Parts of A Show That I Never Got — Page 4

Can I just say that it's hard to say ANYONE'S interpretation is wrong? One might disagree with you and even find logical ways to poke holes in your idea, but that's the beauty of art. It's what it is to you.

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In Ragtime, I never understood the little boy's clairvoyance. It's never explained anywhere in the show.

"He's telekinetic too, there's a little moment where he makes a hairbrush move by itself."

What is this, CARRIE?

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I get the buying gravity meaning - I just don't like the line. It seems convenient and forced to me.

Another lyric I never quite got: from West Side Story Anita sings "A boy who kills cannot love, a boy who kills has no heart"

Does she not know that Bernardo killed Riff first? Or if she does know, does she just choose to ignore it in her hatred of Tony? It seems to me that A)Tony would have told Maria what happened by that point, and she would have told Anita, B)if Anita knew the truth of the matter, I would think she would realize the irony of her own words...

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I realize that, Roscoe. It just reminded me of that scene in the CARRIE musical, when she's getting ready for the prom and makes her hairbrush fly in the air while singing "I'm Not Alone."

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"Tom, the little boy's clairvoyance is an element in the novel as well. He's telekinetic too, there's a little moment where he makes a hairbrush move by itself. It serves mainly to bring the novel more or less back to its beginnings, as Houdini remembers the boy's warning about the Duke and rushes back to the house, only to find it closed up. Another frustration."

Ah...so you had to have read the novel to know that? That was element that was completely eliminated from the film.

Updated On: 12/24/09 at 12:29 PM

Yes, it is a reference to the Archduke Ferdinand. In the novel, the little boy gazes into the headlight of Houdini's car and says "Warn the duke." This is years before the assassination, of course, the kid can't have any idea of what he's saying.

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From ANNIE:

Betcha they're young
Betcha they're smart
Bet they collect things
Like ashtrays, and art.

Was there really a trend for collecting ashtrays?

I've mentioned this in other threads, but just what the hell is Val's friend the Radio City Music Hall chorus girl in A Chorus Line doing going home for Christmas long enough to get knocked up? Don't they have some ninety-odd shows a day during the Xmas season? And why would she never go back? Did she instantly intuit she was preggers and decide that she wanted to change her lifestyle on the spot?

Drives me crazy every time I hear that part of the story.

Hey, Morosco.

" Bet they collect things
Like ashtrays, and art".

"Was there really a trend for collecting ashtrays"? - morosco"

I think they just liked the way the lyric sounded. It does scan well. Or maybe it's the kind of thing a poor orphan might imagine that rich people collect? It sounds like a non-sequitor, but it actually makes a little sense. Poor people use whatever's to hand for an ashtray, but rich people - they have ornate crystal ashtrays. Cast iron ones. Might sound exotic to them. Like having a fancy expensive garbage can. It's a luxury. Even the things that the rich use to dispose of their refuse is expensive and beautiful.

And I don't know about trends, but I collect ash trays (inherited the habit from an uncle), and I know others that do.

Updated On: 12/24/09 at 03:50 PM

in RENT when Collins says "I like boys" and Angel says "boys like me"... now is he responding to Collins by saying that Collins likes boys like Angel or is Angel saying that boys like him... or is it both?

and during life support when Paul says to Gordon "why choose fear"... why does he ask that? at what point did Gordon say he was afraid for him to ask that?

and before Tango Maureen... when Joanne tells Mark "she's 3 hour late".. is she referring to Maureen or the engineer?

yeah so I just saw RENT last week and all these questions just popped in my head! haha

Updated On: 12/24/09 at 04:25 PM

You're all just going to laugh at this.
And I know that it has absolutely no importance.
But it drives me insane just about every time I hear it.
Blood In The Water.

"You're nothing until the thrill of the kill" becomes your only law.
OR
You're nothing until "the thrill of the kill" becomes your only law.

So would their law be the statement "You're nothing until the thrill of the kill", or would it simply be the concept of "the thrill of the kill"?

...talk about over analyzing.

Updated On: 12/24/09 at 10:23 PM

The second is the only one that makes sense, consider the structure

1."_____" becomes your only law.

2.You're nothing until "_____" becomes your only law.


Analogy: 1. "Fame" is achieved
2. You're nothing until "Fame" is achieved

On their own, 2 is the only one that makes sense (if its purpose was telling someone they can achieve Y if and only if X).

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Updated On: 12/24/09 at 10:35 PM