The Hanslick Girls

May 28, 2018

Under The Covers: Ella Quinn’s “The Marquis And I”

The previous week’s viewing of Pride and Prejudice had left Dania longing for the romances. While she had appreciated hearing Eleanor and Gwen argue with Ellen about the film, she herself had found the film perfectly adequate. What it had stirred up in her, however, was a renewed desire to be lost in the rush, the sweep, the passions of a fantasy romance. The kind she had felt as a child, watching movies and not knowing that the female and male leads would always end up betrothed at the end.

All these thoughts swirled around her head as she entered the Barbara’s Bookstore in O’Hare Airport, on her way back home for a wedding. Love was in bloom, she thought, and perhaps if she could find a book to distract her from this during the flight ––

May 21, 2018

Sense Of Obligation: Joe Wright’s “Pride And Prejudice” (2005), with Ellen Fuller

It had only been about thirty minutes into the film’s two-hour runtime before Ellen Fuller jumped up, pointing at the screen.

“Where are your sleeves?” she asked, pointing aggressively at the exposed shoulders of Caroline Bingley. “I know the neoclassical style was very in but that doesn’t explain why it looks like you’re wearing your underthings to a ball! No way in hell would a fashion-forward woman like Caroline Bingley wear something so ridiculous. I can see her whole arm for god’s sake! It looks like she came to a ball in her petticoats!” Ellen wailed and buried her head in her hands.

“I mean, you can still see everyone else’s arms through the fabric,” Eleanor noted.

May 14, 2018

Think About Today: Lyric Opera of Chicago’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”

“So you’ve seen the John Legend one,” Dania began, as they walked away from the imposing facade of the Civic Opera House.

“Yes, the live one NBC just did,” Eleanor said. “Which the Jesus in this version was apparently in, but I wouldn’t recognize anyone.”

“Well, duh,” Dania said. “On TV there’s a million people in the ensemble, and at an opera house he’s about a million miles from your seat. I could barely make out which apostles were which.”

May 7, 2018

Acting Your Age: Takashi Nakamura’s “Pītā Pan No Bōken”

Dania emerged from her room and immediately stared at Eleanor.

“What?”

“You didn’t tell me…” Dania began, walking further into the room, “that there was a Daddy Long Legs anime, too!”

Eleanor exhaled. “Oh, yeah. There is.”

The ads for the show, Watashi No Ashinaga Ojisan, had run at the conclusion of the last few episodes of Pītā Pan No Bōken. This was in lieu of the show’s traditional, “Next Week On…” ending, for fear of spoiling what would happen next.