Wicked

 

With all the hoopla of the film release of the popular play Wicked, thought it was high-time to recognise the OG film Wicked Witch of the West and Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch: Margaret Hamilton.                                                                                      Cleveland born Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985) was an American actress, singer and educator, whose fifty year career in entertainment spanned theatre, film, radio and television.  A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials.  She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education.

Check her out on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975)

Entry in Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

From what I could gather, there's a travelling Wizard of Oz festival that occurs in October in Ohio.  In 2025, it is expected to be in Canal Fulton.                          From OzWiki:  October (exact dates to be announced, we hope), 2025: Wizard of Oz Festival Ohio, Putters Amusement Park, Canal Fulton, Ohio. For more information, see the website at https://wizardofozohio.com/, and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wizardofozfestivalohio/

Life is a Cabaret

When I need a shot in the arm for some self-confidence, I can always count on revisiting RuPaul's Drag Race.  

RuPaul on How to Live Your Best Life brought tears to my eyes.

Bless her, Dakota Schiffer in S4 admits that she doesn't like musicals, which is typically my line in life.  Yet, one musical that I have always loved is Cabaret. I know why I like it as an adult but am still a little baffled why I liked it as a child and why I was allowed to even watch it.   

Of course, Liza was the star but Joel Grey (11 April 1932, Cleveland, Ohio) was mesmerizing as the Master of Ceremonies.  He won a Tony and an Oscar for his portrayal.

Grey's recent essay in The New York Times entitled 'I Starred in Cabaret.  We Need to Heed Its Warning'  

Performing 'If You Could See Her'

Fabulous article in The Guardian that references his childhood start in Cleveland

'Willkommen' on The Muppet Show

“Stick with it, be who you are. It’s going to be tough.But it’s also going to be beautiful.” - Joel Grey

For fellow SC fans:  Schitts Creek - The Making of Cabaret

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

In the film Nyad, Diana reads the tail end of the poem 'The Summer Day' from a poetry collection of the  Pulitzer prize winning and best-selling author/poet Mary Oliver (from Maple Heights, Ohio) to her friend/coach Bonnie to emphasise that she needs to accomplish the one feat that has eluded her.  Interesting choice as Nyad and Oliver share some similarities in being lesbian, survivors of childhood abuse, and have/had strong relationships with Mother Nature (albeit a bit different).

Mary Oliver has become a favorite of poetry readers of all ages for her lyrical, intimate, and sensitive poems, many of which use nature as a lens for exploring the spectrum of human emotions, from love and joy to sorrow and despair. The best Mary Oliver poems remind us to pause and take a breath, revel in our surroundings, and encourage us not to take anything for granted. - Kayti Lahsaiezadeh

Movie Monday: Carol

Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett discovered the wonder that is Cincinnati in 2014 as they filmed the 1950s-era love story "Carol" there. The actresses praised Cincinnati during the press build-up for the movie's nationwide release in 2016:   “It’s been phenomenal shooting in Cincinnati, actually,” Blanchett said. “The architecture here is phenomenal. There’s so many buildings that haven’t been ... gentrified. Everyone, the fire department and police, have been so cooperative.”

Carol interview with Cate Blanchett
Carol's filming locations

While the mise-en-scene and acting is beautiful, I was frustrated by Carol's seemingly cruel nature and therefore didn't realise the appeal of the film, especially to someone I love, until I found the following explanation from the author of the original work: 

When Patricia Highsmith allowed her name to be attached to the 1990 republication by Bloomsbury (she previously published such it under the pseudonym Claire Morgan), she wrote in the "Afterword" to the edition:

The appeal of The Price of Salt was that it had a happy ending for its two main characters, or at least they were going to try to have a future together. Prior to this book, homosexuals male and female in American novels had had to pay for their deviation by cutting their wrists, drowning themselves in a swimming pool, or by switching to heterosexuality (so it was stated), or by collapsing—alone and miserable and shunned—into a depression equal to hell.

Imagine Me & You: Piper Perabo

Piper Perabo (and perhaps more importantly Lena Headey) first came up on my radar from Imagine Me & You (2006), which is a typical romcom with a difference.  The difference being that two women could have a meet-cute, fall in love, and live happily ever after.

The film takes place in my current city of residence but when you look up information on Piper Perabo, you find a lot of interviews mentioning her time at Ohio University.  

Blasts from the past

Coolest spies with Midwest roots

Movie Monday: From Denton, Ohio to the galaxy of Transylvania

The sad news of Meat Loaf's death last week, reminded me that while in Scotland I flipped through my friend John's Xmas gift of Atlas of Imagined Places and was surprised to learn that The Rocky Horror Picture Show was partially set in Ohio.  

The story begins in Denton, Ohio as Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), after getting engaged, travel to see the man who began it, but wind up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite alien from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania.  In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Janet is reading The Plain Dealer, a Cleveland, Ohio newspaper, and the map seen in The Denton Affair (I) is that of southeastern Ohio.

Meat Loaf should have had two parts in RHPS

It also turns out that Meat Loaf's musical career was born in Cleveland!

Ohio Mums Against Nuts

Rewatching the third series of After Life to glean more philosophical gems and comfort in coping with my grief.  It was strangley reassuring that a close friend mentioned that Anne speaking with Tony reminds her of me...as in 'Anne is speaking to you', which has prompted me to watch again.  

There isn't a direct reference to Ohio other than a mention of George Clooney in episode 1 and humanity in general.   

While speaking of humanity, Gervais' comedy special Humanity contains a snippet about a Twitter argument referencing a previous joke about how other people's nut allergies shouldn't affect his life.  He coins the group of mothers upset about his seemingly callousness about their children's nut allergies as 'Ohio Moms Against Nuts'.  Now there is only a parody account on Twitter with that name so I don't know if these mothers were actually from Ohio or if as usual, it was used as a moniker for middle America.

From @OhioMumsAGAINST on Twitter