#he was made to play Benedick

[blueroses0403]

@waltzingdead you know this is my weakness

for man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.

david tennant as benedick much ado about nothing (2011)

[mariathechosen1]

Was Anyone But You a good Much Ado About Nothing adaptation? No, not at all, but fuck it was fun!

[flintmirandas]

kenneth branagh's adaptations of classic texts have come up a lot recently in my classes and like. why does this man have to cast himself as the lead/most important character in everything he directs

[breitzbachbea]

Oh no, I'm hung up on the TurGre now.

[anghraine]

I've been trying to peer pressure my bff into watching Much Ado About Nothing with me (my fave Shakespeare comedy), and he wanted to have everything in our house set up first etc etc. But he agreed to watch it yesterday and we had a lot of fun absolutely cackling at, well, almost everything.

I do think it's one of the most purely funny Shakespeare plays that are still really good, especially when performed/directed well. We were watching the Joss Whedon version—yes, I know, but I bought it back when it came out and it's still my favorite—and Nathan Fillion's Dogberry is an utter delight, and honestly there are a bunch of script and directorial choices that make it my favorite.

I particularly like Amy Acker's Beatrice: she can be charmingly witty, vulnerable and hurt, sweet and supportive, an adorable dweeb, and ferocious and hard as nails. The way her face changes in the grand romantic scene with Benedick is fantastic—there's this moment where you just see her features harden before she says "Kill Claudio" that I love. I also really loved how often she's visually framed with Hero in the later part of the story: sometimes literally holding her but often visually paired with her in a way that highlights her priorities.

Benedick is pretty good in this version, as well—not as impressive as Acker or Fillion, I'd say, but I like how Benedick initially seems to be a rather callous asshole only for him to be gradually revealed as the most profoundly decent man in the play—not that the competition is steep, but still—especially with regard to women, and how he's, well, also an adorable dweeb until it really matters, at which point he turns deadly serious. And I really like their dynamic once the story gets rolling.

I also love that it doesn't back away from how shitty Claudio is while keeping to the text of the play. He and Don Pedro seem the gentler, sweeter, more romantic characters early on, but the text itself becomes an indictment of them (and Leonato!). My best friend, who hasn't read this/seen another version of it in years, was just like "She's not wrong!" when Beatrice told Benedick to kill Claudio, and shouted "STAB HIM!!!" when Benedick confronts him :D

I really like the performance of Leonato, as well—the way this thus-far affectionate, mild seeming patriarch becomes the most proximate threat to Hero (it really feels like he might snap her neck at any moment) and only seems able to conceive of Hero as a potential victim when told so by other men is terrifying. And Hero herself has a sweetness and dignity but also charm that I enjoy in a character who can be a bit limp in performance.

I do prefer Keanu's Don John though, for peak unpopular opinions.

Of course, I was also reminded of my Pride and Prejudice is to Much Ado as Clueless is to Emma theory, haha. The Much Ado elements are thoroughly overhauled, rearranged, and modernized in plenty of ways, but I think P&P still draws a lot of raw material from it. And I think it's interesting to look at not just Elizabeth and Darcy as Beatrice and Benedick(/Don Pedro, since Darcy combines elements of both), but things like how Austen works to recuperate Claudio in Bingley (not altogether successfully IMO honestly, but a valiant effort that works well enough) and displaces the worst elements of his character onto Wickham. It's not the only influence but it's very striking.

(This is not an original observation, lol; the first time the comparison was made in print afaik was in a March 1813 review of P&P, which had only been published a few weeks earlier at the end of January.)

[mostlyblues]

In honour of his birthday, I'm going to rant about some of my favourite roles of the global treasure (yes, I'm promoting him from the ‘national’ status), David Tennant. Feel free to add your own.💙

Fourteen Doctor: This might seem like an odd choice to start with when there are popular choices like the Tenth Doctor and Crowley, but this character holds a very special place in my heart. I've been a fan of DT for about 6 years now and it started with Doctor Who. I love Ten but Fourteen is just more dear to me. Mostly because he made me excited again for one of my favourite TV shows. As a character, he has all the trademark qualities of the Doctor - the genius level intellect, endless compassion, and love for new adventures. But he is somehow more mature and softer, and I loved this development. Also, that blue coat and that (1) button - you know what I'm talking about.

Phileas Fogg: Such an underrated TV show. The chemistry of the trio, the adventures, the title sequence music - there's so much to love about this. And Fogg is such a real character. So far from perfect, this man will often appear as aloof, vain, self-absorbed and even a coward. But I think Phileas is one of the best roles ever played by Tennant. Yes, he's flawed but he's also intelligent, so incredibly kind, and yes, even brave. If you haven't watched this show, I highly recommend it.

Alec Hardy: So different from most other charming roles of DT, Hardy is a sad wet cat. He's grumpy, not nice, and just really tired of the world (who can't relate though?). His reluctant friendship with Ellie is one of the best parts of the grim show. And the fanfic lover in me can't stop screaming about how whumpable he is.

Crowley: I was going for the top three kind of ranking but the thin dark duke slithered his way over. And how can you not love Anthony J. Crowley? From this pure delightful joy while creating stars and nebulae (I can't get over David's face and the happy noises he makes in this scene) to his reluctant and vast love for his Angel and the earth, Crowley is very easy to fall in love with (take notes, Aziraphale. I know you love him but please use your words. Crowley, at least, tried). 

I wanted to add more characters, especially the Shakespearean ones (I love Hamlet, but Benedick has my heart), but the list won't simply ever end then. So, I'm just going to say name all the ones I love and end it here - Simon Yates (There She Goes), Dave Tyler (Single Father), Campbell Bain (Takin' over the Asylum), Harry Watling aka The Sexy Vicar (Inside Man, this show was so freaking stressful but I loved David's character), every single Shakespearean character he ever played (even the ones I haven't or probably won't ever get the chance to see - cries in Macbeth), and, of course, Scrooge McDuck (DuckTales).

So, thank you DT for gifting the world with some of the best, most adorable, wholesome, gender-enviable characters to ever exist. (Except for the creeps, freaks, and ruthless murderers, which we kind of love as well). Happy Birthday! 💙

[withasideofshakespeare]

Woah no way?? People (completely unprompted /s) want to hear my trans Shakespeare headcanons?? You bet I can do that.

I’ve done this once before:

But I have even more thoughts now!!

In no particular order:

Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Every single pronoun possible. He/she/they/it + all of the neopronouns and xenopronouns that exist currently or will ever exist. Fairy gender is always weird but Puck’s is extra weird.

Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Fairy gender. Probably he/they/it?

Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): More fairy gender. She/they/it?

Titania’s fairy attendants (Midsummer): Get a hat and fill it with various pronouns and draw them out at random for the fairies.

Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing): Could go either way, but I really like the idea of transfemme Benedick. Or he/him lesbian Benedick.

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing): The she/they to end all she/theys

Viola/Cesario (Twelfth Night): Could be trans in literally any direction. I made a post about this too at some point. My suggestion is all of the directions: they/she/he

Sebastian (Twelfth Night): He/him, transmasc. I also made a post about this at some point.

Feste (Twelfth Night): I saw a great she/her Feste last summer.

Orsino (Twelfth Night): Specifically the himbo variety of he/they

Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III): If I ever play Margaret, I will use she/they pronouns.

Catesby (Richard III): Just played Catesby with she/her pronouns and it worked!

Richard II (Richard II): Tell me Richard isn’t the most they/he or he/they guy alive (or… dead).

Hal (1 Henry IV-Henry V): Saw Hal played with she/they pronouns last summer and it was great. Could also see he/they Hal. Very nonbinary vibe overall. I personally believe that going by Hal rather than Henry for two whole plays is their way of pulling the “going by the first letter of what my name used to be instead of picking a name from scratch” nonbinary trick. He probably pretends to be cis after his dad dies and he becomes king—one more element of Hal’s lifelong identity crisis.

Hotspur/Harry Percy Jr. (Richard II & 1 Henry IV): He/they in denial.

Kate Percy (1 & 2 Henry IV): She/they, not in denial. (Also Katespur should be bi4bi)

Ned Poins (1 & 2 Henry IV): Transmasc Ned Poins?? Maybe he doesn’t actually have a sister and Nell is just his deadname. Ned Poins’ failed scheme to flirt with Hal.

Romeo (Romeo & Juliet): he/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Juliet (Romeo & Juliet): she/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet): they/he(/it?). Vibes alone. Look at them. Just look.

Nurse (Romeo & Juliet): she/her, transfemme!

Cassius (Julius Caesar): Would love to see a they/them Cassius

Hamlet (Hamlet): he/they. I’ve made multiple posts about this theory and I still love it.

Ophelia (Hamlet): she/they. As she should.

Laertes (Hamlet): she/him and NOT just because Laertes used she/her pronouns the first time I saw this play.

Rosencrantz (Hamlet): he/they/she. Vibes. Sometimes goes by Ros/Rose. Probably genderfluid.

Malcolm (Macbeth): they/he or they/them. Also vibes.

Lady Macbeth (Macbeth): stolen straight from my last post because this is still my HC: she/they; would insult you for “having pronouns in your bio” and then turn around and punch you in the face for using their pronouns incorrectly.

Angus (Macbeth): she/her, transfemme. (t4t Ross/Angus. I will die on this hill… Dunsinane Hill.)

Ross (Macbeth): he/him, transmasc

Caithness (Macbeth): she/they lesbian

Mark Antony (Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra): I would not bat an eye at he/they Mark Antony

Edmund (King Lear): they/he, nonbinary, sexiest man (/gn) alive.

Edgar (King Lear): he/him. Transmasc Edgar is slowly becoming canon To Me.

Cordelia (King Lear): she/her, transfemme.

Goneril (King Lear): she/they. I would let them kill me.

Coriolanus (Coriolanus): transmasc OR transfemme Coriolanus is!!!! The butterfly/metamorphosis motif! Name changes during canon! Discomfort with scars/body! Lack of autonomy granted by society! This is THE transgender play. (Other than Twelfth Night)

Imogen (Cymbeline): Tell me she doesn’t want to be a she/they so bad.

Florizel (The Winter’s Tale): he/they(/she?). Literally just a vibe. I have a pet rock named Florizel.

Perdita (The Winter’s Tale): she/they. I also have a pet rock named Perdita.

Ariel (The Tempest): Similar to Puck, probably they/she/he? Even my conservative English prof consistently rotates between she/her and he/him for Ariel (possibly not intentionally? I’m not convinced he knows what her canon pronouns are.)

Ferdinand (The Tempest): she/they. PLEASE give me transfemme Ferdinand. PLEASE let Miranda realize she’s a lesbian during canon.

Miranda (The Tempest): she/they. Ariel taught them about the existence of she/they pronouns and she immediately started using them.

So in other words… every Shakespeare character should be trans, actually.

[insanityclause]

EXCLUSIVE: Sigourney Weaver will make her West End stage debut as storm-creating sorcerer Prospero in The Tempest and Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell will play sparring lovers Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing when director Jamie Lloyd returns Shakespeare early this winter to the historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane, a landmark venue in Covent Garden owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Weaver, star of Ridley Scott’s Alien movies and James Cameron’s Avatar epics, last starred in one of Will’s plays when she played Portia in a 1986 off-Broadway revival of The Merchant of Venice. 

As a sophomore at Stanford in 1979, she played Goneril in a traveling production of King Lear. 

The star once revealed that she pretended “I was doing Henry V the entire time” she was playing Ripley in Alien. “I thought, ‘Well, as a woman, I’ll never be cast as Henry V, so this is my Henry V,” Weaver told New York magazine in a 2012 interview. 

“Sigourney knows her Shakespeare, she knows theater, and I  could not be more excited that she has agreed to play this role,“ Lloyd told Deadline.

He also said that he’s “thrilled” that “my dear friends Tom and Hayley” are headlining the romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing in his Jamie Lloyd Company Drury Lane Shakespeare season.

The first preview of The Tempest is December 7, and it runs through February 1.

The first Much Ado About Nothing preview is on February 10, and that runs until April 5.

Built in 1763, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane became a popular venue for performances of Shakespeare. David Garrick and the ancient thespian greats played the Bard’s work there.

Lloyd Webber and his LW Theatre company spent an estimated $77M on a superbly realized restoration of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and he’d noted several times that he wanted Shakespeare back at The Lane, as it’s affectionately known, because he fondly remembers at age 9 being taken to see Gielgud in The Tempest “and it clearly made an impression on him,” said Lloyd.

The two men formed a close bond when they worked together on the now-Broadway-bound Olivier Award-winning Sunset Boulevard starring an incandescent Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond.

“Andrew told me the story about Gielgud snapping Prospero’s staff on the last night and announcing that The Lane would be lost to musicals forever,” the director said.

Oklahoma! and other shows had preceded The Tempest, and it was to be immediately followed by My Fair Lady and many other musicals since.

One day, unexpectedly, the composer and impresario told Lloyd ,”Look, I’ve always wanted Shakespeare back at Drury Lane.”

Lloyd was shown around the theatre, was open to exploring “all the possibilities” and felt excited to be the first company to bring Shakespeare back to The Lane.

It made sense that The Tempest needed to be the one that marked the return.

Lloyd told us that he had an epiphany one night that Sigourney Weaver playing Prospero would “create theatrical electricity.”

He fired off an email Weaver’s agent, who responded that it was unlikely that she’d want to engage because Weaver hadn’t performed Shakespeare in public for over 30 years, and the last time she was on a stage was when she did Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in NYC in 2012.

The very next morning, Lloyd continued, ”There was an email in my inbox with the subject, “Hello from Sigourney.” And she wrote me this amazing email — really passionate, excited email. We got on Zoom straight away, and we had an amazing, inspiring conversation. She’s such a lovely, witty person. So insightful. She’d read the play, especially from a perspective of a woman playing Prospero. And that really excited her and it made sense and illuminated the play in new ways. And so she’s coming to make her West End debut at Drury Lane playing Prospero in The Tempest.”

He added that he kept coming back to Weaver’s performances “in all those iconic movies — Ghostbusters, Gorillas in the Mist, Working Girl, all of them.” 

Lloyd went a little bit fanboy and told her that he’d seen “Alien more times than any other movie. And I just thought, ‘How amazing would it be to work with someone that you’ve admired since you were a kid?’ Oh, wow. And to bring her to London. And again, it just feels like such an event.” 

The director believes that Weaver’s “commanding presence, huge charisma and that amazing power” is perfect to play Prospero. And that she can “clearly get into the complexity of the role” of this person “with delusions of vengeance, this kind of ruthless revenge against the people that have sent her away, to learning about forgiveness and love and compassion. There’s a real journey in that, isn’t there? And there’s a real internal struggle. And we talked about how a shipwreck can become a new kind of hope. Can’t there? I mean, really, that’s my sort of key thinking about the entire season, is that I just want this to be a really joyful season. And both of the plays are about the hope of the future and not dwelling on the past, maybe,“ he said. 

Lloyd added that he felt “honored” that Weaver even responded to his email because he thought “it bode so well in terms of just a direct email straight away; it’s very personal. As we know, sometimes people kind of do things through their teams and managers. But actually, she knows what theater is, and she knows it’s about relationships.”

Lloyd’s well aware of that too. 

He goes way back with Hiddleston, even further with Atwell.

Back in early 2019, Lloyd directed a hauntingly sublime version of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal with Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox at the Harold Pinter Theatre. It quickly transferred to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre for a limited run, where it was nominated for four Tony Awards.

Lloyd has remained close to his cast ever since.

Similarly with Atwell, who he directed in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s 2011 play The Faith Machine at London’s Royal Court Theatre. They reunited two years later in a revival of Kaye’s The Pride, in which Atwell excelled, at the Trafalgar Studios. The drama was an early example of Lloyd’s then-nascent Jamie Lloyd Company, which at the time was in partnership with ATG Entertainment.

He added that it’s “very meaningful” in terms of the season for him to be working with “those two old collaborators, they’re Jamie  Lloyd Company alumni. And I think they’re both two of the finest of our generation, aren’t they? And they know each other well. So there’s an instant chemistry between the two of them, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with for Benedick and Beatrice.”

Lloyd’s enjoyed watching Hiddleston and Atwell on screens both big and small. He mentioned Hiddleston’s performance in The Night Manager — he’s in the midst of shooting its sequel — and the actor’s adventures playing Loki in the various levels of the Marvel Universe. “And he still comes home to the theatre whenever he can,” Lloyd marveled.

Atwell soared in the Marvel Universe as well, plus she has been starring with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One and its follow-up Mission: Impossible 8. She was remarkable in a a revival of Rosmersholm, directed by Ian Rickson at the Duke of York’s in 2019, the year before she played Isabel for director Josie Rourke in Measure for Measure at the Donmar Warehouse. 

“So she’s the real deal,” Lloyd declared. “Both are, and they’re also both very witty people. … They’ve got this great intelligence, this great wit,” Lloyd observed, perfect qualities for Much Ado About Nothing, which he called “a joyful play.”

Although he complained that he has seen it played a touch too “broad.”

He said that it doesn’t need to be played at a “slapstick pace” to be fun. “The language in its own right is funny. I think they’ll be amazing sparring partners but also hint at that kind of tenderness under the surface.”

Both productions of The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing will be stripped back, and he will ponder with frequent collaborator Soutra  Gilmour on how the shows will look and feel. 

There’s a shipwreck in The Tempest, but Lloyd won’t reveal whether he’s tempted or not to place one on the Drury Lane’s boards.

However, unlike his Sunset Boulevard and Romeo and Juliet productions, he won’t be using video as part of the performance for the Drury Lane shows.

“They’ll be stripped down, but no video. I’m saving all the video energy for Sunset Boulevard on Broadway,” he explained.

The two Shakespeares will run between Disney’s Frozen, which closes September 8, and musical Hercules, which begins performances in summer 2025.

“That’s why the Shakespeare season is a strictly limited total of 16 weeks,” said Lloyd. He added that there have been no discussions about the plays being captured by the National Theatre’s NT Live cameras, nor has there been talk of transferring to Broadway. 

“I always just make something for the theatre in which it’s meant to be performed, and then we see the after that,” Lloyd said during a conversation at the Jamie Lloyd Company offices located in a wing of Somerset House on the Strand, literally a stone’s throw from the Drury Lane.

We first touched base about the possibility of Shakespeare at Drury Lane late last year and have kept talking, on and off, since.

All kinds of names were bandied about by a few in the know. “Tom Hanks,” someone gleefully told me. Wrong Tom, old boy.

“Margot Robbie,” another boasted. 

“It’s so funny. I’ve heard these names, “ said Lloyd, “but no, not true. I mean, I would love to work with Margot Robbie on a play. I think she’s remarkable, isn’t she? And she came to see A Doll’s House that we did with Jessica Chastain. And that would be a dream come true to work with her.”

However, he revealed that he had spoken to Robbie “a couple of times” but “not” about Shakespeare.

“I think, as I say, one day, she’d like to explore the idea of doing a play, but let’s see what happens,” he cautioned.

Lloyd soon heads back to New York to begin rehearsals for Sunset Boulevard.

He and Weaver plan to meet up while he’s there to discuss her Prospero. He noted that the name won’t switch gender to Prospera as happened with Julie Taymor’s 2010 film of The Tempest, where the revengeful noble magician was played by Helen Mirren.

“It will remain Prospero,” Lloyd insisted.

Rehearsals for The Tempest will begin in London on October 28, “literally a week after we open Sunset on Broadway,” Lloyd said. 

His Jamie Lloyd Company will produce the season alone without the participation of ATG Entertainment.

The 16-week Shakespeare season will feature 25,000 tickets for £25 [US$32] and they’ll be “ring-fenced exclusively” for under-30s, key workers and those receiving government benefits. He said that he’s “well aware” that in the past wealthier folk who can afford to pay steeper prices have taken unfair advantage and gobbled up specially priced cheaper seats.

“These are good seats too,” he beamed. But they will introduce new methods to ensure the cheap seats go to the “right people.”

Working on The Tempest at Drury Lane will sort of complete a circle of coincidence for Weaver. 

She’ll be taking on a role last performed there by Gielgud.

Her first Broadway credit in 1975 was to work on a revival of W. Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife, starring Ingrid Bergman.

Weaver worked as an assistant stage manager and understudy.

The production was directed by John Gielgud.

[bethanydelleman]

The more I read the more I just hate and abhore Claudio. He was very willing to believe Don John before proof was given of Hero's guilt, he even plotted revenge immediately. He has no remorse when he hears that Hero is dead, insults Leonato and Antonio instead of allowing them to defend Hero's honour, and then most despicable, when Benedick accuses him in earnest and challenges him to a duel, does a comedy routine with Don Pedro (I don't know why this bothers me the most, probably because it happens last).

And then he doesn't even really admit he was wrong! He says he only sinned in being mistaken, but that is not true.

Kind of wish the play ended with Benedick stabbing him through the heart and Beatrice spitting on his grave.

Biblical comparison below:

This is making me think of the story of Mary and Joseph and the contrast between Joseph and Claudio. Also what the "right" thing to do would have been.

Even if Hero did sleep with someone, the good man Joseph planned to divorce/break up his engagement with Mary quietly and not disgrace her. And he had absolute proof that Mary was unfaithful since she was pregnant and he hadn't slept with her yet. (He didn't know the father was God at that point).

Mary had made Joseph a promise, he believed she had cheated on him, and yet he chooses mercy and not revenge. Claudio likewise could have chosen mercy but instead he exposes Hero in the most public way possible.

Fuck him.

[muppetebbtide]

The classical world, the plays of Shakespeare, the Bible, every piece of literature and culture ever made, have all been burned to shreds in the nuclear fallout, lost to everyone except John and his excellent poetic memory. Sometimes he thinks it’s like that crap film, the one where everyone but that one guy forgot about the Beatles. Except instead of the Beatles, it’s all of human culture, ever. The names, the references— they mean nothing to anyone except him. He feels a certain responsibility, for blowing up the entire cultural canon. A shred of guilt. A shard. Sorry, William. Sorry, Geoffrey. Especially sorry, Jane. They exist only in his head, now, and in his friend’s names. -- (after the apocalypse, john resurrects and renames.)

(I am aware this is Not the 'griddlehark stuck as beatrice and benedick in magnus's amateur much ado about nothing production' AU I've been promising. sorry. I'm getting there.)

[jotun-philosopher]

Crowley & Much Ado About Nothing (a very silly half-a-meta)

I am convinced that Crowley's favourite Shakespeare play is Much Ado About Nothing! Why? Well:

He outright states that he "prefers the funny ones" in the Globe flashback in S1 -- MAAN is more or less a Tudor-era romcom and is absolutely frickin' hilarious

In modern times, he likes watching romantic movies (see above point), that soppy ol' snek <3

At one point in MAAN, during a big argument scene, Benedick takes the side of Beatrice over the opinions of other male characters -- in other words, treating her as an equal, which would've been rare indeed at the time it was written (and would also be something Crowley would approve of)

Beatrice and Benedick famously have epic volleying snark and blatantly false "I don't even like you!!!" going on -- sound familiar? ;P #LikeAnOldMarriedCouple

There was that one production a few years before the Apocaloops starring that talented Scottish guy who coincidentally looks a lot like Crowley -- probably made it easier for Mx. Besotted Snek to fantasise about getting into those sorts of capers with his angel >:D

And, because I am psychologically Aziraphale-shaped and therefore a bit of a bastard: A huge chunk of the plot of MAAN revolves around a loving couple (not B&B, tho) being cruelly broken up by the manipulations of a selfish dickhead villain before talking things out and happily reconciling -- sound familiar? *coughFinalFifteencough*

Mwahahaha! :D

[violivs]

NMTDaily: VOX POPS

- Hi all! I’m going to be rewatching along with TCWs NMTDaily and making posts about each episode, or as many as I can (I might miss some, but I hope not!)

- I want to start by saying thank you again to The Candle Wasters for making my favorite thing. Just, the amount of joy and creative fulfillment and friendship and delight I’ve gotten from this show and this fandom is still unmatched. Thank you so much for making it and sharing it. The love and care and skill with which NMTD was made still shines through and I’m still so awed by it. I think I was probably somewhat overdramatic about my reactions to Lolilo in places where you, TCW, could see, on my main blog, and you didn’t deserve that. I really hope I didn’t send you any aggressive asks about it, or make you uncomfortable in any way. I’m a little afraid I did, but I don’t know for sure. If I did, I apologize. I’m older and more mature now, I promise. I hope you’re all doing so very well now!

- I didn’t realize until today that Project I: VOX POPS was posted first, before any other video in the series. I didn’t start watching NMTD until right around the time Benedick’s first Q&A video was posted, so I binged the first chunk of episodes around that time. It will be interesting to watch them at a slower pace this time!

- I am immediately overwhelmed with warm fuzzies at seeing these characters again. They’re such babies! I love them!

- I never made a post about this, but Ben’s first line being about how he shares a (differently spelled) name with a Pope is both a great first line for him on a character level since he starts as kind of a cocky overconfident asshole (a cover for his soft sensitive insides) AND it’s evidence for my theory that he’s probably Catholic, but lapsed/non-practicing/maybe agnostic or atheist solely because I WILL keep projecting parts of me onto this character, it’s just what I do at this point. Other evidence: he has a confirmation name. We don’t get his full name til Lolilo, but still. And he’s partly Scottish, which can account for the fact that English people usually are not Catholic.

- “you need to imitate an eagle, that’ll scare them away!” That’s Ben’s second line and first bird reference! Already! Wow.

- The favorite band question! Mumford and Sons! Fife and the Drums! Sheep Dog and Wolf! The LORE! The REFERENCES! We’re already off to the races.

- “I don’t need chat-up lines” Beatrice I love you , and you have no idea what’s coming.

- I forgot about Beatrice’s Favorite T-Shirts Ranking System lol

- Extremely funny that Ben says bananas are his favorite food and then he goes on to become synonymous with mangoes instead. Sorry, buddy, you will always be Mango Skin Boy to us. xD

- I forgot how delightful Dogberry and Verges are in this episode

- “that you would leave me” oh Meg. Oh honey. Oh no.

- I’ve seen nine seasons of Doctor Who and only five episodes of Game of Thrones since 2014. Sorry Bea, I side with Ben on this one. And I’ve seen one season of Community. I’m slowly hacking away at the list of media referenced in nmtd that I need to watch!

- love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free! ❤️

- Balthazar plays every instrument, of course.

- Bea must not have an ear for music if she hated that question enough to force Ursula on-camera so she doesn’t have to answer it… Unless Ursula asked her something else she didn’t want to answer! Lol

- Ben makes me cringe so hard a couple times this episode. And yet I still love him. To be fair, that’s just every Benedick at the start of Much Ado, though. The cringy lines are completely in character.

- I decided to save the full story of how I discovered NMTD for whenever the NMTDaily email for Ben’s first Q&A episode goes out, because then it will actually be ten years almost to the day since I started watching. But I’m so impatient and excited to tell the story!

- It’s amazing how back then, these kids were my contemporaries and the Lizzie Bennet Diaries cast felt impossibly old compared to me. Now the NMTD kids are babies and I’m older than Lizzie Bennet! Trippy. It sure has been a nice ten years.

Until the next one! Happy NMTD Day, fellow flamangoes!

💖🥭🦩

[seasidesandstarscapes]

Much Ado About…Well, Everything

Summary: Roger falls in love while Chuck is waxing poetic

Rating: G

Genre: Canon Era, Falling in Love, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Slice of Life, Shakespeare References

Words: 1434

A/N: for @sparrow-in-the-field !!! It was so much fun writing these two. Thank you for the prompt!!

~

AO3

or

The shell house is abuzz when Roger gets there.

He didn’t think he had slept in that late, but everyone else is already there, voices colliding in an echoed din.

When Roger joins his team, a piece of paper is immediately shoved under his nose. Chuck’s grin is wide, bright, and Roger wonders if Chuck got any sleep the night before.

“Stub, Shorty, and I got the parts. You better be there,” Chuck all but throws the flier at Roger before bounding off to hand out some more.

Roger blinks, looks at the bold text, the obscene amount of exclamation points. He remembers the off-comment Roger made about trying out for the local theatre’s spring play, but he thought it was a joke.

“What part?” Roger asks when Chuck eventually takes his place next to him.

“Benedick. Shorty is Claudio, Stub got Leonato.”

Roger tries to think back to his high school English classes, but he never was one for Shakespeare.

“You’ll help me practice, won’t you?” Chuck smiles.

With a swallow, heart beating in his ears, Roger nods.

He’s not going to survive to opening night.

~

The thing is, Roger never meant to fall in love with Chuck.

In fact, he doesn’t know how it happened. One day Chuck was just a friend and the next, Roger couldn’t keep his head on straight.

Had Chuck’s smile always been that beautiful? Was his voice that deep this whole time? Roger turns on his head trying to figure it all out.

It doesn’t help that he has no one to talk to about this. He’s sure he’s the only one on the team who’s like this. The unspoken side of the world no one wants to acknowledge. So, he has to fester inside himself, try to deny his feelings.

Except, it’s harder than it looks. Chuck is so casual with his arm thrown about Roger’s shoulder. When they’re out drinking, Chuck doesn’t even think as he leans in close to speak in Roger’s ear over the blaring band in the corner.

Roger shivers as Chuck’s fingers dance along his neck.

“She’s a looker,” Chuck points to the singer, a blonde bombshell in a form fitting dress.

She is pretty, Roger can see that, but it doesn’t stop the envy in his chest. “Yeah, she probably has a boyfriend already.”

“Yeah,” Chuck sighs wistfully. “Ah, well. We’ll find our girls someday, won’t we, Rodge?”

Roger knows there won’t be anyone but Chuck. At least not for many years. He forces a smile, nods before taking a sip from his drink.

Chuck has taken to rubbing circles in Roger’s shoulder now. It’s maddening, but Roger doesn’t move away. For just a little while he can pretend this is something more.

They take a few minutes to enjoy the bar scene, people-watching the variety of couples, bright colors against the dim lamplight. Roger sees one woman lay her head on her man’s chest as they’re dancing and his heart aches.

He won’t ever have that chance. He won’t know love like she does.

“Thinking about stealing her away?” Chuck’s voice rumbles in Roger’s very soul.

Roger closes his eyes, inhales sharply. Chuck’s breath tickles his ear and Roger thinks he feels lips just graze the outline.

“Thinking I should be getting back,” Roger mutters. “We. Practice tomorrow.”

Chuck gives a small laugh, slaps Roger on the back. “Ever the wise one. Shall we?”

Getting to his feet, Chuck throws his coat over his shoulder, raises a brow at Roger. Nodding, Roger shoves on his hat and follows.

They walk back to the dorms in relative silence and thank god for that. Roger’s mind is abuzz, all he wants is to just tell Chuck the truth. But then everything would fall apart.

When they reach their respective rooms, Roger looks back and freezes when he sees Chuck doing the same.

“Night, Roger,” Chuck all but purrs.

Roger uses all his strength to stop his knees from buckling, steadies himself on the door. “Night, Chuck.”

He rushes into his room, slams the door shut which makes Joe lift his head just a little from his bed. He mutters something but falls back asleep to Roger’s relief.

In the darkness, Roger finally takes a breath. He’s in a losing battle and he doesn’t know what to do. So, he trudges over to his dresser, gets ready for the night.

Maybe a good night’s rest will help.

~

“Alright,” Chuck slams down a thick booklet in front of Roger. “I need help.”

Roger glances from the table to Chuck. Here he was just having a nice moment in the sun room and now Chuck’s come to disturb the peace. Not that Roger is truly mad at him.

“Thought you were rehearsing with Stub and Shorty,” he frowns.

“Yeah, but they aren’t cutting it and I can’t get this part right.”

Roger doesn’t trust this excuse but he picks up the script anyway and flips through the pages. The amount of lines Chuck has is astounding and Roger’s stomach flips. How he must sound on stage, his voice shaking the auditorium, reverberating in everyone’s hearts.

“Which,” Roger clears his throat. “Which part?”

Chuck takes the script from Roger’s hand, turns to the last few pages. “From here.”

Roger raises his brows but starts where Chuck instructed. Chuck is a natural, he has all his lines perfect, even his cues, so what his plan is underneath all this is beyond Roger.

“Soft and fair, Friar. Which is Beatrice?”

“I answer to that name. What is your will?” Roger winces.

His reading is stilted but in his defense, he’s not supposed to be a masterful actor.

“Do you not love me?”

Roger pauses, glances up at Chuck. He forgets the script, swallows as Chuck stares right into his eyes.

He does. With all his heart.

Then, Roger shakes himself, tries to get back to the lines.

“Why no; no more than reason.”

Shakespeare himself is taunting Roger and if he could go to England, he’d do it in an instant to yell at the dead man.

“Why, then your uncle and the prince and Claudio have been deceived; they swore you did,” Chuck makes his way over to the couch, oh so slowly sits next to Roger.

“Do…do you not love me?” Roger stumbles over the line.

This is all too real. His heart threatens to burst out of him, the script crumpling in his tight grip.

“Troth, no; no more than reason.”

The next moment is a dream. Chuck leans in, his breath gracing Roger’s lips. Roger knows they shouldn’t, knows he should push him away but he just can’t. He wants this so much, he’ll destroy everything just to have Chuck.

He sighs when Chuck kisses him. It’s just like he thought. Chuck is harsh, but calm, guiding Roger through their bated breaths.

Roger falls easily, melts when Chuck takes his face in both his hands. They follow each other in their embrace, a reluctance to part until they absolutely must.

“How long?” Roger asks as their foreheads press together.

“I don’t know,” Chuck admits, voice just above a whisper. “Maybe always.”

Roger nods, covering one of Chuck’s hands with his own. He’s going to wake up any minute now. But as the seconds pass, Chuck doesn’t fade. They’re still in the sun room, the script long forgotten on the floor.

“Your…,” Roger points to it. “What about your lines?”

Chuck laughs, bright and loud, pulling Roger into a tight hug. “Rodge, opening night is next week. I think I’d be in deep shit if I didn’t have my lines all but perfect.”

Roger’s eyes go wide. It was a ploy after all. He’s not mad though. If this is what gets Chuck by his side, then Roger loves him all that much for it.

He joins in with Chuck’s laughter, loves the way Chuck stares into his eyes. The calloused hands on his skin are perfection and Roger wonders how he ever lived until this moment.

With a devilish grin, Chuck leans in close to Roger, breath hot on his ear.

“But…we can always rehearse some more,” Chuck murmurs.

Roger bites his lip, soaks in Chuck’s rich, tantalizing voice. With just one nod, they scramble from the sun room, tear off to Roger’s dorm. Joe’s always out with Joyce after all. As Chuck pulls him into another kiss, Roger flies into the clouds.

Sitting in the crowd next week will be torture but at least Roger will know that all the love Chuck recites will be for him and him alone.

[astudyinchocolate]

On Perc'ahlia and Much Ado About Nothing

Inspired by this poll by @enchantedmerry .

Much Ado has a sizeable lead in the poll, and I have thoughts, as I am not immune to Much Ado. Why is there such a big crossover between that and Perc'ahlia? It's the disaster bisexual energy, yes. But it's also about the wit and the wordplay, it's about slowly lowering your defenses and showing your vulnerabilities as another person earns your trust. And neither pairing would have gotten together if not for an inadvertent love confession. Whoops!

Beatrice and Benedick are the smartest people in any room. They're the only ones who can keep up with each other, which is why Beatrice is disappointed early in the play when Benedick backs off their banter with a joke.

Percy quickly recognized Vex as the most intelligent of Vox Machina. They saw each other as a kindred spirit, and they can keep up with each other's wit.

Much like Beatrice and Benedick, they both have their own walls and fears and trust issues. Their walls have walls. Vex is able to see through Percy's literal and metaphorical masks to what's really going on underneath. (also masks, masked ball in Much Ado, hiding your true selves... another connection).

In a deeply vulnerable moment for Vex, Percy steps up to help her against her father. No one had done something like that for her before except for her brother. Vex does not trust or open up easily, but acts like that are Percy's "challenging Claudio to a duel" moments. He goes all in on her side after Vex shares her fears and was probably the most upset he's ever seen her. She asks Percy to be by her side in Syngorn, but he does even more than that. That said, even though they get closer over the campaign, neither of them would have made a move if not for Vex's confession.

Beatrice and Benedick only get together after their friends say they're in love with each other. They need that level of security to jump in at all. Even then, it's Benedick who has to make a move, and Beatrice shies away- she denies her feelings several times and clearly has trust issues. Similarly, Vex wouldn't have said a damn thing if Percy hadn't died. Even then, she only confessed her feelings when she thought he couldn't hear her. And in Draconia, she shares a lot of things with Percy but backs off in a moment when you would expect her to admit her feelings.

Like Benedick does several times in Much Ado, Percy has to be the one to make a move, and HE only did it because he heard her confession! Both couples needed to hear that the other loved them so they felt comfortable enough to express their feelings. Otherwise these sets of idiots may have been dancing around this issue and their own feelings for much longer.

So yeah, I don't think it's a coincidence that Much Ado About Nothing is a popular choice for Perc'ahlia enjoyers. With Hamlet right behind it because, you know, angsty revenge quest.

[fiercynn]

too wise to woo peaceably (bad buddy + much ado about nothing)

i was talking recently with @ranchthoughts about our feelings about bad buddy and theatre, and i was reminded of how the wonderful @ryfkah once wrote on dreamwidth about the parallels between patpran and beatrice & benedick from much ado about nothing! much ado is absolutely my favorite shakespeare play, so ryfkah’s comparisons have lived in my head rent-free since they made their post a year and a half ago:

I actually want to switch gears from Romeo & Juliet and talk a little instead about Beatrice and Benedick. Pat & Pran do not have the exact energy but are definitely B&B-adjacent -- first of all, in that all the habitual patterns of their interactions are set firmly to Bickering and Bravado, but second and more important in that the bickering and bravado already have a huge weight of feeling and history behind them at the time that we enter the narrative. This is the thing, I think, that a lot of other variants on this style of snappy, outwardly antagonistic God I Hate That Person [I Do Not Hate That Person] miss: what makes Beatrice & Benedick work is that we have enough glimpses of context from the dialogue to know that they know each other extremely well, they've cared about each other in the past, and no matter how much they argue they do in fact still care about each other enormously in the present. Likewise, the thing that makes Bad Buddy really fun, for me, is that the events of the show absolutely do not depict not the first time that Pat and Pran have gone from rivalry through cahootship to the realization that they are not only required by circumstance to be obsessed with each other but actually genuinely like each other as people -- this has all happened before, and ended badly. The show begins right after the only period of their life that they've spent not defining themselves against each other, so when they meet once again in a position of nonsense forced rivalship the tension between them has a really different weight to it: Pat is like 'hey, we missed our shot last time but we can do a speedrun! we have a chance to do this again! :D' while Pran, significantly more self-aware about the fact that what they achieved on the last go-round was not just Unfortunately Thwarted Friendship but Powerful Homoerotic Tension with a side of Miserable Romantic Pining, is like 'god I cannot believe that we are here again, constructing intricate rituals AGAIN.' [x]

which gave me a lot of thoughts as well! putting below the cut since it gets a little long.

building off ryfkah's post: one of the things people either seem to love or hate about much ado is its massive tonal shift in the middle. the play starts off with pure shenanigans – battle-of-the-wits banter, using a masquerade ball to pretend to be other people, “let’s try and match-make our friends who hate each other by having them ‘overhear’ conversations about how the other is in love with them!” – classic comedy stuff. and then you get to claudio and hero’s wedding and everything goes to shit.

the interesting thing is that the impact of the shenanigans isn’t negated by the dramatic shift – beatrice and benedick are still, technically, “tricked” into confessing to each other, because each of them goes into their confession thinking the other is already pining away for them. but their confessions happen in a scene where the stakes have been raised already: beatrice is furious about at the defamation of her cousin by claudio and hero’s subsequent heartbreak. beatrice and benedick’s banter falls away, not only into expressing their love, but with beatrice’s conviction, stated plainly, that benedick should kill his best friend. and benedick, though conflicted, agrees to challenge claudio unless he recants the insult he’s done to hero, because beatrice has asked it of him. when performed well, it’s an incredibly raw and impactful scene, and one that always sticks with me. and there's a sense that the trickery by their friends operates mostly as a cover for them to say out loud what they've already been feeling – both the good and bad parts of that, the love and the pain, the confessions and the demands. people who were truly tricked into loving each other by shenanigans wouldn't be this honest with each other at this point, and wouldn't go this far.

i'm not going to claim that there are super direct plot parallels between bad buddy and much ado, and obviously the stakes and level of gravity are very different, but i do get some similar feelings watching both? especially when rewatching the beginning and remembering how silly it is, which i think is absolutely intentional just as it is in much ado. because then, when bad buddy allows pat and pran to reveal their deep connection by letting the banter fall away – when things get serious enough between them that they’re taken out of their “nonsense forced rivalship”, as ryfkah says – it hits even harder.

i'm thinking of pat saying, “i don’t like it. i hate to see you play [the song] with someone else,” on the rooftop, and the way that pran’s been playing their usual game in that conversation thus far, using sarcasm and indifference as his defense, until pat’s honesty makes his expression shift into pain, before he responds in kind with, “pat, you’ve got to stop doing to me.” (@ranchthoughts and @dudeyuri talk beautifully and in-depth about those two lines here.) and again, in episode 6, on the first night of the architecture volunteer trip: pat’s been playing all day, trying to goad pran into talking to him, but when it’s just the two of them on the beach in the dark, pat says, “we’re talking now?”, the hurt clear in his voice, and pran’s face changes again, because he gets out serious pat is now.

and then, of course, we get back to shenanigans soon enough, because those intricate rituals that they build together are important to them: that’s how they talk to each other, and how they have fun together, and the fun is just as crucial to their relationship as the heartfelt moments when they can be there for each other. the second half of bad buddy is so enjoyable to watch because we get to see how their dynamic doesn’t change after they get together, which is a confirmation that they always had a deep and meaningful relationship, even when it was mostly expressed through banter: they just get to say more of it out loud now, when they need to. extremely beatrice and benedick-coded tbh.

[the-woild-is-ya-erster]

UM WEST END NEWSIES????

so I saw the Wembley Park Theatre production last night and if u don't wanna be spoiled dni

But if you have no chance of seeing it here are some of the little details <3

First of all the casting was perfect???

Michael Alomka dove into a more sensitive part of Jack - and it was super interesting

Katherine was so much more headstrong and it was suchhhh a new flavour of her - Katherine has never been one of my favourite characters but god she was so strong and wild and unduly it was brilliant.

Ryan Kopel as Davey has to be my standout tho - he seemed much younger in the role than BF did, and much more uncertain and afraid - I loved it - and his development oh my god he became boisterous and ahhhhhhhhh

Docket as Crutchie was brilliant he was much less happy-go-lucky than AKB was and oh it worked - he was frustrated and angry and real.

AND Crutchie played a much larger role in the leadership of the strike here!! Just through little interactions and stuff but it was coooollll and he even seemed to form a friendship with both Kath and Davey

Even the kid playing Les was brilliant and I usually don't like Les all that much - but the kid I saw was brilliant

KATHERINE WORE A CROWN MADE OF SPOONS IN KONY

The Newsies would swing out on lamps and ropes over the audience and oh my godddddddd

THE BROOKLYN NEWSIES WERE GIRLS (and it added balance since earlier they'd been the bowery beauties so it changed them up and showed the power of women plus finally included girls in the strike, sometbing 1992 and bway missed) AND THEY WERE SO GOOD

Jack and Katherine had Beatrice and Benedick vibes from Much Ado - that's the only comparable thing, they were so brilliant and the chemistry was so goooodddd

Ngl it probably didn't have enough Javid content for you addicts.

Butttt there was a hug when Jack tells Davey they won the strike that is so good. Davey can't retain himself, he jumps and hugs Jack and then picks up and whirls around Les

'we are inevitable' was delivered PERFECTLY I can't even explain

There are so many stunts and jumps and tricks and we all knew the dancing was gonna be perfect but dear god it still got me

And finally, my favourite thing, THE SET

I was sitting stage right in Woodside (I think) and if u can get tickets like that it is so worth it. The actors are running up behjind and beside you

There's even a little slide for the escape from snyder

And they utilise the scaffding part of the set super well

There are lamps that lifted up for ariel tricks

And so much more

Even a fuckin zip line!!!!!!!

okay you've nearly made it to the end

There were a fewwww lyric changes buttt the orchestrations were changed quite a lot to make room for more dance and honestly? I think I prefer broadway music wise

THEY ALL STAND UP AND SAY THEIR NAMES IN SEIZE THE DAY <3

The Pulitzer's set was built in newspapers to show class and how the Newsies have built their entire empire etc

And all the set was moved on and off by the Newsies, too, again to show class and how the Newsies (and working kids) run the world, really

Finally

Yes, Race was perfect.