DEɅN JOHNSON
@deanjohnsonuk
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Theatre + Film Director| Once, Bat Boy, BKLYN, First Date, Dogfight, LIFT, Starry | Rep: @collectiveagts | ☘️ | Not very tall | @theaesme ♥️
London, England
Joined May 2009
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A silly little boy had a silly little dream that he might direct silly little shows in silly little West End theatres. Today I’m making my silly little West End directing debut for our silly little show in the silly little London Palladium.
Follow your silly little dreams. ♥️
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I can’t be the only one who hears “it’s like the tide always f**king rising” in a heavy Scottish accent, right?
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No, a teacher in Ireland was not “suspended for refusing to refer to a child using their preferred pronouns”
A hefty🧵… buckle in…
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Does anybody know how to say “I’m really sorry but I genuinely can’t let you out because you’ll blow away” in cat??
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🟩🟩⬛️🟩🟩
⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬜️
🟩⬛️🟩⬛️⬜️
🟩⬛️⬛️⬜️⬜️
⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬜️
⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬜️
Not my Wordle.
Just the artwork for Wicked.
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L👏🏼G👏🏼B👏🏼T👏🏼 EDUCATION👏🏼 WILL👏🏼NOT👏🏼MAKE👏🏼YOU👏🏼BECOME👏🏼GAY👏🏼JUST👏🏼LIKE👏🏼HOW👏🏼HOME👏🏼ECONOMICS👏🏼DID👏🏼NOT👏🏼MAKE👏🏼YOU👏🏼BECOME👏🏼A👏🏼FRICKIN👏🏼LASAGNE👏🏼
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Laurence Fox leading a “Million Men March” that like 50 people turned up to to boycott Nike whilst wearing Nike trainers is comedy gold. Satire is dead.
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“There Are Worse Things I Could Do” from Grease is one of the most brilliant and tragic MT ballads and is slept on because the film reframed the context and so people don’t actually listen to what she’s saying thus diluting the message thank you for coming to my TedTalk xoxo
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TLDR: A teacher being suspended for publicly humiliating a pupil and become aggressive towards a colleague is not “an attack on free speech”.
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Bonus tweet to highlight the lack of self awareness of Enoch Burke’s claim that “a belief system is being forced on students”, coming from the child of an extremist Christian family cult teaching at a Church of Ireland School 😂
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@DailyMirror
"Let's go to Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this all to blow over."
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You can all retire now. Red Beret Girl ate this and left no scraps for anyone else. MT final boss level achieved.
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Now, call me old fashioned, but if a teacher at most schools loudly interrupted a public event to publicly humiliate a student like that for any reason, one might expect them to be disciplined in some form. If only that were the end of it.
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Love this. Not just because I’m excited for the Wicked movie, but this is a genuinely innovative way to market a movie. Builds a story around the movie itself, venerates the source material, celebrates filmmaking as a process. It does so much more than a simple trailer. 💚💚💚
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AND SO HALFWAY THROUGH DEFYING GRAVITY, ELPHABA AND GALINDA SWAP HARMONY LINES BECAUSE EPHABA IS READY TO FLY AND GALINDA HAS BECOME MORE GROUNDED WHICH IS REITERATED AT THE END OF FOR GOOD WHEN THEY SING CHANGED FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE THEY’VE LEARNED THAT FROM EACH OTHER
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Thanks for reading. Make up your own mind. Read whole stories, not headlines. Think critically. Defend free speech. Oppose aggression. Protect Trans rights.
Thanks ♥️
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They’ve just closed the door in the face of the Downing Street cat live on TV. 😱 This monster has to go.
#BorisMustGo
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In any workplace, if an employee publicly humiliated someone before aggressively pursuing another colleague, they would be suspended and investigated. It would be considered concerning if that employee refused to stay away from work while that investigation took place.
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Secondly, because right wing media have been fantasising about stories where a teacher gets suspended for using wrong pronouns for years. It validates their transphobia and fear-mongering. This isn’t that story, but they relish that they can just about bend it to that narrative.
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Some context on Enoch Burke. He is from the Castlebar Burke family who are a rather infamous Christian Extremist family/cult in Ireland. You’ve probably seen the Westboro Baptist Church in America? This is our version.
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Today, I’m building a Musical Theatre Theme Park using AI
First we have:
DEFYING GRAVITY - A WICKED COASTER
Everyone deserves the chance to fly around the emerald city castle, a centre piece of the park. Be sure to catch the Wizamania parade just after!
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Free speech is important, but so are facts. If we care about defending free speech, then we need to ensure it’s not conflated with freedom of consequences when a teacher humiliates a pupil and becomes aggressive towards a colleague in public.
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The headmaster asked Enoch to consider discussing the matter in a more appropriate space (remember, Burkes NEVER deal with things privately), at which point he becomes aggressive and chases her around the venue, and had to be separated from her.
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If a child asks you, sincerely, to refer to them by a particularly name/pronoun/nickname/whatever, then it’s a deeply shitty thing to refuse to do that. But as I said before, you have a right to believe and do shitty things.
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Today a story has released surrounding Enoch Burke a secondary school teacher who has been suspended from the school he works at following a series of events which began with his refusal to refer to a child by “they” pronouns, as requested by both child and parent.
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At a school event, Enoch (in true Burke form) stood up in front of students, parents and teachers to loudly announce his objections to transgenderism and refusal to refer to the pupil by their preferred name or pronouns. Attendees walked out.
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It was at this point the school made the decision to place Enoch on paid leave while a disciplinary investigation into his conduct is undertaken. Despite this, Enoch has continued to turn up to work.
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Some media, notably right-wing leaning media, have already pounced on this story as an attack on free speech. I am here to explain why I don’t believe that it is, and why it is being portrayed that way regardless of the facts.
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They hold very traditional Christian views, and express them quite aggressively. They believe AIDS was sent to punish gay people. Enoch has published a book about how homosexuals cannot be trusted. You get the jist. Not nice people.
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With Mean Girls, Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap all becoming musicals, Lindsay Lohan’s cultural legacy is now secure.
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Have you even lived in London if you haven’t once tried to take the Covent Garden stairs just to prove you can, only to vow “never again”?
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Firstly because Enoch is a Burke; and Burkes deal with nothing quietly. You can almost guarantee this will turn into a high profile employment tribunal, because that’s what Burkes do.
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First: Here is the story. Please read it. Please actually read the full story, not just the headline.
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I could end the thread here, because it could be argued that once you realise this, this is not newsworthy. It happens daily. But there’s a little more to dissect here. So why HAS this made the news, and why is it being presented as an attack on free speech?
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The most shocking thing about the rumours surrounding Boris Johnson getting his hairdresser pregnant is the revelation that Boris Johnson has a hairdresser.
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Enoch refused to do this. Which is objectively shitty. I don’t know to what level the school continued to request that he did so, but it’s important to note that he was not suspended at this point. That comes after this next event.
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So you have the right to believe or do shitty things so long as you don’t use those beliefs to threaten violence towards someone.
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I’ll preface all of this to say that I am a staunch supporter of free speech. I support in your right to hold or express whatever views you want. Batshit ones. Unconventional ones. Even shitty ones. Free speech is important and fundamental to democracy.
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Ok, so context given. In this story, Enoch was teaching a child who is transitioning and wished to be referred to by “They” pronouns and a new name. This was reiterated by the child’s parents and the school requested teachers to use that name as per inclusivity policy.
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“Look at your face in the mirror, I am there insiiiiiiiiide”
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It’s also worth noting that the family have been involved in a number of high profile (and some controversial) court cases, covering a broad range of reasons. This is not to discuss any of those cases but to highlight for later that they never deal with things privately.
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But as previous; no matter how ridiculous or shitty their beliefs, they have a right to hold them and express them peacefully. All of the above is purely for context which will become useful later.
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If you disagree with a casting, fine.
But that doesn’t give you the right to be cruel about a performer. Ever.
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Imagine the scenes when someone whips out the trans flag at the end of One Day More tonight.
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Amazon UK:
33,000 Jobs
Only 293m to HMRC
Removes footfall from other businesses
“Hallmark of capitalism.”
“Viable”
Theatre:
140,000 Jobs
2.8bn to HMRC
Adds footfall (Therefore contributes to further HMRC income)
“Socialist Playground”
“Not Viable”
@RishiSunak
try again
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Musicals can make you laugh and cry.
Musicals can break your heart and heal it.
Musicals can challenge your mind and stimulate it.
Musicals can make you feel uncomfortable and be your safe space.
All in one sitting.
Don’t ever tell me musicals are a simplistic art form. ✌️
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If you are celebrating the closure of a show because you don’t like the composer, and are happy to gloat in front of the cast and creatives who are anxious about their futures, then you don’t love theatre and kindly close the door on the way out.
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It should go without saying, but nobody should be finding out their upcoming year of work is cancelled over twitter.
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I stand by that this is the greatest line reading of all time.
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We need to stop equating a musical’s “success” with “length of run” for West End/Broadway.
🧵
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Pleased to announce I will be directing new musical “SIXTEEN”. It’s like “SIX” but instead of the many wives of Henry VIII it’s the many children of Boris Johnson.
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From now on I would like
@thetheatrecafe
to refer to their seating area as “MT Chairs at MT Tables” and that only.
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I see lots of criticism of ALW on here. But hearing him at Palladium today, I think he deserves hella respect. Dude is 72 and has given a lot to the art form. Could easily cash his chips in and walk away. Instead he is using his passion to save his first love and ours. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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I’ve said it before, but Michael Caine’s performance in The Muppet’s Christmas Carol was genuinely Oscar worthy. To be so earnest, raw and grounded surrounded by puppet rats, pigs, frogs and ghosts is a masterpiece. The unsurpassable Scrooge.
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“Stay Close” on Netflix is realistic because everyone knows that deep down, Musical Theatre people are just repressed serial killers.
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Dear Theatre Audiences.
We adore you. Making you happy is a fundamental part of our job.
I know it’s frustrating when shows are cancelled last minute due to Covid. It’s happened to me too, it sucks. But please don’t hound cast members about it. They are already sad/anxious.
♥️
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Genuinely just seen someone berating theatres for cancelling her tickets due to cast covid because “how come the cinemas are open then???”. She was also genuinely named Karen.
2021 has become a parody of itself.
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So Boris’ plan is:
Step One: he’s off to Harvard Law, so I get in there too.
Step Two: Make Warner reassess, impress him with my high IQ
Step Three: We throw a great big wedding, and invite all Delta Nu.
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So yeh, “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” isn’t directed at Kenickie or the snickering school kids. It’s to Sandy. And it’s very important to the song and larger plot impact that it is so.
P.S. A wop ba-ba lu-bop a qwop bam boom
P.P.S. Watch Grease 2
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THEATRE FOLK!
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I have created a custom Musical Theatre wordle to solve! The answer will be the name of a show, character or song from a musical. Give it a try and post below or on your feed with
#MTWordle
. good luck!
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This show would have eaten up on Netflix but it’s tone, casting and aesthetic were just 10 years ahead of it’s time.
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Honestly one of the things crippling the mental health progress in this industry is staff to student bullying in drama schools. Self important “teachers” who hurt students self esteem just to boost their own. I hear so (too) many examples of this.
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All four of these projects were released within 2 years of each other.
The range. The audacity. The talent.
This is Ariana DeBose’s world and we are living in it.
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Failed your goals in 2022? Here’s 3 easy steps to ensure you achieve them in 2023:
1. He’s off to Harvard Law. Get in there too.
2. Make Warner reassess. Impress him with your high IQ.
3. Throw a great big wedding. Invite all Delta Nu.
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If you were due to watch a show, and it’s been cancelled due to isolation related shutdowns and it ruins your plans, please direct your anger towards
@OliverDowden
, not the cast. 🙏
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Red, the blood of angry men.
Tea, a drink with jam and bread.
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I often hear actors discussing “what the director wants” with regards to audition prep. I can only speak for my process, but if you ever audition for me, please do not worry about what I want. Show me what *you* want to do with the role with pure, uncensored artistry.
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The saddest bit is when you needed us, we were there. We need you now. Don’t be silent. ♥️
#SaveTheArts
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A modern reimagining of A Chorus Line where it’s just Zach sat onstage with his laptop watching self tapes.
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Both these girls went to drama school and this video is the only thing you need to see to verify that fact
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So many wonderful actors I know have abandoned Musical Theatre because of how poorly they are treated in auditions compared to other acting auditions in theatre/tv/film. We need to fix this. We are stripping our talent pool by making an already hard industry arbitrarily harder.
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Can
@NationalTheatre
give over the Lyttleton for a whole year and just run the entire Sondheim canon, back to back, in rep for a whole season?
Please?
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A drama school student liked my Chris Moyles tweet, copied it to TikTok and went viral.
And do you know what?
Fair fucks to her. She’s industry ready.
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Theatre critics:
Review the show.
Critique the work.
***Do not personally insult the people in or behind the show.***
It’s literally that easy.
Sick of irrelevant hacks whose cultural vocabulary is so thin their only tools are playground insults.
Lett’s leave it there.
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Imagine there was a musical theatre theme park. What rides would there be?
The Phantom Boat Ride?
Starlight Express Hypercoaster?
Les Mis Revolving Teacups?
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I enjoy how openly and unashamedly stagey everyone can be these days. There was a weird time in the industry where everyone had to almost pretend to hate musicals to be “cool”. Fuck that.
It’s cool to love musicals, and we ain’t ever going back.
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A good time to remind everyone that national treasure Paddington Bear was an undocumented immigrant orphan. Immigration improves culture please and thank you good night. ♥️
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If shows are being cancelled/postponed, please don’t take it out on the performers, producers or box office staff.
We know it is frustrating for shows to be cancelled at last moment, but we are an industry trying our best amidst huge uncertainty.
Patience and compassion 🙏🏼♥️
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The best sign of how stagey the audience at Bonnie and Clyde was tonight wasn’t waving at someone every 30 seconds at the interval, it was the ENTIRE audience clapping on 2 and 4 and that honestly hit differently. 😂👏🏼😂👏🏼
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Now is a good time to remind you that A peaceful vigil for a woman murdered by a
@metpoliceuk
officer was met with brutal police action.
People said “they would do the same for any crowd in Covid”. Sure…
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Just had to cancel my flights to Ireland.
For the 2nd year in a row, I won’t get to see family over Christmas.
💔
I’m upset about the virus. I’m furious at this government.
Feel shit. Might cry. Need a hug. Sending love to to you all.
♥️
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That same reframing is why Sandy “changing” feels problematic in the film. In the musical, she’s not changing b/c of Danny, she’s changing because Rizzo calls her out on the hypocrisy of her Sandra Dee (see below*) conformity schtick and she frees herself of those standards
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@sainsburys
@amyhart1707
You can’t just throw another £100 onto somebody’s bill like that though. This is why people don’t shop online at Sainsbury’s. I suggest you refund her y’all.
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This. Call me old fashioned but I reckon the show about the flying wizard Jesus Nanny, the singing statue and the upside down tap dancing chimney sweep can cope with something as radical as “woman cast as woman”.
Trans women are women. So the idea of casting a woman to play a woman is hardly a "gimmick". 🙄
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Not to stir the pot, but I’m really interested to see if
@EquityUK
do ANYTHING about this. They have functionally failed members as a union for years. I hold I’m wrong, but I imagine they’ll once again put their own financial interests ahead of their members.
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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - but make it neon-fuelled 80s sci-fi/comic book thriller/splatter horror.
So much fun working on this reimagining of one of my favourite shows, with an all female ensemble playing the hive mind alien plant retelling the story of their world conquest. 🪴
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With this context, Sandy’s transformation is intended a female rebellion move, freeing herself of societal pressures, not “to get the guy”. By not having Sandy hear TAWTICD and immediately responding with Sandra Dee (Reprise), the film loses that crucial plot point and context.
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IF👏🏼YOU👏🏼WANT👏🏼TO👏🏼PROVE👏🏼ITS👏🏼NOT👏🏼ALL👏🏼MEN👏🏼THEN👏🏼HELP👏🏼BUILD👏🏼A👏🏼CULTURE👏🏼WHERE👏🏼THOSE👏🏼MEN👏🏼WON’T👏🏼👏🏼THINK👏🏼THEY’LL👏🏼GET👏🏼AWAY👏🏼WITH👏🏼IT👏🏼
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I was supposed to be opening a Sondheim show at the Minack Theatre this weekend.
I’m itching to direct some Sondheim. Who wants to produce some Sondheim? Who wants to play/sing/act some Sondheim? Let’s make some Sondheim?
So help me Sondheim
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Down once more to:
POINT OF NO RETURN - THE PHANTOM BOAT RIDE
All I Ask is that you keep your arms and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times.
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