Reds fanfic

[BP Booker]

My first attempt at writting something, in the form of a blog post from a theater aficionado.
I tried to write someone who would be more of “traditional girl” from the UASR who likes pretty dresses, period dramas from the BBC and is a little bit of a hopeless romantic and thus gets made fun of a lot for “being weird” She is based on a lot of girlfriends (as in; friends who were friends) I knew in high school and college. Not a conservative by any means, and would consider herself a feminist, just more on the "silly side"

Emilys Magical Musical Blog <3


My TOP TEN favorite musicals of the Great White Way! (Not in order, I love them all!)


1. Lincoln! [1]: Well DUH, who doesn’t like Lincoln(!)? I’m a sucker for blue grass so this musical is right up my alley, Its got awesome choreography too! (Who knew you could do a backflip while holding a guitar!?). I saw it on Chicago Peoples theater pretty much on a hunch that it was gonna be big and it was! Favorite Song: “Mr Lincoln, break these chains!” – F. Douglas and company

2. Nom de Plum [2]: Yellow journalism is so weird. This one is about Max Webber and his increasingly unhinged and false articles in his quest for being the Manhattan Heart (get it?) most read journalist. Its pretty clever how it turns out that ALL the articles he “wrotte” at the end were REAL (from real Journalists!), people could just print whatvever back then! Max is one of those “villain protagonists” that you don’t realize are the bad guy till like half way through. he ruins the life of some socialites, he makes some senator lose his job, he gets the whole city against striking workers, but his songs are super catchy! Doesn’t hurt I love love LOVE 20s aesthetics and this musical eat, sleeps and breathers them. Favorite Song: “You gotta give them what they want”- Max Webber, Editor Fink and the Newsies

3. Newsies! [3]: Yeah so what? Yeah, I have Newsies in DVD, judge me, It’s a fun musical!. It’s like the anti-Commune, (Americas short lived, ill thought answer to Les Misérables, don’t look it up) that musical is a bummer. Favorite Song: “Sieze the day” - Company

4. Call of the Wild [4]: The “artsy” one. At least more artsy that the original 70s Disney movie, which wasn’t even a musical. And they cut out like half the movie (The original movie was both Call of the Wild and White Fang). Like really, this had no right to be as great as it is, yet it is. Who would have tough that a bunch of actors running around in stylized wolf pelts singing to native folk music would have turned out as great as it did. Props for actually casting native actors too. Favorite Song: “My true home” - Buck

5. Phantom of the Opera: This one isn’t technically Broadway but it counts because I want oit to count and is my blog. Yeah, I know it’s a pop musical, WHO cares? Are those beneath us now? That’s such an elitist attitude to have! Or is because its British? I swear to god some people think EVERYTHING that comes out of Europe is “reactionary propaganda”. Honestly, Christine is as much of vibrant and passionate character as Maria from Harlem Song, its just that she wears a pretty dress and people call her a princess. BARF [5] Favorite Song: “The phaaaaaaaaaaaaaantom of the operaaaaaaaaaaaaa is hereeeeeeeee” – Christine and the Phantom

6. Huck and Tom [6]: This one is actually kinda obscure and it’s a shame. Its pretty clever, they manage to cram a lot of book (All of twains books, even his Hawaii memoirs) dialogue, even in the songs. Athou you might need a dictionary of slang in some places. This one is from the 50s so its not retro, it IS from the past. Be warned, its not the most politically correct show in the world, and it shows it was made by a bunch of white dudes with good intentions. But then again, isn’t that what Mark Twain was? Favorite song: “Hey, fish, come fish some fish with me” Huckleberry and Tom

7. Who Killed Mr McKenzie? [7] Miss Dora, Miss Dora killed Mr McKenzie. BEFORE you leave an angry comment about spoiling the plot, I didn’t. For those of how don’t know, this musical has 10 endings, depending on who killed Mr McKenzie, and they decide which ending to act by polling the audience. Yes, literally like the Clue Movie (well the Clue movie had 6 endings and they were random based on theater). Im saying Miss Dora killed Mr Mckenzie because her song is the best one out of the bunch. And her reason is so stupid is great. Althou General Douglas (har har) is also pretty out there. So if you have the chance to go see it, you know for whom to vote. Favorite song: “Who killed the asshole?” – the guests

8. Poseidon [8]: I usually don’t like multiple plot musicals or movies, But I’ll make an exception for this one. There’s 3 stories on this one: A Cinderella plot between a third class woman and a first class man (I love Cinderella <3), a “con job plot” between a fraudster woman and penniless merchant from second class and a love story between two gay stokers below decks which always ALWAYS makes me cry (Edwardian why were you so mean to Gay people ☹). This is probably the most “political” musical in this list (Although Huck and Tom did had a pretty anti-racist message), but I doesn’t really get in the way. Ironic considering a lot of “political people” hate Cinderella with a passion, I think it’s a beautiful fairytale and I hate how we never got the British stage show over here . Favorite Song: “Love can be enough” - Balthazar and Caspar

9. A Plot in 5th Avenue: Another “terrible people plot” Like Nom de Plum and “Who Killed Mr McKenzie?”. It’s also a lot like Nom de Plum in that it’s a 1920s swing musical. Its about two lawyers that tried to outwit a bank in a get rich quick scheme. Try. It all falls apart like 3 songs in. But am I the only one who feels like you need to get an economics degree to actually get what it’s happening? Like, I still don’t know what equity merger is!. Maybe it’s all made up. Favorite song: “I wanna be rich dammit!” George, Helen and Ian

10. Prince and the Sweeper [10]: Did you know the “Prince and the Pauper” trope was a book by Mark Twain? (I guess I must really like him because hes got TWO musicals here). I didn’t! This is also like Lincoln(!) in that it has “modern music” in a period setting (1880?) and its super good. I really like how the rich people are shown to be good people and not some evil monsters like ALL the period dramas from over here. Like, calm down with the agenda! Geez! Well whatever, I really like the choreography too. Favorite Song: “Talk like a Prince, Talk like s Sweeper” – Prince Eugene and Rudolph

[1] Think Hamilton

[2] Think Chicago

[3] OTL musical

[4] Think Lion King

[5] Emily has a bone to pick against the anti “Bourgeoise glorifying art” sentiment I feel would exist in the UASR, like, being against period pieces like Downton Abbey (which she would like) and stuff. I might write something about that

[6] Not really based on anything, but if you know Sondheim you can imagine the type songs

[7] Think Mystery of Edwin Drood

[8] There is a Titanic Musical from 1997, it won the Tony for Best Musical(!). It’s apparently a pure coincidence that it came out the same year as Titanic the Movie

[9] Think The Producers

[10] Think the style of Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away

 

[Miss Teri]

My first attempt at writting something, in the form of a blog post from a theater aficionado.
I tried to write someone who would be more of “traditional girl” from the UASR who likes pretty dresses, period dramas from the BBC and is a little bit of a hopeless romantic and thus gets made fun of a lot for “being weird” She is based on a lot of girlfriends (as in; friends who were friends) I knew in high school and college. Not a conservative by any means, and would consider herself a feminist, just more on the "silly side"

Very, very good. I especially liked the variety of original musicals you came up with. My favorite was the Lion King-esque production of Call of the Wild. (Though, one thing is bothering me, is the musical also an adaptation of both Call of the Wild and White Fang, or is it just the film that it was based off of?)

 

[BP Booker]

is the musical also an adaptation of both Call of the Wild and White Fang, or is it just the film that it was based off of?

Just an adaptation - and expansion- of Disneys 1977s Call of the Wild animated movie. The 1977 movie was two segments of those two stories, done separetly (those two get published almost side by side anyways) but the musical is only "Call of the Wild"

 

[BootOnFace]

Mormons, but Arab.

Pashtuns and Tajiks are not Arab. They're part of the Greater Persian cultures. And most of the other ethnic groups are Persian or Turkic. Huge difference from Arabs.

 

[BootOnFace]

To further show my point here is traditional Arab dress:

and Pashtun dress:

 

[BootOnFace]

Notice the full-length robes and long kufiyas of the Arabs vs the trousers, waistcoats, and turbans of the Pashtuns.

 

[BootOnFace]

And regarding success of capitalism vs socialism vs tribalism in Afghanistan, let's look at similar regions such as the Caucasus or Laos and developments there. I find it hard to find valuable data on the internet for the Caucasus people, probably largely thanks to Soviet secrecy, so the subject of analysis will be Laos.


Laos is also basically a series of mountain tribes and villages dominated by one city, Vientiane. Laos was colonized by the French on basically the basis of freedom from Siamese dominion and more local and Lao authority. French administration was fairly popular in Luang Prabang, but there was basically constant rebellion until the end of the Vietnam war, when Vietnam stepped in and established a pro-Soviet state. For about ten years they attempted a straight-to-socialism plan involving collectivization of agriculture, because there was no urban industry. This failed miserably, lengthening insurgency by the right-wing and ruining the economy. In the 80s Dengist reforms were carried out, but since Laos had nowhere near the capital or technical expertise of China, agricultural yields did not skyrocket to like in China and merely recovered to pre-communist levels. Economic stagnation was the rule until the Soviet collapse, which prompted reforms regarding foreign investment. The increasing Thai, French, Chinese, and Vietnamese investment into the region has largely been for natural resources, but the increased infrastructure and availability of non-agricultural work has led to economic development. The internal situation of Laos has improved also, but just as slowly and with huge amounts of death, dislocation, and political repression. Minorities like the Hmong have been subject to genocide and the mountains are rife with banditry and right-wing insurgents. The slow die-down of rebellion in the area can largely be attributed to reconciliation with the Buddhist church, which was originally targeted as a monarchist and reactionary institution, and with decreasing policing of everyday life by the central government. Although non-communist politics are prohibited and speech against the government is banned, the government does no longer interfere with cultural practices, religious practices, or economic activity. The rural people and villages largely govern themselves and have little interest in political activity as such when the central government is largely invisible in day-to-day life.


I believe the model of Laos provides valuable data as to what works and does not work in developing a pre-industrial, ethnically diverse, geographically rugged, isolated country. We can see that without the surplus provided by industrial society, central planning is counterproductive and viewed as oppressive by the almost entirely peasant population. We can also see that as a pre-literate society where most villages are isolated from the outside world, there isn't a hidden potential for explosive growth ready to be unlocked by the right policies as China has done. The policies that the Laos government has followed that show favorable outcomes compared to previous policies in Laos and contemporary policies by such states as Democratic Republic of Afghanistan or Taliban Afghanistan are as follows:

- Liberalization of foreign trade and emigration policies. Foreign investment and the ability to move to Thailand or Vietnam and get an education and well-paying job have promoted steady economic growth and development for the past 20 years. Afghanistan has Iran and Soviet Turkestan as good neighbors to trade with. Economic aid is not enough, as Soviet aid was largely ineffectual. Capitalist development of resource extraction and the infrastructure necessary for such has proved to promote sustainable growth in Laos. Afghan growth should be supported by the building of railways, highways and tunnels to urban areas and mines. Use of as much local labor as possible is recommended.

- Cessation of hostilities with traditional power structures. In Laos, reconciliation with the Buddhist church was necessary to reduce hostilities between the state and peasantry. Villages are largely self-governed, with traditional religious customs such as the baci being supported by local government. Laos is a very devout country, with much of village life and culture centered around the Buddhist religion. State atheism is very antagonistic to their lifestyle and was viewed as a tyrannical foreign imposition. The Afghan peoples have much in common. Though this might offend secular Soviet and American sensibilities, the Ulema must be empowered as an advisory body for the government and practicing Islam should not be subject to oppression, but possibly even government support for things like Ramadan, where the workday can be adjusted for fasting. Certain traditional practices regarding institutional misogyny should be discouraged, but a guaranteed way of increasing the status of women in society is to promote their economic status. By promoting traditional Quranic practices such as allowing daughters to inherit property and discouraging practices that disallow public lives of women, the socialist state can help women in a non-confrontational way. Further economic development and urbanization also helps women's liberation by just spatially removing women from the traditional village patriarchy.

- Finally, stagist economic development must be implemented. According to orthodox Marxism, socialist development follows capitalist development. In regions that have not yet started capitalist development, the implementation of socialism must come in stages. The introduction of industry must be associated with finance and markets. This may be seen as betraying socialism to some important groups and could be very hard to justify. I propose an International Development Fund that organizes investment banks in pre-industrial countries to foster development. With little local expertise in industry and investment, I believe that local economic planning would founder and devolve into the traditional feudal methods of wealth extraction, namely corruption and nepotism. Investment should be managed by price indicators within the region and loans issued to locals that are approved by the local branches of the national bank. These loans must be issued on the ability to pay back the loan, to foster the accumulation of capital. The loans provided by these banks with be backed by capital provided by investor states such as the UASR and USSR. Universities initially staffed by foreign experts must also be founded by the investing powers to promote local education. Agricultural schools and banks must also be founded by the investing powers in order to increase agricultural production to a level that promotes urbanization. I suggest ten-year plans for development for each country by this International Development Fund, with each plan's goal providing a concrete step to socialism and economic independence. Laos tried to develop straight to socialism, but was stymied by a lack of local capital and expertise and a further lack of a financial class to manage planning on a local level. The goal of this Development Fund is to foster the accumulation of capital into local hands, promote the education of a working class able to assume the duties of economic planning, and the facilitate the transition of private property into public property without crippling economic development.



Much of this plan can be applied to certain regions of Africa and Asia that have similar problems. Latin America, the Arab world, and the Sinosphere(such as Vietnam and Korea) have much different economic and cultural roadblocks to socialist development, so do not interpret this as a blanket development plan for every country and region. Though free trade and movement within the Internationale and Comecon is vital to economic growth for all involved. American fodder should be able to feed Russian cattle and Russian dairy should be able to fuel the German cheese industry with no barriers. And the ability to move between countries freely actually improves economic outcomes for all countries involved, not to mention the civil rights aspect and the promotion of the breakdown of national identity.

 

[Bookmark1995]

I imagine that in a Red household, the most obnoxious thing you can do is childishly fight over a material possession.

Children are often taught to share, but I think in Red America, people want you to carry that moral into adulthood.

 

[Redshank Galloglass]

Pashtuns and Tajiks are not Arab. They're part of the Greater Persian cultures. And most of the other ethnic groups are Persian or Turkic. Huge difference from Arabs.

It was a joke, but ok.

 

[BootOnFace]

It was a joke, but ok.

Lol sorry I see too much crap like that I went a little overboard

 

[Redshank Galloglass]

Lol sorry I see too much crap like that I went a little overboard

You're fine.

 

[BP Booker]

My previews post was about several ITTL musicals, so I tried to expand on that, would anyone be intersted on more like this?

The Prince and the Sweeper

Prince and the Sweeper is a 2004 American musical. Besides the basic premise of two identical rich and poor young men switching places, the Musical is a completely original work separate from Mark Twains “The Prince and the Pauper”. The musical earned several tony award nominations, including best Musical, Best Leading Actor (Andrew Kennan Bolger – Prince Eugene), and Best Leading Actress (Idina Menzel – Miss Winnifred).

Synopsis

ACT I

The story is set in the fictional city of Ville-Burgiesse. (“Overture/Steets of Ville-Burgiesse” - company) 18-year-old Rudolph lives with his younger brother Wilhelm and his father Otto in a poor district. Otto suffers from some unspecified mental illness brought upon the death of her wife 6 years prior, suffering from long periods of catatonia unable to hold a job, forcing Rudolph to work as Sweeper at a textile factory and Wilhelm to sell newspapers in the street to sustain the family. (“Father are you well?” – Rudolph and Wilhelm) Prince Eugene is the nephew of King Hector, who does not have children and thus is expected to pass the crown to Prince Eugene’s older brother Prince Emmanuel (“Running a Kingdom, Running a Home” – King Hector, Prince Emmanuel, Prince Eugene, Prince Thomas, Princess Sofia). Despite Hector being King, the household is run by the no-nonsense spouse of former Queen Charlotte, Prince Thomas, Prince Eugene’s grandfather. Both Prince Eugene and Rudolph dream of things impossible: Rudolph dreams of running away from dreary and grey Ville-Burgiesse to the sunny and Mediterranean Mar d’azur (“Mar d’azur” – Rudolph and Wilhelm) and Prince Eugene wants to marry one of the castle maids, Isabel (“You’re worth the world” – Prince Eugene and Isabel). After a particularly terrible day at the textile factory (“Thank you for your labor” Rudolph, workers and Foreman Mills) Rudolph laments his situation at life with other young workers during their meager break; Caspar a chimney sweeper, Balthazar a newsboy and Melchior a launderer (“It could not get worse than this” – the before mentioned 4). They are interrupted by a drunk vagrant who tells them that they will either drop death from work or be tossed and forgotten when they are no longer useful, something that deeply disturbs them (“You’ll end up like me” - Vagrant). This prediction seems to come true when Rudolph is fired by his Foreman, Horace Mills, over being 2 minutes late, stating that he has already told other foremen in other factories not to hire him as he always was a “difficult employee” (“Good luck and get out” - Foreman Mills). Distraught, Rudolph goes to a pier to think what to do now that he and his family has lost their main source of income. Meanwhile, Prince Eugene has had a rough fight with his family over an arranged marriage and storms off (“What good is being a prince?” - Prince Eugene). Prince Eugene runs into Rudolph in the middle a suicide attempt at the pier, which he stops. Astounded by their near identical appearance, they tell each other about their lives (“Your life must be great” - Prince Eugene and Rudolph). Feeling pity for each other, Prince Eugene gives Rudolph a brooch that could feed his family for months and Rudolph confesses that he was wrong at thinking rich people had it all easy. They agree to meet again. Rudolph tells his brother what happened and Wilhelm is optimistic about their future (“The sun is coming up” – Wilhelm). On their next meeting, Rudolph and Prince Eugene plan to switch lives: Prince Eugene would be free to live out in the streets, with Isabel, away from his strict family, and Rudolph, covering for him in his absence, would get to experience a life of luxury, even if just for a little while at a time. (“A little idea of mine” - Prince Eugene and Rudolph). They begin practicing on impersonating each other, Rudolph on being Prince Eugene, and Prince Eugene on acting properly as a poor boy as to not call attention to himself (“Talk like a Prince, Talk like a sweeper” – Prince Eugene, Rudolph and Wilhelm). Rudolph is incredibly happy at first at living in the castle, but soon sees that his “family” is facing severe personal problems that they feel they cannot talk about, as expressing their feelings is “Unbecoming” of their class: King Hector suffers from anxiety over his inferiority complex to previous monarchs, Prince Emmanuel feels like he can’t connect with the people he’s supposed to rule, Prince Thomas feels like he has no place in the world now that his wife is gone, and Princess Sofia, King Hectors wife, is depressed as she cannot have children after one miscarriage to many (“Something is missing” – Princess Sofia). Prince Eugene also becomes distressed at the conditions on which the poor members of society live. He meets Rudolph’s friends, and promises to help them form a Trade Union of Young Laborers, having the education to organize one. (“I have to do something” – Prince Eugene and Isabel). Rudolph manages to get the whole “family” to open up their fears and dreams, including Prince Thomas (“Something is Missing, Part II” – Princess Sofia, King Hector, Prince Emanuel, and Prince Thomas). After several weeks, Rudolph and Prince Eugene, who has become immensely popular among the poor of the streets and might be getting too into the whole Socialism thing, reveal their identities to the Young Laborers Trade Union (“The prince of the streets” – Prince Eugene, Rudolph, Wilhelm, Isabel and the laborers). They plan to hold a strike to better their social condition. The morning before said strike Prince Eugene is find out by his family -He had been keeping a diary that his brother found- just before he leaves to attend it with Isabel. Despite the objections of Prince Eugene, Princess Sofia and Prince Emmanuel, King Hector orders the City Police to crack down on the strikers “as forcefully as needed”, believing that this will prove he’s a strong King. Prince Eugene and Isabel manage to escape to warn the strikers, whom among them are Wilhelm and Rudolph (“We will be heard”– strikers), but just as they arrive so does the police, who massacre the laborers. Isabel and Wilhelm are killed. Rudolph cannot deal with this and resolves to run away, without his father, to Mar d’azur (“Mar d’azur, Reprise” - Rudolph) and Prince Eugene, outraged beyond reason, disowns himself from his family and resolves to live on the streets (“Prince Eugene is dead” - Eugene)

ACT II

Sometime later, Rudolph is living in a pier at Mar d’azur (“Overture part II/Streets of Mar d’azur” - Company). He earns his leaving doing odd jobs; selling matches, making kites, polishing boots, etc… and being under the care of a street painter named Warden (“Only family we know” – Warden and the pier orphans). Eugene has moved into Rudolph old home and takes care of Otto, how has suffered a nervous collapse over the death and disappearance of his sons, living in fantasy world were Eugene is Rudolph and Wilhelm and his wife are still alive (“I couldn’t be happier” - Otto). Rudolph’s only real friend is Augustine, another one of Wardens “Pier Orphans” (“You, me and the pier” – Augustine and Rudolph), as he is the only one that can cheer him up. Augustine has romantic feelings for Rudolph but fears vocalizing them (“Him, I and the pier” - Augustine). Eugene works selling newspapers in the streets, he also works tirelessly alongside a government worker, Miss Winnifred (who knows who he really his), to help his fellow workers (“Do all the good you can” – Winnifred and Eugene). A new government has been voted in thanks to public outrage in the aftermath of the “massacre of the young strikers” and is trying to bring everyone involved with that event to court. Miss Winnifred and Eugene need as many witnesses of the massacre as they can find to form a case against the police and strike breakers, but many of the adult survivors have been blacklisted and had to move out of Ville-Burgiesse. Eugene also wants to bring his uncle Hector to justice, as he was in the room when Hector order the strike breakers to be “as forceful as needed”. However, as Rudolph is gone and Eugene had thoughtlessly throw out a ring it proved he was the real prince, there is nothing stopping his family (whom he thinks they must hate him) to claim he’s just a lying street urchin. (“The plan is…” – Winnifred and Eugene). Meanwhile, Hector is shown to be deeply remorseful of his action and treatment of Eugene (“Good for nothing King” - Hector). Winnifred and Eugene learn that many workers have migrated to Mar d’azur and plan to go there to gather witnesses. They leave Otto in the care of Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior. When they arrive, they see Warden and his orphans working on the pier, at first thinking Warden is just another exploiting boss, but the orphans correct them (“Only family we know, Reprise” – Warden and the pier orphans) Eugene and Winnifred find Rudolph but are unsuccessful in bring him back to Ville- Burgiesse (“We’ve done enough” - Rudolph) and he runs away. Augustine comforts him, and they speak about what they fear the most: Rudolph, going back to his old life and hurting more people, and Augustine, confessing his love (“Have no fear” – Augustine and Rudolph). They kiss and resolve to go back together. Winnifred is successful in recruiting many witnesses. When they all return, Caspar, Balthazar and Caspar inform Eugene that the ring that proves hes the real prince has ended up in a pawn shop run by Horace Mills, Rudolph’s former cruel employer. Mills resigned from his job when the government started cracking down on abusive employers, but Winnifred has a dossier on him that will land him in jail. She blackmails him with this information, if he gives him the ring for free she will not prosecute him (“Just Sell!” – Winnifred and Mills), which he does. Winnifred them simply gives the dossier to a colleague. With the witnesses, the ring and Rudolph, the workers take the police and the factory owners to court (“We will be heard, Reprise” - the workers). King Hector is present at the trial, and tries to feign ignorance, but Eugene disproves him by reviling who he is and what he did with Rudolph (“In another fellow’s shoes” – Eugene and Rudolph). There, Hector breaks down and begs for forgiveness (“Good for nothing King, Reprise” - Hector) to which Rudolph accepts. The court declares the strike breakers guilty and Hector abdicates in favor of Emmanuel, who wants Eugene to help him rule, as he understands the hardships of the people. Eugene’s friends coax him to accept (“The prince of the streets, Reprise” – Eugene, Rudolph and the laborers). Eugene is welcomed back to his family, although he rejects the title of Prince. Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, along with many of the background characters, are lifted out of poverty thanks to Miss Winnifred’s efforts (“Do all the good you can, Reprise” - Winnifred), and Rudolph, with Augustine resolve to take Otto, who is slowly recovering thanks to Winnifred’s efforts in getting him the help he needed, to Mar d’azur with Warden and the pier orphans, to live as a family. Eugene and Rudolph talk about what they learn and how much they changed (“The Prince and the Sweeper/Finale” – Eugene, Rudolph and Company) and bid farewell to each other.

 

[Bookmark1995]

My previews post was about several ITTL musicals, so I tried to expand on that, would anyone be intersted on more like this?

The Prince and the Sweeper

Prince and the Sweeper is a 2004 American musical. Besides the basic premise of two identical rich and poor young men switching places, the Musical is a completely original work separate from Mark Twains “The Prince and the Pauper”. The musical earned several tony award nominations, including best Musical, Best Leading Actor (Andrew Kennan Bolger – Prince Eugene), and Best Leading Actress (Idina Menzel – Miss Winnifred).

Synopsis

ACT I

The story is set in the fictional city of Ville-Burgiesse. (“Overture/Steets of Ville-Burgiesse” - company) 18-year-old Rudolph lives with his younger brother Wilhelm and his father Otto in a poor district. Otto suffers from some unspecified mental illness brought upon the death of her wife 6 years prior, suffering from long periods of catatonia unable to hold a job, forcing Rudolph to work as Sweeper at a textile factory and Wilhelm to sell newspapers in the street to sustain the family. (“Father are you well?” – Rudolph and Wilhelm) Prince Eugene is the nephew of King Hector, who does not have children and thus is expected to pass the crown to Prince Eugene’s older brother Prince Emmanuel (“Running a Kingdom, Running a Home” – King Hector, Prince Emmanuel, Prince Eugene, Prince Thomas, Princess Sofia). Despite Hector being King, the household is run by the no-nonsense spouse of former Queen Charlotte, Prince Thomas, Prince Eugene’s grandfather. Both Prince Eugene and Rudolph dream of things impossible: Rudolph dreams of running away from dreary and grey Ville-Burgiesse to the sunny and Mediterranean Mar d’azur (“Mar d’azur” – Rudolph and Wilhelm) and Prince Eugene wants to marry one of the castle maids, Isabel (“You’re worth the world” – Prince Eugene and Isabel). After a particularly terrible day at the textile factory (“Thank you for your labor” Rudolph, workers and Foreman Mills) Rudolph laments his situation at life with other young workers during their meager break; Caspar a chimney sweeper, Balthazar a newsboy and Melchior a launderer (“It could not get worse than this” – the before mentioned 4). They are interrupted by a drunk vagrant who tells them that they will either drop death from work or be tossed and forgotten when they are no longer useful, something that deeply disturbs them (“You’ll end up like me” - Vagrant). This prediction seems to come true when Rudolph is fired by his Foreman, Horace Mills, over being 2 minutes late, stating that he has already told other foremen in other factories not to hire him as he always was a “difficult employee” (“Good luck and get out” - Foreman Mills). Distraught, Rudolph goes to a pier to think what to do now that he and his family has lost their main source of income. Meanwhile, Prince Eugene has had a rough fight with his family over an arranged marriage and storms off (“What good is being a prince?” - Prince Eugene). Prince Eugene runs into Rudolph in the middle a suicide attempt at the pier, which he stops. Astounded by their near identical appearance, they tell each other about their lives (“Your life must be great” - Prince Eugene and Rudolph). Feeling pity for each other, Prince Eugene gives Rudolph a brooch that could feed his family for months and Rudolph confesses that he was wrong at thinking rich people had it all easy. They agree to meet again. Rudolph tells his brother what happened and Wilhelm is optimistic about their future (“The sun is coming up” – Wilhelm). On their next meeting, Rudolph and Prince Eugene plan to switch lives: Prince Eugene would be free to live out in the streets, with Isabel, away from his strict family, and Rudolph, covering for him in his absence, would get to experience a life of luxury, even if just for a little while at a time. (“A little idea of mine” - Prince Eugene and Rudolph). They begin practicing on impersonating each other, Rudolph on being Prince Eugene, and Prince Eugene on acting properly as a poor boy as to not call attention to himself (“Talk like a Prince, Talk like a sweeper” – Prince Eugene, Rudolph and Wilhelm). Rudolph is incredibly happy at first at living in the castle, but soon sees that his “family” is facing severe personal problems that they feel they cannot talk about, as expressing their feelings is “Unbecoming” of their class: King Hector suffers from anxiety over his inferiority complex to previous monarchs, Prince Emmanuel feels like he can’t connect with the people he’s supposed to rule, Prince Thomas feels like he has no place in the world now that his wife is gone, and Princess Sofia, King Hectors wife, is depressed as she cannot have children after one miscarriage to many (“Something is missing” – Princess Sofia). Prince Eugene also becomes distressed at the conditions on which the poor members of society live. He meets Rudolph’s friends, and promises to help them form a Trade Union of Young Laborers, having the education to organize one. (“I have to do something” – Prince Eugene and Isabel). Rudolph manages to get the whole “family” to open up their fears and dreams, including Prince Thomas (“Something is Missing, Part II” – Princess Sofia, King Hector, Prince Emanuel, and Prince Thomas). After several weeks, Rudolph and Prince Eugene, who has become immensely popular among the poor of the streets and might be getting too into the whole Socialism thing, reveal their identities to the Young Laborers Trade Union (“The prince of the streets” – Prince Eugene, Rudolph, Wilhelm, Isabel and the laborers). They plan to hold a strike to better their social condition. The morning before said strike Prince Eugene is find out by his family -He had been keeping a diary that his brother found- just before he leaves to attend it with Isabel. Despite the objections of Prince Eugene, Princess Sofia and Prince Emmanuel, King Hector orders the City Police to crack down on the strikers “as forcefully as needed”, believing that this will prove he’s a strong King. Prince Eugene and Isabel manage to escape to warn the strikers, whom among them are Wilhelm and Rudolph (“We will be heard”– strikers), but just as they arrive so does the police, who massacre the laborers. Isabel and Wilhelm are killed. Rudolph cannot deal with this and resolves to run away, without his father, to Mar d’azur (“Mar d’azur, Reprise” - Rudolph) and Prince Eugene, outraged beyond reason, disowns himself from his family and resolves to live on the streets (“Prince Eugene is dead” - Eugene)

ACT II

Sometime later, Rudolph is living in a pier at Mar d’azur (“Overture part II/Streets of Mar d’azur” - Company). He earns his leaving doing odd jobs; selling matches, making kites, polishing boots, etc… and being under the care of a street painter named Warden (“Only family we know” – Warden and the pier orphans). Eugene has moved into Rudolph old home and takes care of Otto, how has suffered a nervous collapse over the death and disappearance of his sons, living in fantasy world were Eugene is Rudolph and Wilhelm and his wife are still alive (“I couldn’t be happier” - Otto). Rudolph’s only real friend is Augustine, another one of Wardens “Pier Orphans” (“You, me and the pier” – Augustine and Rudolph), as he is the only one that can cheer him up. Augustine has romantic feelings for Rudolph but fears vocalizing them (“Him, I and the pier” - Augustine). Eugene works selling newspapers in the streets, he also works tirelessly alongside a government worker, Miss Winnifred (who knows who he really his), to help his fellow workers (“Do all the good you can” – Winnifred and Eugene). A new government has been voted in thanks to public outrage in the aftermath of the “massacre of the young strikers” and is trying to bring everyone involved with that event to court. Miss Winnifred and Eugene need as many witnesses of the massacre as they can find to form a case against the police and strike breakers, but many of the adult survivors have been blacklisted and had to move out of Ville-Burgiesse. Eugene also wants to bring his uncle Hector to justice, as he was in the room when Hector order the strike breakers to be “as forceful as needed”. However, as Rudolph is gone and Eugene had thoughtlessly throw out a ring it proved he was the real prince, there is nothing stopping his family (whom he thinks they must hate him) to claim he’s just a lying street urchin. (“The plan is…” – Winnifred and Eugene). Meanwhile, Hector is shown to be deeply remorseful of his action and treatment of Eugene (“Good for nothing King” - Hector). Winnifred and Eugene learn that many workers have migrated to Mar d’azur and plan to go there to gather witnesses. They leave Otto in the care of Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior. When they arrive, they see Warden and his orphans working on the pier, at first thinking Warden is just another exploiting boss, but the orphans correct them (“Only family we know, Reprise” – Warden and the pier orphans) Eugene and Winnifred find Rudolph but are unsuccessful in bring him back to Ville- Burgiesse (“We’ve done enough” - Rudolph) and he runs away. Augustine comforts him, and they speak about what they fear the most: Rudolph, going back to his old life and hurting more people, and Augustine, confessing his love (“Have no fear” – Augustine and Rudolph). They kiss and resolve to go back together. Winnifred is successful in recruiting many witnesses. When they all return, Caspar, Balthazar and Caspar inform Eugene that the ring that proves hes the real prince has ended up in a pawn shop run by Horace Mills, Rudolph’s former cruel employer. Mills resigned from his job when the government started cracking down on abusive employers, but Winnifred has a dossier on him that will land him in jail. She blackmails him with this information, if he gives him the ring for free she will not prosecute him (“Just Sell!” – Winnifred and Mills), which he does. Winnifred them simply gives the dossier to a colleague. With the witnesses, the ring and Rudolph, the workers take the police and the factory owners to court (“We will be heard, Reprise” - the workers). King Hector is present at the trial, and tries to feign ignorance, but Eugene disproves him by reviling who he is and what he did with Rudolph (“In another fellow’s shoes” – Eugene and Rudolph). There, Hector breaks down and begs for forgiveness (“Good for nothing King, Reprise” - Hector) to which Rudolph accepts. The court declares the strike breakers guilty and Hector abdicates in favor of Emmanuel, who wants Eugene to help him rule, as he understands the hardships of the people. Eugene’s friends coax him to accept (“The prince of the streets, Reprise” – Eugene, Rudolph and the laborers). Eugene is welcomed back to his family, although he rejects the title of Prince. Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, along with many of the background characters, are lifted out of poverty thanks to Miss Winnifred’s efforts (“Do all the good you can, Reprise” - Winnifred), and Rudolph, with Augustine resolve to take Otto, who is slowly recovering thanks to Winnifred’s efforts in getting him the help he needed, to Mar d’azur with Warden and the pier orphans, to live as a family. Eugene and Rudolph talk about what they learn and how much they changed (“The Prince and the Sweeper/Finale” – Eugene, Rudolph and Company) and bid farewell to each other.

This actually seems like a fun musical. Good job!

 

[WotanArgead]

Comrades, there is a problem. Do you remember, we condemned Sherlock Holmes? So - I do not think that Holmes with Basil Livanov in the title role will be removed (or at least will be successful). Why? The fact is that before that there were 8 or 10 works based on the detective stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but they are almost unknown. Why? There is no successful hit in the image, but this is only the tip of the Iceberg.
If you look at Soviet filmography, we will see that in the second half of the 70s a lot of films of the actions that took place in the century before last were shot - A Hunting Accident, Cruel Romance, Karl Marx - Young Years (co-production with the DEFA studio) ... a bunch of them!
What is the problem? The fact that the Soviet moviegoer showed great sympathy for the everyday life of well-to-do people - fancy dresses, solemn dinners, Waltzes (which we dance at graduation), a different manner of communication .... Yes, I myself can tell how I am 11-year-old dream become a nobleman. Sherlock Holmes performed by Vasily Livanov appears before the Soviet audience as an example of worthy behavior. But he's on the book ... unbearable type. Speech is about the loss of revolutionary hegemony.

 

[The_Red_Star_Rising]

Born Red: A Study of Canada's Post Red Turn Generation (2000)


Born Red is a Canadian documentary film that aired on CBC (Canada Broadcasting Collective) on April 10, 2000


Synopsis

The focus of the film are three Canadian young adults who were born around or after the Crisis, their lifestyles, their family conflicts, and their political leanings, in order to study the political and social changes that have rocked Canada since its shift toward Comintern.

The subjects are:

Alex Mays (age 19): A native of Toronto. A plumber in training and a member of Com Lib.

Cristina Harris (Age 22): A native of Regina, Sasketchwan. Studying to become an obstetrician, she practices polyamory.

Susan Gurukak (Age 21): An Inuit girl from Iqaluit, and an Inuit professor.

A twenty one year old holding a doctorate?

 

[The_Red_Star_Rising]

So I remembered that in this timeline, the Star Wars prequels are made first to be a more explicit allegory for the rise of Nazism.

How does this affect prequel memes?

I'm asking the important questions here.

(Before anyone asks I am in fact, the Troika, I have the high ground therefore it's over, and also it's treason now.)

 

[WotanArgead]

So I remembered that in this timeline, the Star Wars prequels are made first to be a more explicit allegory for the rise of Nazism.

How does this affect prequel memes?

I'm asking the important questions here.

(Before anyone asks I am in fact, the Troika, I have the high ground therefore it's over, and also it's treason now.)

These are all the damned Jedi! I warned you! (Remember the arson of the Reichstag)

 

[The_Red_Star_Rising]

These are all the damned Jedi! I warned you! (Remember the arson of the Reichstag)

"From my point of view the Jedi are evil!"

"Well then you are LOST!"

 

[Bookmark1995]

A twenty one year old holding a doctorate?

Not my best work....

 

[Bulldoggus]

Leaders of the Progressive National Party, the De Facto governing party of the Hashemite Kingdom of Arabia since 1952* Leaders from the House of the People in bold, leaders from the House of Clergy and Tribes not in bold.

Note: The Socialists have little presence outside Damascus (and are a second-rate party within it). The Communists have little presence outside of Damascus University. The Islamic Party, traditionally the main opposition, have little presence outside of the old Saud stronghold of Riyadh and its surrounding area. Think as the government as being like the British system, except PMs can come from the Lords, which mainly consists of major religious and tribal leaders, and doesn't have many non-hereditary seats (note: when a Lord takes the PM job, he traditionally has his heir serve most day-to-day lordly duties in his stead). Note, the Kingdom includes modern day Iraq and Syria (minus the Kurdish parts), Jordan, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Oman, Djibouti, Somaliland, and Zanzibar. The Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan is their main ally in the region, and the Hashemites are very pro-Entente. The kings are the OTL Jordanian kings.

1952-7: Abdullah al-Selim al-Sabah
1957-67: Michel Aflaq
1967-71: Salah Jadid
1971-3: Hafez al-Assad
1973-80: Jamshid bin Abdullah
1980-5: Hafez al-Assad
1985-92: Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa
1992-2009: Qaboos bin Said al-Said
2009-12: Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II
2012-: Amal Alamuddin