The show must go on, Satine!

[mypartnerintime]

Who: Lovers of musicals, and people who are dragged along
Where: 3rd floor tea room
When: Saturday July 9, 8:00pm to 12:30am
Rating: Depends on the thread. Please put warnings as appropriate!
Summary: Two musicals in one night! Moulin Rouge for the people who believe in love stories; Sweeney Todd for the sickos. It's a mingle, so go ahead and post top-level comments and tag around!
The Story:

On Friday, July 8, at around 7:00pm a text goes out to all Wonderlandians Wonderdudes Wonderlies Wonderland people:

Showing Moulin Rouge! and Sweeney Todd tomorrow night at 8:00pm and 10:30pm respectively, at the 3rd floor tea room! Moulin Rouge is a very silly musical about Paris cabaret and love, while Sweeney Todd is a graphic musical about evil^tm and love (when you think about it).

Sorry, but no kids below 13... And if you're watching Sweeney Todd and are below 18, you have to bring an adult who can vouch for your ability to not be seriously disturbed by gore and Johnny Depp. 1 adult = 1 teen only, please! (Yes, Wonderland years count.)

...Come on guys, bear with me here I'm trying to not get in trouble. -_-

Saturday evening comes around and the third floor tea room has been revamped once again! (Yes, it took her twenty-four hours to set this up. Come on, she's one scrawny geek with a lazy punk helper.) It's large enough to accommodate a bigger crowd, with couches, beanbags, and multiple side tables laden with all sorts of snacks (popcorn bowls, hotdogs in buns, soft drinks, juice, and other kinds of typical teenager junk food). A screen has been positioned higher up on the wall so everyone can see it, with a projector discreetly placed on a tall podium near the other end of the room, and speakers hidden throughout the entire area. The air is cold but there's comforters spread around for whoever wants to use them them. The decorations (quite a few curtains!) are gaudy, full of bright colors and shiny small lights, reminiscent of the olden cabarets. Mingling even during the movies is obviously encouraged given the proximity of seats to one another and the altogether underground and casual air of the venue, but if you raise your voice expect a collective annoyed "Shh!" in your direction.

The numerous lights are dimmed (it takes Max a while of fumbling, but she gets it done) in time before the first movie at 8:00pm. It's Moulin Rouge!, the eccentric and charming story of the namesake cabaret in Paris- specifically of a wild (and wildly told) love story that takes place there. Writer turns singer and performer turns lover in this spectacular film!

There's a thirty minute break afterward from 10:00pm to 10:30pm. It's around this time that people not interested in Sweeney Todd would leave- and those interested in the second film would arrive. In all honesty, Max isn't too strict about teens not having adults with them, but do expect at least a light scolding (unless you look intimidating). After all, Sweeney Todd isn't your typical musical. It's gory and gross and makes no apologies- but deep down, you'll find it's actually a story about friendship, romance, and good food!

By 12:30 the show is over. There's some effort on Max's part to clean up, but it's halfhearted because Wonderland will fix it all up anyway. Off to bed with you lot! Or, if you're part of the insomniac club, back to your regular, quiet evening.

[[OOC: Mingle-log! Feel free to make your top-level comments for any point/s in the evening.]]

Comments

[rosswood]

"Yyyyyeah." To be honest, Alex is a little rattled too, mostly because he wasn't quite expecting that level of violence from a musical, especially when the one prior to that was so obnoxiously saccharine. He blinks a few times, gives himself a shake. No he's not unsettled. He's fine. It was a stupid movie.

"Honestly," he says lightly, "if that was the first musical I got to see as a kid, I think I'd love the genre a lot more than I do."

[endingpoint]

"If that was the first musical I'd ever seen I probably would have stayed away from them. Luckily, it's my second," she says with a small smirk.

"I don't generally love the blood and violence. The story was good though."

[rosswood]

"I've seen worse," he says, with a shrug. "Not usually about the singing and prancing and holding hands and kumbaya-ing. Nice to see something a little different."

And given the alacrity with which he soundly mocked the film prior, it's likely he's got nothing but disdain for that particular musical.

[endingpoint]

"Not a fan of the song and dance portion of musicals?" Jane asks with an amused eyebrow arch.

"This may only be the second one I can remember seeing but I think that's pretty much the broader spectrum of a musical." She's teasing lightly, grabbing a cup of something to drink as they talk.

[rosswood]

He's got no hands-on experience with musicals, honestly, but that first pick of Max's was - well, he's just gonna say it wasn't his favorite.

"Only when it's uninspired crap about true love, and such and such," he says lightly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Not really my cup of tea."

[endingpoint]

"Mine either. At least, I don't think they are. Since I've only seen two now, I'm pretty sure I need to see at least a few more before I decide what I really don't like."

And, she's also kind of lying because she definitely identified with some of they lyrics of said uninspired crap.

[rosswood]

"You're not missing much." He shrugs his shoulders, nonchalant. "Lotta musicals are all about that kinda thing. Except they actually take the time to write their own music instead of shamelessly ripping off other people's."

He's still salty about that, don't mind him. But then, everyone's a critic, Alex especially.

[endingpoint]

"So what kind of movies do you like, if musicals aren't it?" Jane asks curiously.

[rosswood]

"Stuff that makes you think." He taps the side of his temple knowingly. "You know, something that really gets down into the human condition. If it doesn't make you think about stuff, it's not art."

If he wanted big dumb escapism, he'd be plunging himself into the world of shitty summer blockbusters, full-stop.

[endingpoint]

"Okay, then I'll take some recommendations. I mean, if you don't mind. All I can remember ever seeing are these two movies, Titanic, and a super hero movie called Hancock. That's it, that's everything in the movie memory bank."

And it's not that impressive, honestly.

[rosswood]

At that note, Alex seems to brighten marginally. "Ah man, I got recommendations up the ying."

Note: these recommendations are all terrible.

He pulls up a list of film recommendations he made for Dr. Brainiac and hands his phone to Jane.

"Titanic fucking blows, by the way. Cameron does way better when he isn't springing for that sappy, crowd-pandering bullshit."

[endingpoint]

"I liked Titanic because it made me aware of something else. I had no idea that was a real thing. Can I send this list to myself?"

So, not exactly a thumbs up on the movie, but A+ to something that made her aware of history in general.

[rosswood]

"Yeah, yeah, no problem!"

Sorry, Jane, Alex's tastes can safely be labeled as pretentious, depthless crap all around. Except for maybe two or three titles off the list.

He smirks at that, wryly. "What'd the Titanic teach you? That true love is horseshit, DiCaprio got keeps getting snubbed for Oscars, and there was a big-ass boat that sunk?"

[endingpoint]

"I mean, I literally had no idea it was a real thing. So, that last one, mostly," she says with a smirk as she sends the list to herself and then hands his device back to him.

"Thanks. I'll watch these and let you know what I think."

[rosswood]

"Cool," his grin resolves into something more genuine as he pockets his phone. "Catch you later - and let me know what you think!"