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margridarnauds · 2 years ago

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for honesty hour: thoughts on tkz's adaptation of anastasia?

Honestly, I genuinely believe it's the best possible production we've gotten. Anastasia, Frozen, and Prince of Egypt are sort of my unholy trio of "musical adaptations of legendary pieces of animation that ultimately just couldn't live up to their hype/removed or reworked key aspects of what made people like the originals." It was difficult because they tried to both have their cake and eat it too, they wanted something that would both appeal to fans of the film while also...basically creating an entirely new musical, reworking key elements, removing fan favorite songs and fan favorite characters. Sometimes, it works -- I think most people would agree that Gleb works better as a villain than Rasputin. Other times, it doesn't (Dmitri, the odd infantilization of Anya in the Broadway/replica, the overall issues of tone with making it a significantly darker musical while also trying to keep a few cartoonish scenes in there, all the historical baggage that comes when you make what had been a loosely historical fairy tale into something closer to a historical fiction AU.) I remember looking forward to the initial run in Hartford, then listening to the audios when they were first released, and kind of going "this is it?" There were a few things I liked, but it just didn't quite live up to the hype of FINALLY having a musical adaptation of Anastasia. I shipped Glebya, I've been shipping it since basically Day 1, there's never been a time I haven't, really, but it was in a sort of....abstract way, especially since there used to be. So much. Discourse. (There still is every once in a while, but [1] things have calmed down since the Broadway closed down and [2] ...I blocked pretty much everyone involved.) I wasn't particularly interested in it. I didn't HATE it, but....I didn't really *care* enough about it to hate it.

Then, came the Zuka. And I decided that, before I saw the musical live, since I bought discount tickets, I might as well actually see it. And it was like "Oh. This is what it should have been." (Which almost was a disappointment when I saw it live, even though there was a lot I liked from that particular cast as well.)

Like, you have a cast that's firing on every possible cylinder, everyone cast perfectly, everyone throwing themselves into it. You've got a Gleb that's soft enough to be a plausible romantic interest to Anya even if we know it can't happen but who's ALSO hard enough to be a credible antagonist, who trades out the goofiness mixed with domination and chauvinism of some other Glebs with this....weariness. (Though he still gets his goofy moments.) Anya herself is the right blend between obviously being haunted and traumatized but also having a spine of steel, so she isn't 😲 gasping 😲 every 😲 five 😲 seconds 😲 like 😲 the 😲 human 😲 embodiment 😲 of 😲 this 😲 emoji 😲. (Not to name names, but if you know Anastasia...you know who.) I feel like the fact that it's Takarazuka and it's already stylized and most musumeyaku are going to be used to toeing a line between feisty and feminine means that Anya comes off as much more organic, as a character, than she does in, say, the Broadway, where her beating off the guys attacking her and Dmitri looks...cartoony, but in a way that's jarring with the tone of the musical. Here, it kind of fits in with the stylization we generally expect from a Zuka musical. Her voice is innocent and sweet, but there's also this strength and fullness to it that I really like

Dmitri...look. I don't like him. I will never like him. I feel like he's one of the original sins of the musical where it's like....they cut out most of what made Animated!Dmitri compelling and, by softening Anya up so much, they made the dynamic unequal in a really unpleasant way. But Suzuho has enough charisma that like...she does a good job almost convincing me otherwise. I really, really love the way that her and Madoka's voices go together in "A Crowd of Thousands." I didn't like the way that Dmitri is shoved into almost all of Anya's songs, except for "In My Dreams", but...I've been a Zuka fan for over....God, at least six years at this point. I know the drill, I knew what I was in for. I'd love for it to be a Sainte d'Amour situation where Anya really gets to be the heroine and protagonist, but like...I know the drill. I know the business. And Suzuho does so WELL with Dmitri's songs where it's like "Okay, I'm going to log out of the story and listen to the music here." I even liked the added song more than I thought I would, and it felt like it really fit the flow of the musical as a whole in a way that a lot of songs added for Zuka don't. (Like, yes...it's a shilling song for Dmitri, but it's a *good* shilling song, and it's incorporated enough through the rest of the musical that it feels like it has a place.)

And Gleb. GLEB. Totally steals the show, love of my life, I was so grateful to see that they put all that work into him instead of making him a one dimensional villain. Kiki has this amazing ability to just...throw herself into any role she's cast in. Like, if you'd told me that the woman who played the most fruity and capricious Moriarty I think I've ever seen ALSO played an absolutely heartbreaking and compelling Gleb...I'm not sure I'd have believed it. And like, yes, that everyone involved's a professional actor means that they SHOULD be able to do that, but for a lot of actors and actresses, both in and outside of Zuka, it can be very hard to break out of typecasting. But in her case...she's something very special.

Also: LILY. So much effortless poise and energy and charisma rolled into one. I did not expect myself to keep going back to her song, but she just...sells it, in every possible way. I can't take my eyes off of her. It's actually a little hard to see the Broadway/replica production now when I've seen how an ensemble + actress who are trained in dancing can pull off this scene.

99% of the time, I love the costuming and the set work, I think they really did a phenomenal job reinterpreting the costumes -- I especially love Lily's red dress, Anya's rags, Anya and Dmitri's night clothing (especially because I've always HATED the Broadway costumes for that scene) ,Dmitri's green coat (and then the blue coat) ....my one complaint is the opera dress, and that's mainly because the opera gown from the Broadway/replica productions is so iconic, I was really looking forward to seeing what Zuka did with it, and...it isn't a BAD dress, it's not ugly, I love the velvet, I love the lace, I love the hem, but it's just...not what I was expecting, it's a little on the plain side, and I was expecting a lot more sparkle from Zuka, known purveyors of sparkle. Like, this is Anya's BIG DRESS, her big Wow moment, and it just didn't quite translate with the gown they used.

Overall, basically an almost perfect production of a profoundly imperfect musical that smooths over a lot of the rough edges of its source. I'm really glad they were able to get the rights to put it on and then the rights to release a DVD.

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scraregenrecs · 3 years ago

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March 2022 Roundup & SC Mediafest Roundup

Hey rare/gen fans! It's a two-for-one special in this post, since March's works were a little on the lighter side while the rare/gen writers were busy getting ready for the fest :) We'll start with the non-fest recs, and then the fest roundup will be at the bottom behind the cut!

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don’t have many good reasons to leave my room (i did most things to get to you) by @turningtimeinthetardis, Rachel/Twyla, Alexis & Twyla, rated T, 462 words

Summary: Alexis’ new city never sleeps, so she doesn’t, either, and replacing a dream with distractions couldn’t be easier.

Rec [written by doingthemost]: This is an angsty delight! Short and bittersweet, this fic looks at Alexis' adjustment period to New York and the regrets she's collected along the way regarding a certain café waitress. It's a sad, realistic, painful look at how relationships can change with time.

[Podfic] I haven't met the new me yet by @n0connections, Jake/Rachel, rated E

Summary: The last time she had sex was the night Patrick left town — she’d gone out and gotten far too drunk and woke up the next morning in a stranger’s bed hating herself. This feels different, more deliberate; she’s pretty sure there are worse ways to kick-start getting over her ex-fiancé than a one night fling with a hot lumberjack-looking guy she’ll never see again.

Rec [written by yourbuttervoicedbeau]: Am I biased because this is a podfic of my fic? Yes. Am I biased because this was a birthday present for me? Also yes. Will I apologise? Absolutely not. It’s a phenomenally crafted podfic and everyone should give it a listen!

leave it all behind, and there is happiness by patrickbrewer, Patrick & Rachel (plus discussed David/Patrick), rated G, 1057 words

Summary: It hurts like absolute hell, knowing that she has spent at least a decade loving someone who could never love her back. Knowing that she has spent long, drunken nights alone in her apartment wondering when the hell everything would fall back into place. Knowing that she is going to have to travel home alone and come to terms with the fact that the future she thought she had all figured out is actually never going to come to fruition.

Rec [written by yourbuttervoicedbeau]: I’m a sucker for Rachel, I’m a sucker for post-Barbecue fics, I’m a sucker for this fic specifically. It’s beautifully, carefully written, full of pain and honesty and hope.

(podfic) This doesn’t have to be a sad song by @sarahlevys @nervouscupcakeinspace @rhetoricalk @anniemurphys @sunlightsymphony , Stevie & Rachel, rated G, 982 words

Summary: After the barbecue, Stevie and Rachel commiserate together at the Wobbly Elm.

Rec [written by samwhambam]: This fic is a perfect little snippet of a “could have been” conversation between someone’s best friend, and someone’s ex-fiance. It’s just the touch awkward, while being sympathetic, and you know Stevie and Rachel both felt better after it. It’s short and sweet and worth a read.

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And now for the @scmediafest roundup!

As we have in the past, we have included a few honorable mention fics that are predominantly David/Patrick but the rare/gen elements have a decent portion of the side stories or drive the overall plot.

Check them out behind the cut, and help us spread a little rare/gen love!

Gen

Dreams by @authorbynight (Jocelyn Schitt & Roland Schitt, Gwen Currie & Jocelyn Schitt, Moira Rose & Jocelyn Schitt, Mutt Schitt & Jocelyn Schitt)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Bathilda E. Schitt by @landofsonlali

MURDER in Schitt's Creek by @rosedavid (Ray-centric, with background Patrick Brewer/David Rose)

One Prairie Outpost by @authorbynight (Patrick-centric, with background Patrick Brewer/David Rose)

Stuck in the Molasses Swamp with You by Amanita_Fierce & @dinnfameron (ensemble, with background Patrick Brewer/David Rose)

Will You Accept This (Friendship) Rose? by @rosedavid (David Rose & Twyla Sands, with background Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands, Alexis Rose & David Rose)

Alexis/Twyla

always and forever, twyla sands by @lilythesilly

canned heat in my heels tonight by @sarahlevys

city keeps callin’ out to pay her sins (meeting you might count for enough penance) by @turningtimeinthetardis (with Twyla Sands & Jocelyn Schitt)

like a streak of light by @lilythesilly

The Seven Husbands of Alexis Rose [+Art!] by @hagface @sarahlevys

you're the one thing (i can't get enough of) by @lilythesilly @sarahlevys (with background Patrick Brewer/David Rose)

Johnny/Moira

Wild Horses by @authorbynight (Johnny Rose/Moira Rose)

Stevie/Alexis

got a knack for burning bridges down by @nerdframed

Stevie/Rachel

It'll be Alright When the Morning Comes by @hullomoon @kindofspecificstore

Stevie/Ruth

teenage dirtbag(s) by @treepyful

These Are The Voyages by @treepyful

Ted/Alexis/Twyla

This is an angry break up song, right? by @typewritess

Multiple Ships

Selling Schitt's Creek by @lilythesilly @nerdframed @sarahlevys @typewritess (Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands, Stevie Budd/Ruth Clancy)

Rare/Gen Honorable Mentions

I'm surprised (that you've never been told before) by @beaiola (Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Theodore "Ted" Mullens/Alexis Rose)

Once More With Feeling by @jettestar (Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Theodore "Ted" Mullens/Alexis Rose, Stevie Budd/Twyla Sands, Patrick Brewer & Ray Butani, Patrick Brewer & Stevie Budd, Alexis Rose & David Rose)

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