A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
Quick break from Shakespeare today to relate one of my most embarrassing theatrical oversights.
This comic appears courtesy of my supporters on Patreon! Thanks to all of them for helping make it possible for me to spend my time drawing Shakespeare stick figure comics.
We’re back with the remaining four productions on the Ohio Light Opera 2019 playbill, starting with a classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, possibly the first theatrical piece I memorized as a small child. Because… pirates.
Everyone knows Rodgers and Hammerstein, but Hammerstein did a lot of work with Kern before he really figured out how to effectively integrate these things called “plots” into a musical (Show Boat notwithstanding). Here’s one of their earlier efforts:
A season at OLO wouldn’t be complete without some csardas-fueled Emmerich Kalman (a personal favorite of mine).
And finally, for those fans of hopelessly melodramtic, multi-generational tales of foiled romance, we have this incredibly florid offering from Ivor Novello (aka Jeremy Northam in Gosford Park).
I’m looking forward to seeing all of these next month!
Short break from Shakespeare this week! The Ohio Light Opera, my favorite obscure operetta and early musical theatre festival, is about to open their season this weekend! To celebrate, I’m taking a look at their playbill, starting with some (relatively) heavy hitters.
First up, a Rodgers & Hammerstein classic.
Fun fact: I, a mixed race child of Asian and Caucasian parents, was well into my twenties before I realized Nellie’s problem with Emile was miscegenation. Apparently, I am totally clueless.
Next, some fluffy Gershwin!
I love me some Gershwin, so I am looking forward to this. I’ve seen Crazy For You, the updated, “new and improved” version of Girl Crazy, but I’ve never seen the original.
And now, the opposite of fluffy Gershwin: serious Sondheim.
Tune in Thursday for the rest of the OLO 2019 season, featuring a Gilbert & Sullivan classic and a bunch of REALLY OBSCURE stuff.
I’m still playing catch-up, so here are some MORE Stratford Festival comics!
Here is Eduardo de Filippo’s Napoli Milionaria:
And this one needs no introduction:
Next week I will be giving a talk at Washington College in Maryland! Here are the details:
WHO: Me!
WHAT: A talk about Good Tickle Brain, Shakespeare, humor, and the meaning of life. Possibly.
WHERE: Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, Washington College, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620
WHEN: Wednesday, October 3, 4:30pm
WHY: Because it'll be SO MUCH FUN!
I’m still recovering from my trip to the Stratford Festival (and preparing for my trip to the East Coast next week - details at the end of today’s post), so here are a few more production photo summaries from Stratford’s 2018 season!
Rocky Horror was really hard to summarize, folks. I’m still not sure what it was about. But it was FUN.
So, next week I will be giving a talk at Washington College in Maryland! Here are the details:
WHO: Me!
WHAT: A talk about Good Tickle Brain, Shakespeare, humor, and the meaning of life. Possibly.
WHERE: Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, Washington College, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620
WHEN: Wednesday, October 3, 4:30pm
WHY: Because it'll be SO MUCH FUN!
I will also be visiting the American Shakespeare Center for the first time later that week! I am so excited. The ASC has been on my to-visit list for YEARS now.
Anyways. That’s why I’m behind in absolutely everything right now.
It's almost opening week for the Ohio Light Opera! I'm looking forward to going to Wooster later in the summer to get my annual light opera and early musical fix, but for now, here's a rundown of their entire season.... starting with Adler and Ross's classic musical about sleepwear and industrial action!
Next up is a Rodgers and Hart classic that was turned into a classic-but-totally-unrecognizable film adaptation starring Mickey & Judy, featuring free-range theatre kids attempting to PUT ON A SHOW.
Next up, a Cole Porter musical. As with most Cole Porter musicals that are not Anything Goes or Kiss Me Kate, I know lots of the songs in this one, but have never heard of it before.
No Ohio Light Opera season would be complete without a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta.
I'm excited about OLO's first Leonard Bernstein production, especially because it's Candide. It has an AWESOME OVERTURE.
You can almost always guarantee that an Offenbach operetta is going to be silly, but La Perichole actually seemed comparatively sedate by his standards... until it gets to Act 3.
And finally, a Lehar operetta. These are generally either moderaetly fluffy or somewhat self-importantly bittersweet and romantic. Fortunately, this is firmly in the first category.
Looking forward to seeing all this good stuff on the stage on the Freedlander Theatre later this summer!
It's that time of year again... The Stratford Festival's opening is just around the corner and it's time to take a look at their playbill for the season. Here we go!
First up we have a classic musical that needs no introduction.
Then some Shakespeare! This production of The Tempest has a female Prospero, so... ignore the beard.
Then it's everybody's favorite sci-fi/comedy/horror rock musical!
Then a stage adaptation of a classic book.
The following is possibly the production I'm most excited about. By all accounts this is going to be an extremely cinematic and visually stunning production of an underrated Shakespeare play.
Let's lighten things up with some Oscar Wilde. No, not the one with the handbag. It's the one with all the letters.
I knew nothing about the following Italian play, which is getting a new translation at Stratford this season. It seems to be half rollicking riotous comedy and half cynical dark comedy. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
This season's production of Julius Caesar features some great gender-neutral casting, with Caesar and Cassius, among others, being played by female actors. Very excited about this.
DISCLAIMER. The following two plays are NEW plays, which means I don't have any idea what they will actually be like. What I do know, though, is the source material they are based upon. And so I present....
...and, with a similarly literary bent, we have...
One more Shakespeare! This one looks like it's going to be quite the production, with male/female Antipholi and Dromios.
Finally we have this entry from what I call "The American Canon of Miserable Families Being Miserable", by Eugene O'Neill.
SOUNDS LIKE FUN!
But in all seriously, I'm very much looking forward to this season at the Stratford Festival. Maybe I'll see you there!
It's "Stay Sane September"! That means I'll be sharing some of my "greatest hits" from social media and Patreon to keep you entertained while I take the month off in order to avoid burnout, take some theatre trips, and get caught up on various tasks and projects that I have been neglecting.
Today's installment features YET MORE photo comics cobbled together from the Stratford Festival's official production photos, starting with Guys & Dolls:
Then The Komagata Maru Incident, based on a rather dark chapter in Canada's history:
The ludicrously complicated and madcap The School For Scandal:
Then The Madwoman of Chaillot:
And finally, a new play by Kate Hennig, The Virgin Trial:
I missed Bakkhai. I'm very sorry about that.
WHO: Me! Again!
WHAT: Talk followed by Q&A on the development of Good Tickle Brain and approaches to making Shakespeare accessible to new audiences.
WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 7:30pm
WHERE: The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning
WHY: Because they have a cool Shakespeare exhibit going on right now!
HOW: Reserve a FREE ticket at the Cincy Museum website!
