thehanslickgirls

January 1, 2018

Keeping The Flame: Book-It Repertory’s “Howl’s Moving Castle, A New Musical”

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of friends who are always out experiencing the best of entertainment. Be it plays, films, concerts, exhibits, or games, they’ve learned that the arts are best when experienced together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. This week, the Hanslick Girls discuss a new musical adaptation of a children’s book, and attempt not to mention the other adaptation of it. Let’s hear what they had to say…

Eleanor stood first, before the crowd did. She was accustomed to the Seattle trend – standing ovations were more common here than in Chicago. The applause rattled the dark walls of the Center Theatre, the wide-thrust space where Book-It Rep made their home. Dania and Gwen clapped politely, eventually joining Eleanor at their feet when the rising crowd began to block their view of the actors.

“I feel like I need to go read the book now,” Dania said, grabbing her coat. “There was a lot I didn’t remember before.” Continue Reading

December 25, 2017

Away In A Manger: Satoshi Kon’s “Tokyo Godfathers”

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of friends who are always out experiencing the best of entertainment. Be it plays, films, concerts, exhibits, or games, they’ve learned that the arts are best when experienced together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. To celebrate Christmas Day, the Girls take a look at one of the more unconventional holiday specials: a 2003 film about family, faith, and second chances. Let’s hear what they had to say…

“That’s a…rather contrived note to end the movie on.”

“I’m satisfied,” Eleanor said, watching as the credits rolled by to a reggae-like cover of “Ode To Joy” – which perhaps had something to do with New Year’s Eve, but in practice seemed an odd choice.

“Huh,” Dania grunted. The film was her recommendation – she had grow up watching the unconventional holiday movie, and had wanted to share it with her friends. She was lucky to find a version with good subtitles online. The film lost something without its powerful original voice actors – even in a foreign language, the passion of their delivery helped the movie spring to life.

December 18, 2017

Join The Canon: Mariah Carey’s “Merry Christmas”

Meet the Hanslick Girls: Gwen, Eleanor and Dania. Created by writer Zach Barr, they are a trio of friends who are always out experiencing the best of entertainment. Be it plays, films, concerts, exhibits, or games, they’ve learned that the arts are best when experienced together. They may not have the same opinions, but their conversations tend to make for an entertaining read. This week, the Girls discuss a classic Christmas chart-topper from 1994…and the rest of the CD it came with. Let’s hear what they had to say…

Gwen was about to give herself the week off. She had been hitting the ground running for the coming year – sending out résumés, booking interviews, trying to nail down the chaotic schedule of a working theatre artist in Chicago. But that break didn’t start until the 20th of December – before then, she was still working hard, writing out cover letters as Christmas music played softly from her speakers.

The relative calm was suddenly broken by a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Dania emerged, wearing a thick winter sweater.

Author / thehanslickgirls