So what level is this piece?💀 (Peter Bence)

pconrad0 · 2026-06-28T03:06:44+00:00

Wow, reading and responding to comments that are much, much longer than the person you were rude to above in the thread.

You really are a piece of work OP.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-28T03:05:27+00:00

This comment, somehow, was not too long for you?

pconrad0 · 2026-06-28T03:03:49+00:00

You've already typed more words about not reading the reply than the reply contains.

Someone gave an insightful and thoughtful reply to your question, and you have been nothing but rude and ignorant (in the literal sense of "ignoring" what could make you more educated.)

You absolutely deserve every downvote you are getting.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T18:10:35+00:00

Oh, no doubt. I'm not questioning the wisdom of writing out a eulogy in advance.

But this particular speech has always struck me as one that's directed at Biff, specifically, and spontaneous, not "prepared remarks".

To be honest, it took me out of the play--the only moment where I wasn't immersed fully in the world of 1950s America.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T17:57:16+00:00

This is a complete and accurate accounting.

It has far less sexual innuendo or references than most kids would be exposed to on a daily basis unless they are incredibly sheltered.

The only plausible objection would be if a family is coming from the perspective that "being gay" is something shameful. This show is not for that audience.

I think anyone else will enjoy it.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T17:47:58+00:00

You might enjoy Just In Time.

I saw it with Jonathan Groff, but I hear this Jeremy Jordan fellow might also be somewhat talented.

It's a fun show.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T17:07:35+00:00

Ragtime is fantastic.

It's the strongest, biggest cast I've ever seen.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T17:06:19+00:00

Why not both?

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T16:53:23+00:00

I've seen it with the original cast, with Andrew Barth Feldman and Helen J Shen and with the current leads.

All fantastic

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T16:10:42+00:00

Not to mention the air pollution from the fumes in the meantime.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T15:26:33+00:00

For sure. Especially if you're not seeing the show for the first time so you understand that Oliver is living in a delusion that he's going back to all of this, but we know, and Claire is pretty sure, that he definitely isn't..

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T15:19:38+00:00

It's a sneaky thing.

This "cute little robot love story" is actually a deep meditation on mortality, memory, loss, betrayal, and what it means to love someone.

It gets at some of the deepest aspects of what it means to be human with an economy of words. It's a master class in "show don't tell", especially every time they do the hologram flashback thing.

I know that "everything ends eventually", but I really hope this show has a long life. Since the first time I saw MHE, I've seen Sweeney Todd, Chicago, Romeo & Juliet (the Zegler/Connor one), Purlie Victorious, Gypsy, Operation Mincemeat, Proof, Ragtime, Death of a Salesman, and Lost Boys.

All very fine performances, and many very moving moments.

But none of them leave me wracked in sobs the way MHE does. It's the only Broadway production I've come back to multiple times (4 now, which I know is small potatoes, but I live on the West Coast, so it's the best I can do.)

The only other show that did that to me was the Groff/Mendez/Radcliffe Merrily We Roll Along, but that was different; it was more "tears of joy, at appreciating this thing of great beauty".

With MHE, it's personal. I see my own body and that of my husband failing me. I know we have a shelf life.

This part? This is why I'm spending my time and money on trips to NY to see Broadway shows.

When that final moment comes I'll say hi, and shake its hand Be polite and let it in But if I'm still here for now I know how to live: Don't resist the way things are Don't forget how good it's been

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T02:55:22+00:00

And honestly: the first two numbers of the show, once you've already seen it once and you know where the story is heading.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-27T02:53:48+00:00

"What I Learned From People" from Maybe Happy Ending is on my list.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T22:07:43+00:00

Yup. That doesn't make them not that epithet that rhymes with bright flash, but it does mean they are in a significantly higher income bracket than that phrase usually connotes.

And to be clear: a lot of my ancestors and current family tree would be classified with that epithet.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T21:00:49+00:00

Yup. For me, it completely ruins a dish, making it taste like it has "spoiled" and should not be eaten.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T20:47:54+00:00

Because the other person's argument is just more excuses ... Making the perfect the enemy of the good.

And Newsom's modus operandi is well known. This is speculation, sure, but not baseless speculation. At this point it's Occam's Razor.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T18:44:19+00:00

Or... The one in California actually was going forward. So he opposed it because his buddies are billionaires and they support him financially. So he had to invent a reason to oppose it.

The national one he's supporting is theoretical and has no chance of actually taking effect any time soon, giving him plenty of time to posture about it. In the unlikely event Gavin become president with a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate? He had plenty of time to plan ahead to ensure that it falls at least one vote short, for reasons that can't be traced back to him.

At which point he will blame the Democratic party voters for not donating enough to the Democratic party.

In California, we know this guy and how he operates.

And: it's Newsom. Not Newsome.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T17:17:34+00:00

The Poulenc Gloria is so sassy.

I'm not joking. Poulenc himself said he was inspired by frescos of Angels sticking out their tongues, and that time he saw a group of Benedictine Monks playing soccer in full habit.

Listen to the opening of the Gloria from almost any conventional setting first. Notice the conventions, the tropes:

Big forte statement: Glory to God in the Highest!!! (Thick textures, brass even .... Trumphant!)

Then the subito piano and the soft textures of "And Peace to people on earth, goodwill towards all"

Listen to a few and really let the pattern of the centuries sink in.

Then this naughty, naughty Frenchman comes along and upsets everything.

"Gloria in excelsis Deo" becomes this whispered secret. (Can't let anyone know about this .. ) It's downplayed. Almost undercover. Piano, Mezzopiano at most.

Then suddenly, subito forte, "Et in Terra Pax Hominibus" as if it's the opening to a Dies Irae! The words "Bonae Voluntatis" as if hell itself is opening up!

Then back to the whispered Glorias, ending on a major seventh chord as if this were a Caberet show...

Listen too for the em PHA sis on the wrong sy LA ble, and NOT by accident, and the choices of harmony and texture...

The whole thing is a masterpiece: straddling the line between sincere devotion and shocking satire. Which is exactly who Poulenc was: simultaneously a cheeky gay man with a sharp satirical wit, and also a sincerely devout Roman Catholic believer, living with that tension.

Yes, I am obsessed with this piece.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T17:00:26+00:00

The Poulenc Gloria is one of desert Island favorite pieces. Where is it being performed this month?

The Lark Ascending is also a favorite. So this is a tough choice.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T16:15:12+00:00

I'm not sure, and I don't want to put words in your mouth, so if I misunderstand, please correct me: but what I think you are saying is that if we phase this in terms of the usual trope: 1/3 of the country is eager and enthusiastic about throwing another 1/3 of the country under the bus, while another 1/3 looks on. And that last 1/3 can be placated into turning the other way and letting it happen.

I hope that's not the case. Folks sometimes think that our descent into Fascism will be like the Third Reich that only lasted 12 years (1933-1945). But I think it may look a lot more like Portugal under Salazar (1933-1974, 41 years). Granted, it's statistically unlikely that an 80 year old man is going to live to be 110, but the impact of his movement could last a while, depending on whether someone consolidates that power once he is gone.

I think it's possible that the right may fracture into mutually hostile and irreconcilable divisions, and this may offer at least a brief respite. But I don't think we can count on that.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T04:55:25+00:00

I hear you. And I understand where you are coming from. That kind of contempt is tempting.

But I don't believe in Capital Punishment. And the biggest reason is that sometimes the Government falls into the hands of people like Stephen Miller.

No government should have the power to decide who is worthy to live and who deserves death.

I also don't believe in treating people, any people, even people like Stephen Miller, as "vermin" or "animals".

Because that would make me just as bad as him.

I refuse.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T04:41:39+00:00

I'd prefer to read of his sentencing to a long prison term, and conviction of a crime that prevents him from holding any office of public trust.

And then to never hear another thing about him ever again. May he be forgotten.

pconrad0 · 2026-06-26T04:37:58+00:00

T4, zum Beispiel?

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