Last night I went to see Beauty and the Beast in San Francisco. It was interesting, because I hadn’t seen the Disney movie.

WHAT‽

Okay, usual explanation. When growing up I had a book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which are an older and much darker set of stories than the cheerful Disney ones. I like original (or composite) Disney movies, like Lion King, but the fairy tale remakes I avoided…too saccharine for me even as a kid.

So, Beauty and the Beast. I’m glad to have seen it, and I’m glad I went last night, but I wasn’t missing…

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Last Sunday I went to see the staged reading of Paul Heller’s Beijing, California, which is being put on by the Asian American Theater Company and directed by Duy Nguyen, one of the founders of Theatre Rice. It was quite an experience, even without real staging, costumes, whatever.

This particular piece, however, comes inspired by the trailer for the play, made by TR alum Huy Vu. (If you aren’t within Huy’s Facebook circle, you can watch the trailer on YouTube.) Specifically, it was Sasha’s first comment that put the seeds of the idea into my head.

Watch the trailer, then come back and read Hǎoqù, a story about a few TR members in those troubled times.

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Yesterday, Lily and I went to see Wicked (careful, spoilers!). It was my second time seeing it. What follows is not a review, but rather selected moments that other people who know Wicked might be able to sympathize with. And a recording of memories. It is not a review because my recommendation is already to go see it; it’s part of that upper echelon of musicals that have good music, good humor, and a point, all in one show, and I very much enjoyed seeing it for the second time last night.

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