And We're Starting at the End

Painted some winter themed animals ❄️

and EVEN WHEN things were more muted/neutral, the neutrality was OFFSET by ACCENT COLORS and HIGH CONTRAST between the wood tones and everything ELSE

ALSO AMERICAN COLONIAL INTERIORS POPPED OFF, Y'ALL (IN TERMS OF COLOR/COZINESS)

PEOPLE USED WHITEWASH AND COLORFUL TRIM OR EVEN JUST COLORFUL FURNITURE IF THEY COULD AFFORD TO DO SO

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON FRENCH AND BRITISH AND AMERICAN WALLPAPERS

"ELIZABETH" YOU CRY, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO EXTRA THIS MORNING?! IT'S MONDAY"

Because, my friend, my war on GREIGE will NEVER end.

Historic interiors were filled with LIFE and LIGHT and COLOR. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

Part of the reason we don't see a lot of textile art is because, frankly, textiles tend to degrade over time - especially ones that had utility! And yes, pigments and weaving and dying all boosted the expense of things, when we were finally reliably block-printing fabrics and broad reams of paper, it was no longer just the wealthy who could afford pretty patterns!

In the Americas, a far wider variety of pigments also became available because of the abundance of... well, a shitton of flora and minerals, some of which weren't as common in Europe.

WHY THE HIGHLIGHTER COLORS? you ask.

CANDLES.

Those colors reflect candlelight and natural sunlight REALLY WELL.

Humans LOVE bright colors, it's NOT just a thing for kids. We live in a brilliant, vibrant, multifaceted world. We ALWAYS have.

Phoebus and Clopin interactions pleasantly surprised me. Clopin interactions in general! Loved that he got more screen/stage time. LOVE that Clopin hates his ass, he was ON SIGHT when Phoebus stepped in the Court of Miracles (cheering for him)

I LOVE EVERY ESME AND CLOPIN MOMENTS AUGFH. Love that all their scenes together is just Clopin being stressed out asf for her wellbeing😭

Exhibit A: Clopin helps her escape the guards after helping Quasimodo.

Exhibit B: Cockblocking Phoebus (deserved)

And yet for all the troubles that followed Esmeralda, he doesn’t leave her behind (I will proceed to be extremely normal about this.)

I love the Top of the World smm😭 I didn’t like it at first when I was just listening to it, I didn’t know the scene had moments of Esmeralda learning sign language from Quasimodo while they were singing AUGFH THEY’RE SO SWEET.

Though I have to say, I prefer the scene in Disney when Esmeralda gave the necklace to Quasimodo in case he needed a place to take refuge instead of the musical where she gave the necklace much later, so Quasimodo could help Phoebus meet her when he’s better.

Love the extended exchanges between Esmeralda and Frollo. Their scene was like a heavy weight in contrast to the lighthearted moment after Top of the World. Frollo impressively hit the ableist-pedo-sexist-racist quadruple combo in one scene by saying (1) he sees Quasimodo nothing more than a child, (2) Esmeralda refutes and he responds by saying he ALSO sees her as a child (while also lusting for her), and (3) claims Esmeralda’s soul is unclean because she’s Romani and didn’t want to be saved (when really, she just called him out for being a creep🤮)

Idk why the The Court of Miracles’ melody was changed, it kinda sounds much more cartoony than the disney version? That’s the only thing I’m sad about in the soundtrack (and maybe some parts of Topsy Turvy but I get the changes).

Also kinda sad about “why invite their calumny and consternation” being changed into “why invite their curses and consternation” because the og flowed better + it was the exact words Frollo used in the book.

Rest and Recreation is so good and it became even better when I realized that leitmotif WAS used in the film as Phoebus’ leitmotif (while listening to Paris is Burning), and they turned it into a full song for him.

The stagecraft of this musical still BLOWS me away. Like the slo-mo part in Rhythm of the Tambourine I paused and rewinded bc HOW IS THAT FABRIC SUSPENDED IN MOTION?? Until I saw that someone gave Esmeralda a different stiff prop of the shawl before she climbed on the stage. The sudden change in lighting giving spotlight to Esmeralda and the three men helped get into the feel of hearing their thoughts. Very smooth transition.

I know it’s a common stagecraft to clap your hands to fake slap but it felt so real when Frollo slapped Quasimodo, I literally gasped bc I did NOT remember Frollo being physical in the play on my first watch. He’s also openly more racist, it shocked me.

They used the trick again when the crowd was throwing rotten produce at Quasimodo at the pillory. No props, just shared delusion (theatre in a nutshell). Michael Arden did such a good job creating a convincing movement of being hit, the crowd hid the claps well too.

And then we also have this magic:

Orange light on a fabric, actors flapping it to create a wavy movement, some smoke effect - boom, molten lead.

Oh my goddd the scene where Esmeralda was imprisoned still makes me cry. It’s still as visceral and uncomfortable as ever. Ciara Renee’s scream is so haunting.

This line fucks me up so bad. The way her voice cracked when she said she didn’t feel very brave. She’s been nothing but brave the whole time. So hard to watch.

Cue The Waterworks when it transitioned to Someday. Heartbreaking, haunting, hopelessly hopeful even at her lowest moment. I’m so unwell.

(Also side note: set design is CRAZY for making the space feel like a cage when the only implication of bars are the very same railing prop just propped vertically to act as prison bars. Lighting does a good job of making the stage feel desolate. Lighting is so so important)

And ofc, the best parts of the Finale (which is every part btw):

I lock in when “Libera me domine de morte aeterna” comes the fuck on. So fucking HYPE.

The whole Salutaris verse. Not gonna expound on it bc it’s so good I cant

I do miss the very high soprano part in “In excelsis” tho but FUCK THAT WHOLE VERSE ASCENDED ME TO HEAVEN’S GATES IN BOTH FILM/MUSICAL VERSIONS. Nothing will top the dopamine the Sanctuary ost gives me.

Phoebus and Clopin rallying the people! As much as I pettily dislike Phoebus, I love his parts in every song he’s in. He gets the best parts like wth annoying asf/j. I love that he took Esmeralda’s hopes and prayers to the heart, he sang God Help the Outcasts in Esmeralda and Someday in Finale.

I LOVE that they included Clopin here. I don’t know if I recall correctly but wasn’t he the one who originally rallied the people in the book? As much as I’d love it to be him in the musical also, it makes sense why they had to change it to Phoebus.

MADE OF STONE REPRISE IS SO FUCKJNG HYPE. Notre Dame herself literally hyping my man UP. YEAH GO FUCK THEM UP QUASI!!🔥

I didn’t realize it was Florika and Jehan who sang “the wicked shall not go unpunished” until I read the lyrics (clenching my chest)

“The world is cruel, the world is ugly, but there are times and there are people where the world is not. And at its cruelest it’s still the only world we’ve got.” 28 STAB WOUNDS.