#crowl-e

[bluberryfields]

Good sweet Satan this is....everything. The crossover that I didn't know that I was starving for. Absolutely incredible. I need it injected into my veins!

Don't we all just wanna see Crowl E and AzEVAphale holding hands at the end?

And M-Oriel for good measure, can't leave them out ~

Good Omens Study Club movie poster art!

At first I thought making this crossover would be very hard, but turns out it was super fun! Especially putting in all the easter eggs.

[medium-observation]

NOVEMBER RELEASE

Hadestown - Second US National Tour (Non-Equity)

October 21, 2024 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Bryan Munar (Orpheus), Megan Colton (Eurydice), Nickolaus Colón (Hades), Namisa Mdlalose Bizana (Persephone), Jaylon Crump (Hermes), Julia Schick (u/s Fate), Miriam Navarrete (Fate), Katelyn Crall (Fate), Randy Cain (Worker), Miracle Myles (Worker), Kaitlyn O’Leary (Worker), Mikaela Rada (Worker), Joe Rumi (Worker)

Notes:

Perfect capture of this incredible new tour! Lots of nice closeups and lots of wideshots to show the new staging and lighting! Sometimes the right side of the stage gets covered with lights and can obstruct faces but its always minuscule. Some washout, shakiness and readjusting throughout.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2025

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBPi2G

Video is $20

Hadestown - Second US National Tour (Non-Equity)

October 22, 2024 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Bryan Munar (Orpheus), Julia Schick (u/s Eurydice), Randy Cain (u/s Hades), Namisa Mdlalose Bizana (Persephone), Jaylon Crump (Hermes), Miriam Navarrete (Fate), Katelyn Crall (Fate), Michelle E. Carter (u/s Fate), Jamir Brown (s/w Worker), Miracle Myles (Worker), Kaitlyn O’Leary (Worker), Mikaela Rada (Worker), Joe Rumi (Worker)

Notes:

Fantastic capture of Julia, Randy and Michelles Debut's as Eurydice, Hades and Fate respectively. Due to how far away i was the video is slightly grainy at max zoom. Wideshot to show new tour differences and zooms to highlight the debuts. Some washout, shakiness and readjusting throughout.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2025

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBPiVg

Video is $20

Hamilton - First US National Tour (Angelica)

October 8, 2024 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Tyler Fauntleroy (Alexander Hamilton), Lauren Mariasoosay (Eliza Hamilton), Jimmie JJ Jeter (Aaron Burr), Marja Harmon (Angelica Schuyler), A.D. Weaver (George Washington), Hosea Mundi (s/b Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson), Colby Lewis (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison), Nathan Haydel (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton), Lily Soto (Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds), Justin Matthew Sargent (King George III), Devin Tyler Hatch (s/w James Reynolds/Philip Schuyler/Doctor), Alex Dorf (Samuel Seabury), Alex Larson (Charles Lee), Nathanael Hirst (George Eacker), Sabrina Harrison (Ensemble)

Notes:

Incredible capture of this insanely good cast! i think this was hosea's debut? or it was one of his firsts! Some washout, shakiness and readjusting throughout.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2025

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBMYMG

Video is $20

Les Misérables - Sixth US National Tour

October 13, 2024 (Matinée) - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Nick Cartell (Jean Valjean), Nick Rehberger (Javert), Lindsay Heather Pearce (Fantine), Eden Mau (u/s Cosette), Jake David Smith (Marius), Mya Rena Hunter (Éponine), Matt Crowle (Thénardier), Christian Mark Gibbs (Enjolras), Victoria Huston-Elem (Madame Thénardier), Milo Maharlika (Gavroche), Emerson Mae Chan (Little Cosette), Kyle Adams (Grantaire), Daniel Gerard Bittner (Feuilly), Danny Martin (Courfeyrac), Andrew Marks Maughan (Combeferre), J.T. Wood (Joly), Steve Czarnecki (Factory Foreman/Brujon), David Andino (Bamatabois/Babet), Jonathan Young (Jean Prouvaire), Jeremiah Alsop (Montparnasse), David T. Walker (Claquesous), Randy Jeter (Lesgles/The Bishop of Digne), Greta Schaefer (Young Éponine), Paige McNamara (Factory Girl), Ashley Alexandra (Old Woman), Emily Fink (Wigmaker), Mikako Martin (u/s Innkeeper's Wife), Ashley Dawn Mortensen (u/s Ensemble)

Notes:

Fantastic capture of this tour's new cast along with Eden as Cosette! due to how dark les mis can be at times it can look a little grainy. Some washout, shakiness and readjusting throughout.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2025

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBNuD1

Video is $20

Some Like it Hot (Shaiman and Wittman) - First US National Tour

October 13, 2024 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Tavis Kordell Cunningham (Jerry | Daphne), Matt Loehr (Joe | Josephine), Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Sugar Kane), Tarra Conner Jones (Sweet Sue), Edward Juvier (Osgood Fielding III), Jamie LaVerdiere (Agent Mulligan), Devon Goffman (Spats Colombo), Devon Hadsell (Minnie), Ashley Marie Arnold (Ensemble), Kelly Berman (Ensemble), Darien Crago (Ensemble), Drew Franklin (Ensemble), Devin Holloway (Ensemble), Emily Kelly (Ensemble), Brianna Kim (Ensemble), Stephen Michael Langton (Ensemble), Jay Owens (Ensemble), Ranease Ryann (Ensemble), Nissi Shalome (Ensemble), Michael Skrzek (Ensemble), Tommy Sutter (Ensemble)

Notes:

First known video of this new tour! Incredible capture that has a lot of wideshots to show the incredible choreography of this show! Some washout, shakiness and readjusting throughout.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2025

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBNCNt

Video is $20

Both of the hadestown videos can also be purchased in a bundle for $30 Total!

To Purchase any of these videos, please fill out the form below!

https://forms.gle/WyTBFrPdQa1Gvo38A

[evilasiangenius]

"Might I inquire as to what name the reservation is under, sir?”

“Fell.”

“Crowley.”

“Excuse me?” The bookish clerk blinked, as both angels, fallen and otherwise, had spoken simultaneously.

“Fell,” Aziraphale beamed. “The reservation is under Fell. F-E-double-”

“I’m afraid I don’t have a reservation under that name,” the clerk said apologetically, pushing his reading glasses higher upon the bridge of his nose after a quickly look through the reservation book.

“...because it’s under Crowley. Anthony J., if you please-”

“Oh.” The clerk blinked. “I don’t see a reservation for a Mr. Anthony J. Crowl- but oh wait, there is an entry here for a Mr. Fell. I’m sorry, I must have missed it the first time. My apologies, it seems that I may need new spectacles. Anyway, it’s for a-”

“A two roomed special suite,” Aziraphale said primly.

“Oh, I do apologize, sir,” the clerk stared at the books and stared again, puzzled. “But your booking is for a stateroom with only one bed.”

“Is there any way to change the booking? It seems as though a mistake has been made in the reservation,” Aziraphale asked.

“I’m sorry, sir. There are no two roomed special suites available at this time. I’m afraid those are all booked up.”

“What about a second class berth with two beds-”

Crowley beamed. “Oh, what a terrible shame. I suppose we’ll just have to make do with the one..."

x

[enjolrasling]

I saw the Les Miserables US tour on Tuesday and am still IN MY FEELINGS about it, so here’s a random assortment of somewhat coherent thoughts/rambles/write up/review.

(Note: I saw the entire principle cast except Randy Jeter (who was out) and two ensemble swings. Andrew Marks Maughan was pulling double duty as both the Bishop and Combferre.)

• I didn’t know anything about Nick Cartell going in, but holy fuck, that VOICE. Tone is immaculate. Lungs of fucking steel.

• “Another story must beGINNNNNN” are you kidding me Nick. Who gave you the right to be this talented. Why is this man not more famous?!

• Preston Truman Boyd as Javert - voice is great, nice deep baritone. I wanted a smidge more from him acting wise though (this improved over the course of his performance).

• Nick and Preston sound phenomenal together, their voices work SO WELL.

• Haley Dortch has the voice of an angel and I loved her portrayal of Fantine.

• I appreciated that when Fantine was attacked/arrested all of the lovely ladies kept trying to stop it/help her. A nice staging touch.

• The whole transition into the courtroom was fantastic. Nick with that ending note of “Who Am I?” 🤯 I feel like I heard a few nods to Colm’s Valjean throughout Nick’s performance, this being one, which I appreciated on a cellular level.

• Confrontation sounded sooo good. It is a little goofy looking because Nick is so much shorter/smaller than Preston, which made the whole Valjean-as-stronger-man thing a bit silly. The blocking here didn’t do much for me. But what can you do. However! The “you’ll wear a different CHAInnn!” *cue Present with the chain hitting the stage floor* was fierce.

• It took a minute but Matt Crowle really won me over as Thénardier. Acting choices were 💯 without going over the top.

• There was a lot going on during “Master of the House” and it was a lot of fun, but also hard to catch everything.

• Gavroche was delightful. As usual.

• I’m not sure why Enjolras’ blonde wig was so bad, but it was really distracting. Devin Archer does a very decent Enjolras, but man that wig was not doing him any favors.

• Marius’ entrance was forgettable. I think this was more a staging issue than a reflection on Jake David Smith maybe? All the students kind of looked the same at this time. I had a hard time telling Les Amis apart all night, honestly. Except for Enjolras and Grantaire, obviously, which brings me to….

• Kyle Adams. You freaking fan-servicing national treasure. Cards on the table, seeing reviews of Kyle’s Grantaire was the single biggest reason I decided to catch this tour, and I was really, REALLY hoping to see him in the role. I did not think anyone would ever come close to eclipsing Hadley as my R of all time, but Kyle is right up there in his orbit. Omg that scene stealing little shit. He really put his all into “the drunk one”. Blowing the kiss to E at the end of Red and Black. Continually slapping people with his coat jacket. The dick-bottle in Enjolras’ face. Constantly goofing around with Gavroche. It was all gold. I really appreciate an actor who’s done their homework, and Kyle is very obviously well versed in both the source material and the rabid E/R fan fiction. His performance is a love letter to the fans - to those of us who have cried over the brick, who have watched every musical version we’ve been able to get our hands on over and over again - and I love that for all of us.

• Anyway, back to “Red and Black”. Devin is great, really brings the sassy Enjolras energy. Marius is….kind of forgettable again. Sorry, Jake. Enjolras when he grabs that flag…Devin is really serving.

• “Do You Hear the People Sing” was wonderfully rousing, as always. One of my favorites forever. The transition to the streets was very pleasing. Again, Devin with that damn flag. I might end up shipping Enj with the flag as much as E and R, he’s that passionate with it 🤣

• Delaney Guyer was a perfectly pleasant Cosette. No criticisms, I just haven’t really ever cared about Cosette much as a character. Her songs do very little for me. But Delaney was lovely.

• Mya Rena Hunter as Eponine was somewhat “meh” for me. Her vocals are killer and “On My Own” got one of the biggest ovations of the night, but I didn’t love her acting choices. Or maybe lack there of, it didn’t seem like there were any. I dunno.

• The staging/choreo for “One Day More” was really entertaining. Much better than the underwhelming marching I saw in the 2012 production. Devin serving sassy, dramatic Enjolras with flair and a rifle is a whole ass mood.

• I fucking love the barricade set. Seeing Les Amis climb all over that thing is such a moment. Enjolras literally leaping off the set multiple times. Dude gets AIR.

• Gavroche flipping off Javert was an audience favorite.

• “A Little Falls of Rain” was underwhelming. The staging was a bit awkward and there was no scene chemistry between Jake and Mya. I really wanted to feel something. I didn’t. Just eh.

• “Drink With Me”, on the other hand, was so wonderfully emotional. Kyle’s stying of R’s verse is an angrier, grittier interpretation and I’m sooo here for it. Enjolras goes to console him and R pushes him away. The pain feels so real.

• “Bring Him Home”….Nick. Fucking. Cartell. I have no words. He cast an absolute SPELL over the theater. His breath control is super human. His last “home” note went on FOREVER. Absolutely phenomenal. Hands down best version I’ve ever heard live. Biggest ovation of the night.

• Gavroche’s death 😭 So sad, so well done. It was very striking how he was shot just as Enjolras’ hand reached up for him as he returned. The timing, the lights, sound everything was excellent. Then he crumpled onto E’s shoulder. E handed his lifeless body to R, who was just devastated. I love the relationship they created between Gavroche and R this production. The entire build up of their interactions made this moment so poignant and believable.

• Christopher Robin Sapp really took his 5 seconds of National Guard Officer/Loud Hailer time and absolutely slayed it. I want to see more of this guy in the future.

• The choreo of the final battle was very satisfying. I totally missed Marius getting injured and just mistook him for another student because again….Marius was just not catching any of my attention this tour, lol. The frantic moment between E and R in this scene was so raw and well done by both actors. R reaching for E’s face, clasping hands so very briefly. Ugh.

• Then E with the flag again. This scene is so striking and Devin gives it EVERYTHING. Then R climbing up after E once he gets shot and falls off of the barricade. The way it takes a few moments for R to die after being shot and Kyle freaking Adams makes sure the audience knows it…

• I was lucky enough to see a production with the revolving stage back in the day and I’m really glad I did, because the reveal of Enjolras’ body hanging upside down off the other side of the barricade with the flag is one of those theater moments that will haunt me forever. Enjolras’ lifeless body in the cart just doesn’t have quite that same punch, but it’s timed very nicely with the music swell, and the way his body shifts/almost falls out of the cart when it’s carried away again is quite effective.

• Ok so the sewers. That was cool. I felt like this production used just enough of the screen to really assist the set design without relying on it too much. It worked really well for the orchestration and gave depth to Valjean just dragging Marius across the stage 3 times.

• Thénardier dragging in that corpse by his ankles for “Dog Eats Dog” lol. Matt really showed up for this scene. I think he did a good job of dipping into the “comedic” aspects of Thénardier as well as balancing the really rotten parts - this was a really great rotten part. I thoroughly enjoyed his turn as the infamous innkeeper.

• Javert is such a little drama queen.

• “Stars” was A++++. One of my forever favorites anyway, but Preston took this song to church. Also, I do NOT remember this staging, if it’s what I saw in 2012 (I don’t think so?!) and holy shit. I was not expecting what they did, which got quite a few gasps from the audience. The falling/floating/reaching while holding that last “ONNNNNNN” was a fucking MOMENT. Props to this production set up. Major props to Preston. Just wow.

• The transition from “Turning” to “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” was beautiful, and I love love love the candle choreography. When Les Amis blow their candles out….ugh 😭 This number was a bit of redemption for Jake David Smith, who until now had kept slipping into the background. I found his Marius to be a bit uninspired and unrecognizable for the most part. He did not bring much of a presence to the role until this moment. But his vocals were great here, and the anguish felt genuine.

• I don’t have much too say about “Beggars at the Feast” because I was too busy watching no one but Kyle Adams as Major Domo for the entire scene 🤷🏻‍♀️

• But omg the change of Thénardier’s lyrics from “this one’s a queer / but what can you do?” to “this one’s a queer / I might try it too” and then he dips that random wedding guest dude was a giant yes from me.

• Finale left a touch to be desired blocking/staging wise. I remember feeling that way with the 2012 production as well. Les Mis is just such a powerful musical, I feel like it deserves a bigger ending than basically everyone just standing in two lines behind Cosette and Marius. The cast’s vocals made up for the lack of production though. Truly so, so good.

• In conclusion: Nick Cartell has an otherworldly voice and Kyle Adams is the Grantaire we all deserve. I am so, SO glad I got to experience this cast.

[productphotographybytc]

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[inappropriatestork]

Finally got to see Les Mis live again after almost 10 years. And since my memory is terrible nowadays and I barely remember those shows other than what I recorded on Tumblr, I figured I better do so again, LOL.

The anticipation dramatically rekindled my Les Mis obsession. I watched the 25th and the Staged Concert versions again about 5 times each in the span of a week and a half or so, developed a bit of a new Thing for Javert in general and Michael Ball's Javert in particular, abruptly became a Valjean/Javert shipper, dove into Les Mis fic (I'd read a few E/R things here and there but not a lot), and decided to give The Brick another try (the new Donougher translation this time, which I've really enjoyed - especially with helpful historical and cultural footnotes on Kindle - though I've gotten a bit stuck at Waterloo again).

Anyway, this was by far the best of the three times I've now seen it live. The first time, in 2012, I had an unsatisfying understudy playing Valjean. The second time, in 2013, the cast was mostly great but there were some technical glitches. This time was more or less perfect and the cast was amazing.

And yes, I painted my nails to match the program.

Loooong rambling review/notes/thoughts, mainly for Future Me, below the cut.

It was opening night in Charlotte, January 31 with my mom and Jeff, and I think we had the full cast with no understudies or anything.

Nick Cartell as Valjean, Preston Truman Boyd as Javert, Haley Dortch as Fantine, Christine Heesun Hwang as Eponine, Devin Archer as Enjolras, Gregory Lee Rodriguez as Marius, Addie Morales as Cosette, Kyle Adams as Grantaire, Matt Crowle and Christina Rose Hall as the Thenardiers.

Looking at their headshots beforehand I wondered if Nick Cartell and Preston Truman Boyd weren't a bit young for the roles, but they were fantastic.

Cartell's voice was a little higher and lighter at times than some Valjeans, but also a bit deeper at others, and he held his own in duets with Javert. His Bring Him Home was gorgeous and his Finale was beautifully emotional and moving. Boyd was perfect as Javert. Powerful voice but still a lot of feeling and emotion.

Haley Dortch as Fantine was wonderful but a little soft and quiet at times. When she put some volume into it, like on I Dreamed A Dream, she was great, but some of her factory bits and deathbed bits were a little too soft and hard to hear. Addie Morales had a beautiful clear soprano as Cosette, and Christine Heesun Hwang was amazing as Eponine.

I thought Gregory Lee Rodriguez as Marius was perfectly good for most of the show but then his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was absolutely showstopping, maybe the best I've ever heard.

All of Les Amis were good, and Harrison Fox as Gavroche. Devin Archer especially was extremely good as Enjolras. I feel like in the other live shows I've seen Enjolras didn't have a lot of interaction with Grantaire or anyone else outside of specific lines that require it, really? This one had a bit more humanity and feeling to him and I really liked him. Kyle Adams as Grantaire was also excellent, even apart from Grantaire's relatively few lines, his mannerisms and acting were spot on and compelling - cynical and mocking, knowing what's coming and scared for his friends, heartbroken as they begin to fall, starting with Gavroche.

The Thenardiers were pretty good, maybe a little more exaggerated and broad humor than some I've seen, and M. Thenardier's voice seemed a bit obviously a put on funny/evil caricature sort of voice? IDK, I've never heard his natural voice, but this seemed more obviously fake and cartoony than most, sometimes kind of tilting toward Billy Crystal as Miracle Max?

I also thought he played Dog Eats Dog much too funny. I kind of feel like that scene should lean more into the sinister aspect of Thenardier, which Matt Lucas does very well. This one played it a good bit lighter and sillier with his mannerisms and tone, which kind of made the dark lyrics about God being dead and the harvest moon feel a bit out of place and less impactful. I feel like Master of the House should be his sort of genial host persona, even if he's humorously admitting to being a scheming crook at the same time, but Dog Eats Dog (and the robberies) should be more a brief glimpse of his real sinister and base nature without the veneer of humor, what he truly is when there's no one to fawn and flatter and manipulate - and then by Beggars At the Feast he's back to scheming and flattering, craven and vulgar but the darker side hidden away again.

Other stuff:

I'm not sure how much the staging changed since I last saw it live? The souvenir program says the visuals and scenery were revamped in 2009, and a lot of that looked the same, though I think the Paris and barricade sets were a bit different?

I think the opening and Look Down were a little different from what I've seen before. And I've definitely never seen a version that included some extra scenes of Valjean being abused and driven away by the townspeople after his release and before meeting the Bishop. There was even an extra verse about the Mark of Cain? that I had definitely never heard before at all. It was a nice addition, though.

The Fantine scenes were good and about the same as I've seen, I think. One slightly jarring note was the American-ness that showed through in a few parts. I guess I'm just used to British versions, but Mme Thenardier had a very sort of brash American accent, and the factory foreman sang "sitting flat on your ass doesn't buy any bread," which just seemed glaringly out of place? Like I could buy "arse," maybe, but "ass" just seems jarringly American and modern. I kept thinking about the Fry & Laurie "American Ass" sketch.

I'm pretty sure the staging of Lovely Ladies was a good bit different than I remember. One of the whores also had a verse I've never heard in Lovely Ladies, something about "will the bleeding ever stop?" And instead of Fantine singing "Come on, Captain, you can wear your shoes - don't it make a a change to have a girl that can't refuse?" they changed it to "did you wear your shoes?" and had the other whores sing those lines when Fantine came back after her first time with a customer. Which seemed a slightly odd decision to me, I always thought Fantine bitterly singing those lines was pretty central to showing that she's accepted her lot and how far she's fallen as she joins the fallen women.

There's a few other bits that I'm not super familiar with as they're not in the recorded versions I know best - Valjean's lines to Cosette just after they've left the Thenardiers', Grantaire's "fleas will bite" part, Cosette's "you are loving and gentle and good"/"in your eyes I am just like a child who is lost in a wood" verse of In My Life - but I had at least some familiarity with them. I'm still quite sure I'd never heard Valjean's Mark of Cain verse or the one in Lovely Ladies before at all.

I'm not sure if Who Am I? was a bit different from the other times I've seen it in person too. In the recorded versions I've seen most, they mostly skip Valjean actually going to court and revealing himself. I only recently saw a recording of a London version that had the end of Who Am I? in the courtroom and Valjean opening his shirt to show his brand, and it was new to me, so I don't think the previous versions I've seen did it that way? I like this version of it, though.

(ETA: Found the playbill and program from the 2012 show and it does have a Champmathieu - normally played by the guy who ended up as my disappointing Valjean that night instead - in the credits, so perhaps it did have a court scene and I've just forgotten ever seeing it 🤷‍♀️ Goodness knows what else I've forgotten, lol.)

I'm not sure about Enjolras' verse admitting the people have not risen and telling the women and fathers to leave the barricade to not waste lives - it was unfamiliar enough that I was startled by it, but I think I might have at least heard of it or read the lyrics or something at some point but mostly forgot about it? It still surprised me. I also feel like the others I've seen must have had some form of the runaway cart scene, but I'm quite sure never as in depth as this one? Usually just more suggested or glossed over quite quickly, I feel like. Here we had Valjean asking around desperately trying to get the townspeople to help (more like the book) before doing it himself and Fauchelevant thanking him afterward, which I haven't seen before.

I definitely liked Les Amis (and the bits of E/R content) more in this version than past ones. If I remember right (and judging by my notes) the other versions had only the bare minimum of Enjolras & Grantaire interaction, and Grantaire mainly interacted with Gavroche? This version kept the Gavroche & Grantaire bond, which I rather like, but did have a fair bit of E/R too. Early on in the cafe, Enjolras sort of grabbed Grantaire while he sang "don't let the wine go to your brain." and in Drink With Me, Enjolras was up on the barricade looking all statuesque and dramatically lit when Grantaire began his verse, but he quickly came down and stopped the others from bothering Grantaire, looked into his eyes for a long moment, and clasped Grantaire's arms in a somewhat comforting way for a moment, at least.

This Grantaire was not very comforted, though - he turned away and sort of staggered miserably off to the corner of the room and hid his face in his arms against the wall until Gavroche ran and threw his arms around him. Enjolras looked after him for a moment, but didn't follow. I really liked this Grantaire, he was very mocking and sarcastic early on, then pretty wretchedly angry and scared and bitter knowing what was coming for his friends and Enjolras, and showed all of that even in his manner and gestures when he didn't have lines. On the barricade he hung around the fringes, hanging back when the others had all climbed up. He was the one to stay and watch the captive Javert during the first battle and clearly wasn't in any hurry to join in. It was subtle enough that if you didn't know the characters you probably wouldn't catch much of the nuance, but if you do and you were making a point to watch Grantaire especially, he was absolutely perfect.

And then when Gavroche died! Apparently the other versions I've seen, his death was off-stage. Here he'd climbed down behind the barricade out of sight and Les Amis and Grantaire all panicked when there was a shot but cheered when he turned out to be fine. He'd climbed back up the barricade and was standing at the top finishing Little People when he was shot and fell forward across Enjolras' lap. And gah, the way they all reacted, but especially the tender sorrow of Enjolras picking up his body and the sad, lingering touch as he handed him down to Grantaire. And then Grantaire carried him to the front of the stage and just sat bowed over him for a good long time. I also liked how after everything was over, Javert stopped and looked sadly at Gavroche's body, bowed his head and crossed himself (I can't remember exactly where but earlier in the Paris street scenes there was a quick, cute little sassy interaction between Gavroche and Javert at one point, too.)

I wasn't expecting the Grantaire & Gavroche relationship the first time I saw it live, being mostly familiar with the 25th and YouTube clips of older versions, but I like it (though I prefer they don't make that Grantaire's *only* real interactions, which I think the first versions I saw live kind of did). It gives Grantaire a little more softness and humanity. This version had a cute moment, I think maybe during Red & Black? where Gavroche, feeling like one of the grown up rebels, is enthusiastically swallowed up in a crowd of most of Les Amis singing fervently about rebellion and stuff, and Grantaire, who has kept his distance from the passionate crowd, sort of sighs, walks over, reaches into the crowd and extracts Gavroche at arms length and pulls him away. I thought it was sort of a sweet moment of Grantaire not wanting Gavroche to get so enthusiastically swept up and involved in this adult (albeit young) rebellion that he's quite sure is doomed.

(Another minor Gavroche bit - after Eponine died, he was standing next to Grantaire and turned his face into Grantaire, who hugged him for a bit. Then Gavroche went and hugged Marius for a long moment and then picked up Eponine's fallen hat after she'd been carried away and handed it to Marius. The show usually doesn't acknowledge him being Eponine's brother, but it was a nice little touch.)

I really wish I'd followed the final barricade death scene better. I'm seeing it again in March, so will pay closer attention to that. It's quite dark and strobey, so that makes it harder to follow, but it seemed like Grantaire kept trying, at the very end as his friends began to fall, to climb the barricade at last, maybe toward Enjolras, but never made it all the way? It's not quite "will you permit it?" but if I was reading (and am remembering) it right, at least it's a sort of nod to Grantaire still being willing to die with his friends and Enjolras in particular even if he can't truly embrace their cause.

While I'm on a shippy note, I have recently found myself enthusiastically on board the Valjean/Javert ship (IDK how I wasn't before, tbh, but I blame Michael Ball for giving me a new appreciation for Javert that I never quite got from Norm Lewis) and there were some good moments for them too. I'm so used to recorded concert versions with minimal acting, so it's always nice to actually see stuff. And this Valjean and Javert had pretty good chemistry, quite a lot of physicality, pushing each other around and grappling and a lot of long tense eye-contact. Especially after saving Fauchelevant, if I remember right Javert ended up holding Valjean's coat when he went to lift the cart? And there was some lingering eye contact as Valjean cleaned up and put his coat back on. And it might have been there or some other scene around that time, Javert holding onto Valjean, like they shook hands or maybe Javert was handing him his coat and kind of grabbed him and lingered for a moment while singing the "I have only known one other" stuff? Something like that, anyway, and I enjoyed it.

Boyd did a great Javert's Soliloquy, enough convincing fury and despair and agony. Some Javerts don't put enough emotion and absolute end-of-his-rope despair into it for my liking, but his was excellent. And as I mentioned, Gregory Lee Rodriguez was very good as Marius in general - even a few humorous touches I hadn't seen before when he's in the throes of awkward infatuation with Cosette - but then his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables blew me away, both the voice and the emotion.

The staging of the finale bugged me a little. I did like that once Valjean joined the company for DYHTPS, the Bishop stepped forward and hugged him in welcome - I've seen that in other versions but never live. But it drove me nuts that from the "take my hand" line on, well into the DYHTPS reprise, Marius and Cosette were just sitting at center stage holding each other sadly, which felt a bit distracting? Valjean was a bit off to one side, but it would have felt more fitting to me to have him at center stage and let Cosette and Marius move off to the side to comfort each other. It's not their moment! And then they stayed sitting there when the rest of the cast was gathered singing the closing lines, which still felt a bit off. I think they finally got up and joined the company on the very last line or two? Meh.That staging bothered me a bit.

That scene, especially once it gets to "take my hand" and he's actually dying, should be entirely Valjean's moment. Fantine and Eponine too for the gorgeous harmony, but Valjean and "to love another person is to see the face of God" should absolutely be the focal point. And then the DYHTPS finale should be about unity, everyone together. So it just seemed weird to have them just sitting around in the middle of the stage for so much of that transcendent ending.

(Very on brand for Marius though, that boy can never read a room. Always making him and his love life center stage when everyone else is busy with serious things like dying.)

Overall, though, it's definitely the best of the three times I've seen it live. Really no significant complaints about the cast or anything at all, other than fairly minor nitpicking. I loved it and was just in heaven from start to finish. I'm seeing it again in March with my friend and I already can't wait.

My mom, who has seen the movie long ago but isn't super familiar with the story, said she found it a little hard to follow a few bits (at least from our upper level seats, though I did bring my binoculars). It took her a while to realize that M. Madeleine was actually Valjean, as he looked quite different between leaving the Bishop and showing up there, and she didn't realize who Javert was on the barricade until he'd gone and returned and Gavroche called him out. The musical also doesn't really mention Valjean's having been famous on the chain gang for his strength, which makes it not super clear why the runaway cart scene makes Javert suspicious. But overall both she and my brother loved it too, though not quite as rabidly as I did, lol.

[angelicamatriarchva]

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[amandamatriarchva]

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[spokenrealms]

Four Dialogues of Plato

Edited by Lloyd E. Smith Featuring the voices of Denis Daly, John Burlinson, Alan Weyman, and Mark Crowle-Groves. Socrates, perhaps the most famous philosopher of the ancient world, left no writings. The method of philosophical investigation for which he is celebrated has come down to us in the form of dialogues, composed by his student, Plato. The four dialogues in this collection are known…

[enbydemirainbowbigfoot]

A duck meets a demon

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Crowl(e)y! Any relations to Al, the king of hell?”

[animunitee]

Addition to my Crowl•E art! Smol simple fanart you could say.

[victoriansword]

British Pattern 1827 Rifle Officer’s Sword with Presentation Inscription

E. THURKLE, SOHO A PRESENTATION PATT. 1827 RIFLE BRIGADE SWORD TO AN OFFICER IN THE MADRAS VOLUNTEER RIFLE CORP, 37th, Madras Army Regt. and dated for 1880, with broad blind fullered 33in. slightly curved blade, the left face etched with scrolls and arabesques together with a 'V.R.' device and Queen's crown, the reverse with similar scrolls interwoven with a banner reading 'PRESENTED TO MAJOR CROWLE ON HIS PROMOTION BY THE OFFICERS, NON COM'S. & PRIVATES OF No6. COM'Y 37TH M.R.V.C. AS A MARK OF THEIR ESTEEM JAN'Y 10TH 1880', makers signature to left at forte and inlaid proof mark to the right, gothic three-bar iron hilt bearing the pierced device of the Rifle Regiment bugle, wire-bound fishskin grip and stepped pommel, complete in its iron scabbard with leather frog.

[productphotographybytc]

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[piuley]

🎨 Fanart: The Secret of Monkey Island

🇬🇧: I’m so hyped about #ReturnToMonkeyIsland that I wanted to pay a little homage to both one of my favourite video games since a child and Rex Crowle’s art style! So thrilled about the new game!

🇪🇸: Tengo tanto hype por Return to Monkey Island que quería hacer un homenaje a uno de mis juegos favoritos de la infancia y al nuevo estilo de Rex Crowle. ¡Qué ganas de jugar a la nueva entrega!

🏴󠁥󠁳󠁧󠁡󠁿: Teño tanto hype por Return to Monkey Island que quería facer unha homenaxe a un dos meus xogos favoritos da infancia e ao novo estilo de Rex Crowle. Que ganas de xogar á nova entrega!

🎨: #Procreate + #iPadPro2020 + #ApplePencil

[acavatica]

Listen here kids...

crowles — Today at 9:42 AM man I forgot how excellently 90's chapter 1 of the new B&E opens [9:42 AM] I love Marco bragging about the internet to the audience like "you can read SUMMARIES of SEINFELD EPISODES!"

Cavatica — Today at 9:45 AM True fact about me: In the late 90s, Sailor Moon and DBZ hadn't aired all their seasons in America and had a lot of reruns, so I looked up individual episode summaries of the Japanese releases, translated by the most blessed and exalted bilingual people (thank you personally Hitoshi Doi, you weird creep) and I experienced those shows in brief text format first [9:46 AM] It's like if you learned about Animorphs through just the flip books [9:47 AM] Being a Sailor Moon fan especially WAS A TIME [9:48 AM] I've been a fan of Sailor Moon since I was 8 or 9, lol like the same time as animorphs, I was a very cool kid. [9:49 AM] Me with #16 in my lap reading DBZ summaries with an AOL star trek chat open in the corner

crowles — Today at 9:49 AM oh man I remember like... god, finding a website with the SCRIPTS for episodes of Ruroni Kenshin because I couldn't find it to rent [9:49 AM] i would print out episode scripts, cav. I had a binder

crowles — Today at 9:49 AM god you were such a cool kid

Cavatica — Today at 9:54 AM Sometimes I literally HAVE DREAMS about the animorphs chatrooms I was in as a kid, like when I was 11. I have physical dreams of being in this chatroom AS A SPACE because it was a personal website based, hand coded chatroom, pre-AOL style honestly kind of like the chatrooms in #16 were portrayed, but not QUITE that weird (but like, it's more realistic and less boomer than most people think). You had to refresh constantly to see if there were new messages. It was called Kimmeree's AniChat and it was run by the two of the OG Animorphs BNFs (as far as I can tell from my 10 year old self's memory and understanding of how fandom worked). It was an RP chat with like a dozen different rooms for different settings the characters could be in. But I wasn't old enough for the RP chats and I didn't know what they were doing really, so I only hung out in the OOC chat, and that was called The Space Bar, and there was usually only very loose RP in it and I mostly lurked because I was a small child and everyone else was like 15 to 21-ish, but SOMETIMES I would try to participate and I was very cringe and annoying because all I wanted to do was talk about anime [9:55 AM] So the dreams I have are in a literal bar that my child brain had the imagination to process as a real place and it's just a dream setting in my rotation

crowles — Today at 9:55 AM oh my goddddd I remember you talking about this, it sounds amazing, what an absolutely iconic 90's internet community experience [9:55 AM] I love how it's a dream setting [9:56 AM] they really felt like a real space though!! I remember having that same kind of imagination experience

Cavatica — Today at 9:56 AM Honestly, I might be... one of like, very few people in fandom who remember this. I know there were still some of them kicking around in Richard's Animorphs Forum

crowles — Today at 9:56 AM omg..... you're one of the old guard [9:56 AM] "do not cite the Deep Magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written" [9:57 AM] you're the Javik of Animorphs fandom [9:57 AM] oh my god i remember his name, I've been reading too much fanfiction

@c-rowlesblogs and I are, and have always been, extremely cool kids.

Also, I hope to god, if you were in Kimmeree's AniChat that you don't remember me. And if you do, I really hope the content I've created has made up for what an absolute annoying shit I was as a kid.

This has been the first, of perhaps many, confessions of a fandom senior citizen. Circa 1998.

[fleursocs]

Eileen Iris Crowle.

Vampire Diaries Fandom

❐ basic info

eileen crowle | ellie. e.

female | she/her | 25

january 8 | witch

❐ personality

ISTJ | chaotic neutral

capricorn | ravenclaw

❐ traits

dutiful | responsible

practical | loyal | stubborn

❐ paired with

elijah mikaelson

❐ face claim

ellie bamber