Rec. #768: Broadway Miscast - "The Schuyler Sisters"

What: The performances from the Broadway Miscast events can be anything from broadly comedic to acutely poignant. This one -- three Broadway boys performing "The Schuyler Sisters" -- is mainly super-duper fun.

How to get it: You can watch this particular performance on YouTube here. Go to the MCC Theater channel to see playlists for each year of Miscast.

Learn more about the Miscast events on the MCC Theater website and appreciate that the performances are posted online because the event ("gala") itself is SPENDY.

Rec. #767: The Guardian's "Blind Date" Series

What: Blind Date has been a regular feature in The Guardian for years, and it is *fascinating*. Every week, the paper matches two readers up and pays for their dinner together.

The blind daters report back via a questionnaire that touches on awkward moments, expectations, and whether they'd introduce their date to their friends. They also each rate the date on a scale of 1-10.

Common themes: Restaurants seating the dates at separate tables, plate sharing, people describing their own friends as "vicious" 

How to get it: You can dive into more than 500 blind date stories in the Guardian's online archive.

Rec. #766: What CTA Workers Know

What: The marvels of public transit are only possible because of its workers. Chicago magazine interviewed a dozen CTA employees and heard about the good, the bad, and the alarmingly violent.

Representative quote: "You get singing groups, you get shell games, you get people dressed up like it’s Halloween when it’s not Halloween. There was even a guy in a diaper once. But you know, this is Chicago."

How to get it: "What CTA Workers Know" appears in the January 2019 issue of Chicago magazine and is also available online in a very attractive layout.

Rec. #765: Prompt from Louis Virtel - Celebrities Who Best Owned a Single Year

What: Here's a fun prompt to have rolling around in the back of your head during (what I hope is) a short work week.

Today's essay question: celebrities who best owned a single year.

Sample responses:
1954 - Grace Kelly
1964 - The Beatles
1984 - Prince
1987 - Cher
1993 - Steven Spielberg
2008 - Tina Fey


Connections to previous Wreckage: See more Louis Virtel with Rec. #406 and Rec. #753.

How to get it: Jump in to the still-ongoing thread here.

Rec. #764: The Outrage

Oona against the patriarchy

What: The Outrage is a DC-based, female-founded activist clothing company. A percentage of every purchase is donated to progressive organizations, including Black Lives Matter, the ACLU, the National Organization for Women, and Capital Pride Alliance.

Representative merch: "OMG GOP WTF" dog tank, "Thoughts & prayers Policy & change" t-shirt, "Plank like RBG" water bottle, "There is no Planet B" kids t-shirt, "Black Lives Matter" sweatshirt dress

How to get it: Shop the store online, or visit in person at storefronts in DC and Philadelphia.

Rec. #763: The Great Museum

What: You'll have to trust me -- this Austrian documentary about an art museum is fascinating, soothing, and slyly funny, all at the same time.

Get a peek behind the scenes of Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, as the filmmakers give screentime to everything from the directors figuring out marketing to curators planning exhibits to docents airing grievances to restoration specialists performing magic to someone checking the moth traps. 

Connections to previous Wreckage: The Great Museum was part of List #57: Ten Pleasant Surprises of 2015.

Rec. #762: Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone's "Womanhood" Video Series

What: Who better to explain the nuances of womanhood than comedians Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone? Literally no one.

Representative episodes: "Ruining Your Body with Alcohol," "Finding the Perfect Prom Dress Shopping with Mom," "Do You Need Helmets for Aqua Cycling?"

Connections to previous Wreckage: Find more Aparna Nancherla on her Twitter (@aparnapkin), which was part of List #66: Public Voices to Pay Attention To. Find more Jo Firestone on Dr. Gameshow, which was Rec. #585.

How to get it: See the playlist on YouTube here.

Rec. #761: Treemail in Australia

What: This story is from a few years ago, but it's lovely. In 2015, the Melbourne city council mapped every tree in the city to better track any that were struggling. They assigned each tree a digital ID and email address so people could report issues they saw.

People took those email addresses and started writing personal messages to the trees, sending them thanks and good wishes and compliments. The mapping project is still going strong, and one can only hope that the positive messages are as well.

How to get it: Read the BBC story here to see some examples of messages people have sent. Explore the map here. Click on any tree to find its email address.

Rec. #760: Trailer for Fosse/Verdon

What: The Fosse/Verdon miniseries is coming this spring, and I'm very excited. 

I love that Gwen Verdon is in the title. I love that the cast includes actual Broadway talent. I love that we will get to see people take on the daunting task of pretending to be Liza Minnell, Neil Simon, and Shirley MacLaine.

How to get it: Watch the teaser trailer here.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Fosse, the Tony-winning revue of the choreographer's work, was Rec. #262. 

Rec. #759: Olivia Colman in Green Wing

What: Olivia Colman is, of course, gobsmackingly fantastic in everything she does, and I'm delighted that she's deservedly getting accolades this awards season. 

It seems like a great time for a reminder that she is also very funny as frazzled Harriet in the deliciously bonkers show Green Wing, which aired in the UK 2004-2006. 

Representative quote: [Pulls a cat out of her bag] "But then who did I leave at the vet?"

Connection to previous Wreckage: Green Wing was Rec. #110.

How to get it: Green Wing is currently available to stream in the US on Amazon Prime and Netflix.

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2019, or, as I'm optimistically dubbing it, "The Year When Everything Gets Fixed" (hahahahahahasob)

I'm going to be trying a "one week on, one week off" thing, so I'll see you back here in a bit.