry Churchill de Mille's The Lost Paradise. In 1905, Churchill de Mille's son Cecil B. DeMille was hired as a stock player at Elitch Theatre, and Maude appeared as the featured actress in several plays. Their friendship continued for decades, including when DeMille cast Maude in his film The Ten Commandments.

Maude made her Broadway debut in the 1900 production of Quo Vadis, again with her mother.

Maude toured England with William Gillette in Sherlock Holmes from 1901 to 1902. Between 1902 and 1905, she frequently toured with Sir Henry Irving's company in the United Kingdom, and by 1907, she was the star in touring productions in the United States.

In Denver, Colorado, Maude met a drama critic from a local newspaper named Louis Hugo Sherwin (son of opera singer Amy Sherwin). The two married in secret on July 15, 1907, because, as they expected, her domineering mother did not approve. The couple soon separated and divorced in Denver in 1909. Maude then married actor James Peter Durkin. He was a silent film director with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company. This marriage ended in divorce for non-support in 1917. Soon after this, Maude married John Edward Cort. This third marriage ended in a 1923 annulment and was her last marriage. She bore no children in any of the marriages.

Maude died on November 10, 1971.

[bigmack2go]

Newbie Newsies

A guide for new Newsie fans

Chapter two: Characters

Previous chapter: the basics->•

Chapter index ->•

Imma just start lf with a basic list of Characters. Only names. Nothing else. Then i‘ll give you the looks (and versions of that) and actors that played them and how to reckognise them (also split in versions) bc theres A L O T so like whos who‘sies

Then i‘ll tell you about some oc‘s and then i‘ll go into some lore for each of the characters that have one. That includes fannon

Imma try not to go TOO much into detail bc this is gonna be long enough as it is and there already are posts about them

Characters

This isn’t gonna have any specific order i literally not even sure if i didnt miss any.

Jack “Cowboy“ Kelly/ Francis Sullivan

Davey (“a walkin mouth”) Jacobs

Sarah Jacobs

Les Jacobs

Ed “Racetrack” Higgins

?“Spot” Conlon

Romeo ?

Katherine Plumber (but actually Pullitzer)

?“Mush” Meyers

Louis “Kid Blink” Balletti

Albert DaSilva

Isaac “Ike” ?

Michael “Mike”

Patrick ? ?

Hotshot “Hotshot” Hotshot

? Smalls ?

Jeany “Mack” MacDonald

Archie “Sniper” Wah

Niklas “York” ?

Samuel “Specs”?

Gabe “Boots” Argus

?”scobe”?

Patrick “Finch” Cortes

Elmer Kasprzak (pls tell me i spelled this right)

(Benjamin) “buttons” Davenport

Josephino Jorgelino “JoJo” De laGuerra (this is not a joke. That is his name.)

Kenny?

?”Graves”?

Niamh??

?Myron?

?”Splint”?

(Charlie) “Crutchie” Morris

Henry?

? “Skittery”?

?”bumlets”?

?”swifty”?

Gabriel “snaps” ?

?”splasher”?

?”comet”?

?”pie eater”

Thomas “Tommy boy”?

?”snipeshooter”?

?(“tumbler”)?

?”goldie”?

Looks

Imma have to handle this w repost cuz u can only add ten photos and all that ykyk

Jack:

His main four appearances are christian bale (92‘sies), jeremy jordan (obc and livesies), corey cott (broadway and toursies (i think)) michael ahomka (uk‘sies) and pierre marias (TUTS)

Imma be honest i wanted to list everyone that plyed the characters but i don’t think i can even find that all so im just gonna go woth the most famous ones each

Basically the only thing thats always the same about him is the vest

Davey has been played by David Moscow(92‘sies) Ben Fankhauser (obc& live‘sies) ryan kopel (uk‘sies) and Ben Diamond (TUTS)

He usually has a rather small face and a prominent nose. His hair has always been dark so far. He always has something blue about him sticking out/ is generally held in a blue vibe.

Sarah was played by ela keats. She was only in 92‘sies. She was originally planned to be in the theatre versions but her character was cut completely.

She has lightbrown/darkblonde long hair and- well theres only one actress so u can see for urself

The most famous Race‘s have been Max Castella (92‘sies), Ryan breslin (obc), ben cook (livesies) and josh barnet (uk‘sies) and Cole Zieser (TUTS)

[aricastmblr]

BTS (방탄소년단) Facebook - bts_bighit X 5mar. 2024 <SUGA│Agust D TOUR 'D-DAY' THE MOVIE> Main Poster The cinematic cut is coming to theatres & IMAX on April 10 & 13 Worldwide! 초대형 IMAX 스크린으로 만나는 특별한 경험을 놓치지 마세요! 🎫 Global tickets on sale from Mar 12, 11AM (ET) 🔗 More info at https://www.sugathemovie.com/ *Additional screening dates may vary, check your local venues. 🎫 2024.03.27. CGV 예매 오픈 📆 2024.04.10. CGV 단독 개봉 🔗 https://www.sugathemovie.com/ *한국 예매 관련 상세 내용은 추후 안내 예정입니다.

D_DAY_THEMOVIE #D_DAY_TOUR

SUGA #슈가 #AgustD

<SUGA │Agust D TOUR 'D-DAY' LA PELÍCULA> Cartel principal

¡El corte cinematográfico llega a los cines & IMAX el 10 y 13 de abril en todo el mundo! ¡No te pierdas esta experiencia única con la pantalla IMAX ultragrande! 🎫 Entradas globales a la venta a partir del 12 de marzo a las 11 AM (ET) 🔗 Más información en https://www.sugathemovie.com/

Las fechas de proyección adicionales pueden variar, revisa tus lugares locales. 2024.03.27. CGV abierto para reservas 2024.04.10. Lanzamiento exclusivo de CGV 🔗 https://www.sugathemovie.com/ *Los detalles de la reserva coreana serán anunciados más adelante.

D_DAY_THEMOVIE #D_DAY_TOUR

SUGA #슈가 #AgustD

BANGTANTV YT

SUGA│Agust D TOUR 'D-DAY' THE MOVIE Announcement https://youtu.be/UxWAOSwEK4s?si=xH4JH4feiZTlgUet

LA PELICULA DEL D-DAY TOUR INCLUIRÁ LAS PRESENTACIONES DE YOONGI JUNTO CON JUNGKOOK, JIMIN Y NAMJOON.

🐱🐥 Tony Montana - Jimin 🐱🐰 Burn It - Jungkook

SUGA / Agust D Tour 'D-DAY' The Movie' estará disponible en cines a nivel mundial el 10 y 13 de Abril, la venta de tickets inicia el 12 de Marzo.

ARMY de México en está ocasión las opciones para ver D_DAY_THEMOVIE serán más ya que tanto Cinépolis como Cinemex han anunciado que estará en sus carteleras este próximo 10 y 13 de Abril.

[snap-my-kneecaps]

my collection of Finch and Davey spit shakes from 'The World Will Know'

(for some reason i didn't write a note about this every time i saw newsies but here are the ones i did note down)

14/7/23 evening-

Finch forced Davey to do a spit shake and then when Davey gave in and shook Finch's hand, he grabbed Davey's hand and pressed them together tightly to press the spit in.

29/7/23 matinee-

When Finch tried to do the spit shake Davey motioned for him to wait and dug around in his bag, he then pulled out a glove that he put on his hand before shaking Finch's hand (Finch was not impressed).

30/7/23 evening-

Davey cooperated with the spit shake and Finch was very pleased about it, however when Finch walked away Davey rubbed his hand on his trousers with a look of disgust.

[ramon-tikaram-love]

yikes, i'm beginning to run a little low on Ramon items to watch. i still have a few movies and multiple eps of 2 series and a couple tiny things.

but here are items i haven't been able to find:

Hunting of the Snark (2023) ( :(((((((((( stupid amazon prime)

Lee & Dean - s1 e3 (i've found e4 & e5 but in low-ish quality)

Doctors - s7 e29 "For the Best: Part 1", e30 "For the Best: Part 2" ; s19 e140 "Dreams Are Made On"

Casualty - s21 e25 "The Miracle on Harry's Last Shift" ; s25 e20 "Altered States"

EastEnders - all his 11 eps 2009-2012 that are prolly pointless to list, but at least i've found some excerpts

Combat Kids - s1 e1, e2, e3

Identity - s1 e4 "Reparation"

My Spy Family - s3 e11 "The Trophy Affair" (the last Vong ep)

Heroes and Villains - s1 e4 "Cortes"

Take 3 Girls (2006)

Down to Earth - s5 e9 "Tall Tales" (i've found e7 ("Say Hello, Say Goodbye") but in pretty horrid quality)

M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team - s2 e1

Holby City - s6 e21 "Honour Thy Father"

Crossroads - all his 4 eps: s1 e283, e284, e285 ; e13Aug2002

Waiting at the Royal (2000)

Code Name: Wolverine (1996) (edit: i found this! on youtube! :o it has big hardcoded subs but better than nothing!)

and all his theatre plays :s.

if anyone knows where to find any of these pleeease let me know.

i will reward you by making gifs if possible or at least screenshots.

i still also have some games and other voice-only thinggies i might experience, and then there is the soon upcoming Kaos which i'm looking forward to.

[idealisticrealism]

TCL 3x10 thoughts

The main things: 

The ep starts immediately after last ep, then goes to the next morning and takes place over just one day. Nadia also says it’s been ‘an eventful few weeks’ since she made the deal to buy the house (which was in 3x01, so the entire season has taken place over around 3 weeks)

One of my favourite things about this series, and about Thony specifically, is that she’s not only an unintentional angel of death for the people around her, but also for criminal empires?? Literally this show is full of seasoned criminals who thrived for years in the darkest parts of the Vegas underworld, and then they encounter Thony, and boom! Down they go. Hayak. Cortes. Kamdar. (Even Arman, in a slightly different way). And now it looks like Sin Cara is next… honestly the Feds should be falling at her feet in gratitude haha 

Lol at Thony and Fi’s little bit of theatre for Jeremy as they set up their own little ‘sting’ for him. Thony actually nearly breaking and laughing at Fi’s ranting for a second was so cute, because while this is a serious situation, it is a bit bizarre to think that this is what their life has become. And this scene was so worth it just to get to watch two skilled actors having to pretend to be bad at acting… moments like this are always fun, like a kind of act-ception haha. Ngl it’s a good thing that Thony confronts Jeremy by the end of the episode though, bc I doubt it would have taken much longer for him to notice something was up, with all the dramatic conversations happening right in front of his bugs while and other conversations were hushed under the cover of super loud TV/music. Not to mention the suspiciously intentional-looking plumbing emergencies lol (seriously Thony?? A hammer??? lol).  To be fair though, Fi’s acting did improve a lot by the end, with their clever little ploy to make Jeremy think Thony was on her way to kill Nadia. That entire sequence was done well– even though anyone who has been watching the show for more than like a week would know that Thony would never kill Nadia (at least while literally any other option existed), it was still enjoyable to experience the ‘suspense’ that the creative team set up regarding Nadia’s fate. I just hope that she can make it through the finale… 

Honestly I love the deliberate continued theme in this show of Thony being caught between worlds, and the constant push and pull of ‘good vs evil’ and ‘power vs vulnerability’. It’s why, despite all her efforts, she can never quite escape the criminal world, and she can never quite escape the hold of the FBI either. And they’re often tied up together, too– to protect herself or someone she cares about from one, she reaches out to the other. In late s1, Arman helped protect her from the FBI by agreeing to be an informant, and in turn she was part of the plan to protect him from both the FBI and Hayak. In S2, she agrees to inform for the FBI again in order to protect Arman and keep him out of prison. And now, she’s making that same deal– and risking her own safety– but for Nadia this time. To me, though, I think that she’s reached a kind of ‘fool me once’ situation with the FBI, and though she says she’s going to help then take down Sin Cara, I think she is actually going to be following her own agenda, and using the ties she has to both the cartel and the FBI to manipulate them into taking each other out, and leaving her being the only one left standing. And god I hope that’s where things are headed bc I would be so here for it.

I really wish we’d been able to see a lot more of Thony and Nadia’s relationship this season, because it’s so compelling and complex and I’ve loved every moment they’ve shared so far. Nadia’s “oh no” at seeing Thony walking into the club was hilarious; they haven’t seen each other in the week or so since the wake, but Thony showing up at the club looking deathly serious is never a good sign. I loved that they were immediately like ‘ok bye Jorge the grownups need to talk’ tho lol– he may have formed connections with both of them, but he hasn’t gotten to this level of club membership yet. Thony’s first question to Nadia (“Did you cut a deal with the feds?”) felt like an interesting tie-in to the events of earlier eps, given that it was exactly what Nadia asked her at the wake– tbh these two must feel like they’re on a merry-go-round or something, and it’s all because they just haven’t been completely open with one another!!! But finally, here, they’re starting to be, even if it’s too goddamn late now (*adele voice* we could have had it aaaaaalll). But anyway ughhhh “All I wanted was to find Arman, like you. I wanted to protect him.” Honestly Nadia acknowledging/accepting Thony’s genuine love of Arman has been one of the parts of this season that I have appreciated the most. These two women are bonded by that love, which is why Thony telling Nadia she should have come to her is such a punch in the gut, because you can see her pain and regret, her utter dismay at the fact that her preoccupation with her own family (getting Fi and Chris back, preventing Luca from being taken away) led her to overlook what was going on with Nadia– aka with Arman’s family– and now she has let down the only other person Arman truly loved. And I think she went to La Habana fully intending to warn her, but then it became clear that Nadia wouldn’t listen to her even if she did try to pose the fake-death plan (“You always think you know everything. But you don’t”), and would’ve almost certainly tried to run instead, endangering both of them. So instead Thony tries once more to talk Ramona out of it (unsuccessfully, of course), and ugh when she says she wants to take care of Nadia herself “For Arman” and she squeezes her eyes shut as she says his name… the grief of losing him is still so goddamn fresh and now she’s terrified she’s going to fail him by not being able to save Nadia in time. But that’s the thing about Thony– she never gives up on the people she loves. And because of Arman, that group includes Nadia. 

Nadia’s reaction to Thony striding straight into her house (literally how does Thony even know where that is?) is so funny bc she doesn’t even get angry, it’s just like mild exasperation as she tries to convince Thony to leave. That is, until her brain catches up and suddenly she just stops and says “What’s happening?” because she knows Thony, knows that she wouldn’t actually barge in like this without a damn serious reason. When Thony tells her the danger she’s in, she believes her immediately (ugh her panic was hard to watch) and immediately begs for Thony to help– because while they may have a complex relationship, she knows that Thony is the only person she has left who actually cares what happens to her, and she also knows that Thony is clever and capable and holds a surprising amount of power, and often does manage to fix things even when a situation seems impossible. Which is exactly what Thony does next– and while I wish that Thony had explained to Nadia about what she was going to do, so Nadia didn’t have to have those brief moments of terror and betrayal before she lost consciousness, I get that it had to be written this way or it would have spoiled the twist. But oh man, even though I knew  Thony wouldn’t kill her and that she was going to be fine, the relief at seeing her wake up on that couch was still so damn real, phew. Eva did an amazing job with Nadia’s emotions on waking up, from utter confusion to a mix of relief, gratitude and anger. The scene between her and Thony in Jeremy’s lair felt like it was cut off midway through, which I guess means that they’re going to pick up exactly where they left off in the finale next week, like this was actually a 3-part finale rather than a 2 parter, and I can’t wait to see more of the Nadia/Thony dynamic next week.

And given my love for both Nadia and Thony, gotta say I do love how much Ramona herself has shown genuine admiration for both women, for their competence, intelligence, determination, fortitude, their coolness under pressure, and their desire for power. (Like in her conversation with Ramona, Thony would always deny that desire, but tbh people who want a simple family life do not become cardiac surgeons. Much like being a cartel leader, it’s a profession that provides money, prestige, authority, and a near-godlike ability over life and death– ergo, power). Anyway, Ramona’s entire art collection, her life, is centred around women with those traits, and tbh in another life I think these three incredible women could have become an unbeatable team that ruled Vegas together. Ramona saw that possibility and tried to make it happen, only for both of them to reject her, and now… well, I think we are heading for a ‘this town ain’t big enough for the both of us’ situation, and lbr it’s going to be Thony that’s the one left standing

Honestly I love that I have written a bunch of words already for this ep, and it’s all been about women– that’s one of the true gifts of this show, how much it focuses on women and their stories and their relationships. In the earlier seasons it was mostly just focused around Thony and Fi’s characters, but after the loss of Adan, and having a female villain for a change (two if you count Russo), the focus on women has definitely expanded and been even more apparent this season. I’m sad that it’s looking unlikely that Ramona or my baby Nadia will return next season, because they deserved to have more of their story told. Still, I’m clinging to the hope that Nadia may somehow return, and I’ll get more of the amazing Thony & Nadia dynamic that we all deserve

Anyway I guess I could talk about a boy now– though given that he is literally surrounded by women in his life, Jorge is an honorary girl to me lol. It was cute to see him so excited about all the hotel stuff, from his big spiel to Nadia to all the proposal materials in his office– looks like he’s finally found his own path, not just the one Ramona chose for him. (Though holy shit it’s so messed up that the corporate world is literally the best place to hide illegal activity, wow). I found it hilarious that when Jorge was trying to sell Nadia on the hotel idea and saying all this stuff about how she’ll be the face of it etc, the picture very clearly shows he’s planning to call it ‘JS hotel’ lol. So she’s the face but it’s named after you?? Hmmm. Also geez he laid it on a little thick with the flattery there, but I guess it worked, because you could see how smitten she was with the hotel idea. And I can understand how some people might interpret that as her being smitten with him, but I genuinely don’t think so. First of all, she lost the man she loved literally like a week and a half ago; there’s no way that she has even the slightest inclination to look at anyone romantically right now. Plus, the show has already established that she’s incredibly good at reading people. She knows he’s trying to manipulate her in order to access her money, but in her life, that’s just a demonstration of good business skills. She sees what working with him can give her, and she wants it. In S1 she says to Arman “What do we own? Nothing”-- I think it’s hugely important to her character to actually be in possession of something big, to be the owner, not just the manager, to remove herself as far from the powerless girl from the Argentinian slums as she can. Anyway I love that one of his arguments is that she’ll be ‘set for life’ if they do this… because apparently already having 50 million dollars isn’t being set for life??? Man, what a world they live in haha. Anyway with it seeming unlikely that Nadia will be around next season, I wonder if the hotel will still somehow happen in S4? Maybe somehow Thony gets involved with it, though I don’t really see her wanting any part in something like that… tbh my main concern is that we might not get to see the La Habana set next season :(

Seeing Jeremy’s reaction to being burned was so satisfying. Not so clever now, are you, buddy?? Got outsmarted by a civilian just like Garrett did, and now you’ll be working with her, just like Garrett… but unlike Garrrett, she has zero regard or sense of obligation toward you, and so you may think she’s gonna work with you and follow your orders, but think again. She’s just going to bide her time until she has you right where she wants you, and then she will completely fuck you over, because you betrayed her family and took the man she loves, and that’s what you deserve. Be grateful if you walk out of all of this alive. 

Other stuff:

Omg Fi going for the baseball bat to take out the smoke alarm. Someone has issues with impulsivity haha. Tbh her and Thony’s entire relationship is just the two of them taking turns holding each other back from doing something stupid and I love it

Ugh seeing Nadia standing all alone in that huge empty house, talking about how it’s time to put the past behind her and have a fresh start… and then later saying to Jorge that she just wants to be free… and then Thony telling her at the end that she’s free and she tells Thony that she took her whole life form her… ugh stop giving me stressful foreshadowing here writers. If Nadia has to go, write her out by having her run away into the sunset with her millions. Don’t make me watch her die twice!!!!!!!!!

I didn't initially remember seeing Ramona and Russo cross paths at La habana, but @gsue74 reminded me that they glimpse each other across the club the first time Ramona goes there, and Ramona noticed the way Nadia reacted to her arrival. Well done of the writers to plant that in 3x04 to come back up now. Anyway I do enjoy Russo’s sassiness though. It was never super obvious before bc she was always having to play the serious one keeping Garrett in line, but I think I see why they got along lol

Oh boy the agent that scared Violeta really fucked up lol, like maybe don’t piss off a super powerful cartel leader??? Dude’s gonna be feeding the fishes in the Hoover Dam in no time lol

 I love that the proposed hotel site is completely in the middle of nowhere, like too bad if the guests want to visit any other part of Vegas haha. Though I guess that might be entire point, to make it like a one-stop shop so guests will spend all their time and money in the one place lol

JD is such a cutie. Loved him taking advantage of a free weekday to bring thoughtful gifts for his bae. Lol at Fi shutting him up with a kiss– she really needs to go somewhere private and tell him everything though, bc he needs to know so he doesn’t inadvertently screw things up for them again. 

I really felt for Fi when she found the immigrant worker house empty– this show is always full of painful near-misses in terms of timing, but at least in this case there’s still the hope that Thony will be able to use her sway over Jorge to find Camila and Gisele

Anyway ugh the promo for the finale looks so good… Nadia at Thony’s house, wearing borrowed clothes while Thony makes a plan to get her her money back… Jorge apparently being there too and helping them… Thony in a fancy dress, shooting a gun… it might be Ramona’s assassin guy that she shoots (one of the clips looks like he could be fighting with Jeremy) but man it would be cool if it was actually Ramona or Jeremy that she shoots, and honestly I’m so down for either of those options. Maybe she even does it to protect one of them from the other– like maybe she shoots Ramona to save Jeremy, which would mean she’d probably get pardoned by the FBI for everything. Or she shoots Jeremy to save Ramona, making Ramona extremely grateful, and as a result Ramona makes sure the shooting never ties back to her, and brings her into Sin Cara in a position of power…. Either way it’s going to make for an interesting S4!  

[blunighht]

Gears turning, the curtain opens to the first protagonist of this play! Give it up for Freddy !! Music enthusiast and, expectedly, a theatre kid, when he spots a band contest announcement in the school’s board he wastes no time in dragging his friends into a practice room. Bonnie’s a great guitarist, and Anne used to play bass…They can probably get Fox to help out, too… but wait, do any of them know how to write music?!

TRADUCCIÓN BAJO EL CORTE

Los engranajes giran, abriéndole la cortina al primer protagonista de esta obra! Un aplauso para Freddy !!

Entusiasta de la música y, obviamente, fan del teatro, no tarda ni un segundo en arrastrar a sus amigos a una sala de prácticas cuando ve un anuncio de un concurso de bandas en el tablero de la escuela. Bonnie es muy buen guitarrista, y Anne solía tocar el bajo…probablemente pueden convencer a Fox para ayudar…pero, espera, acaso alguno de ellos sabe escribir música?!