Singularity, I don’t know
March 24, 2012 1:45 PM   Subscribe

The American Repertory Theater presents a musical by The Lisps about the Civil War, Ada Lovelace, and the Singularity, including such songs as Singularity, which is breathtakingly terrible but ever so catchy.

Their album was funded via kickstarter.
posted by dmd (23 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Boston Globe weighs in.
posted by dmd at 1:48 PM on March 24, 2012


So basically, while the prologue has some value and there are some pearls to be found, most of the dialogue is just a spewing forth of smalltalk.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:08 PM on March 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


This is like Star Trek TNG's lost all-singing episode.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:20 PM on March 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


Two different people have offered me a free ticket to this, and I have said "no" both times.

Here's my thing, and I know it's my thing: I have no idea why people write these shows about famous people that aren't really about the actual people in question. It drives me mad. Yes, I'm looking at you, Evita, as well.

Both Ada, Countess of Lovelace and her mother were dead before the US Civil War started. And this isn't an alternate history--it's our history, only in this one Ada Lovelace isn't dead (or 50) in 1860-whatever, she's a hot young babe with a crush on her US soldier/inventor penpal. Whose work she apparently supports with her husband's money (Lovelace was the one with the money; Ada's dad had spent all of her family's cash, except for her mother's settlements which Lady Byron hung onto with grim determination).

WTF? Why call this character Ada Lovelace at all, since she has nothing in common with the historical Ada Lovelace?
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:21 PM on March 24, 2012 [4 favorites]


In my next book, Che Guevara, Ada Lovelace, and Oscar Wilde have a menage a trois on a Zeppelin. That's piloted by a small T. Rex.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:22 PM on March 24, 2012 [5 favorites]


There's a line about the Goodyear Blimp in a Civil War drama about Ada Lovelace?

I am torn. I want to see this, and I TOTALLY WANT TO SEE THIS. It's a conundrum.
posted by xingcat at 2:43 PM on March 24, 2012


That T. Rex better have a Phantom of the Opera-like mask and be fond of singing the theme song from the Heidi anime, or I'm going to be sad now.
posted by Iosephus at 3:13 PM on March 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


I saw this in New York, I guess it must have been two years ago, and I thought it was fantastic. The atmosphere, the music, the energy, and particularly the craftsmanship of the set were really wonderful. I wish I could see it again.
posted by crackingdes at 3:18 PM on March 24, 2012


You're getting co-author credit now, Iosephus!
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:25 PM on March 24, 2012


Huzzah!
posted by Iosephus at 3:30 PM on March 24, 2012


Yes, I'm looking at you, Evita, as well.

You do realize that Evita wasn't a historical work at all, but rather an examination of the myth of Evita, just as previous Webber/Rice musicals Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar were both examinations of the myths of their subjects...
posted by hippybear at 3:32 PM on March 24, 2012


You do realize that Evita wasn't a historical work at all, but rather an examination of the myth of Evita

Yes. The myth of Evita didn't have Che Guevara in it until Rice put him there. I wasn't talking about the Evita stuff, but the "Hello, here's another famous person from Argentina! Let's jam him in there because he's so famous!"
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:54 PM on March 24, 2012


Jam him in anachronistically, I mean. If they had had Che Guevara the wealthy Argentinean high school and medical student, rather than grown-up international revolutionary Che Guevara as a character, it wouldn't have been so goddamn annoying.
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:58 PM on March 24, 2012


I was excited until I realized they weren't the LISPs.
posted by phrontist at 4:26 PM on March 24, 2012


How does the T. rex pilot that zepplin with its tiny arms?
posted by maryr at 4:55 PM on March 24, 2012


Every day I can link to T. Rex Trying is a good day.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:03 PM on March 24, 2012 [1 favorite]


needs mode parentheses
posted by Dr Dracator at 5:06 PM on March 24, 2012


more dammit

don't drink and comment, people
posted by Dr Dracator at 5:06 PM on March 24, 2012




Yes. The myth of Evita didn't have Che Guevara in it until Rice put him there. I wasn't talking about the Evita stuff, but the "Hello, here's another famous person from Argentina! Let's jam him in there because he's so famous!"

I think that it's telling that "Che" as a character was never supposed to be Guevara at all, and it was the stage production director who wanted to move the narrator/chorus character in that direction. Neither the movie nor the more recent revivals have attempted to make any connection between the character Che and the person of Che Guevara at all.

Perhaps the choice of name was unfortunate. Perhaps it was chosen to echo another Argentine who was working on behalf of the poor but doing it in an entirely different way from Eva's charities. In any case, it's certainly not the case that Che Guevara is part of the story of the myth of Eva as portrayed in the musical. Aside from one waltz where they spar, they don't interact at all, and Che functions specifically as someone outside of the story talking directly to the audience.
posted by hippybear at 8:27 PM on March 24, 2012


You know that old joke--"Metafilter: Your favorite band sucks"? That is happening for me for real right now.

To be fair, though, I haven't seen the musical. I love The Lisps' albums though. I was just playing a couple of their songs for a newish friend a few hours ago.
posted by overglow at 8:43 PM on March 24, 2012


I'm pretty sure Conrad Barski could write us a singularity musical about Lisp. Right on the front page of Land of Lisp is a comic book and music video. He's pretty much already started.
posted by wobh at 8:47 PM on March 24, 2012


The best part of the Globe review is the part where the lead actor/singer is referred to as "fatally passive." Ouch.
posted by Septober at 10:38 PM on March 25, 2012


« Older Future Noir   |   Legend of Korra Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments