Never Full Dressed Without a Smile

So I know that this is supposed to be about Musical Theatre, but I am finding that because I am limiting myself to this topic, its why the blog keeps starting and stopping, so I apologize in advance, this too is not about musical theatre.

So, after my mile a day challenge I thought that I would do something fun and… seemingly easy. Someone had mentioned  something about a tie-a-day challenge while I was in the middle of the 30 day mile a day challenge. I wont bore you with the details on how that actually came about, but I will tell you that I thought it was a super fun idea!

As I write this post, tomorrow is day 30, and I didn't think I would fail this hard. This week in San Diego has been brutally hot, and the mere idea of wearing a tie made me break out in a sweat. I haven't worn a tie in over a week. I don't have more than a 6 day streak on this. It was difficult.

I love my clothes, I spend a great deal of time (and money) thinking about fun ways to look my best and to spark a conversation with someone. It generally works, and now that I am employed in a space that has very little dress code its even more noticeable when you wear a tie.

As I started the challenge, within a week, I already started having problems. I found that I liked about 5 of the 50 or so ties that I own (I guess technically some of them are owned by my boyfriend, but… that doesn't matter). So I started to but some guidelines on my challenge.

A tie a day, and it SHOULD not be the same tie (I cant be boxed in TOO much, so there were a FEW repeats) and it CANNOT be the same tie/shirt combination.

I find that in California, or to be more specific, Southern California, the idea of wearing a collar, let a lone a tie every day is suffocating for a lot of people. Wearing a tie and a jacket is a symbol. A symbol of varying meaning for most, but a symbol nonetheless. I like to throw in ties, bow ties, and vests into my day to outfits as often as possible, so when the idea came up that I should do a tie a day challenge, it really seemed simple.

But with weekends it became a struggle. Wearing a tie to work may get the staff chatting, but wearing a tie to brunch on Sunday gets major side eye. It was hard. I found that I am really super casual on the weekends, which I don't think I would have admitted to before this. The fanciest I would normally get would be a polo shirt. I went to a house party in a tie and vest, and I heard about it non-stop.

I don't go to church, so I literally would never wear a tie on the Sundays of this challenge. I honestly barely left the house.

I also found some major flaws in my wardrobe. I have a lot of weird patterned ties. They are hard to match to a shirt that isn't plain white, or plain blue (sometimes, even those weren't cutting it) and so once I got through what I would call my "good ties", it started to become a challenge (which I guess was the point).

pictured: not my boyfriend

In the middle of this challenge I was helping my boyfriend pick out an outfit for an important meeting. He needed to wear his business formal suit, nice shoes, a belt that matched, and a tie. Usually he dresses the standard button down and slacks for work, nothing too flashy. Seeing him take the time to get this all together meant that much more. To see a well polished business formal outfit walk out the door, when in general its something very standard really makes a statement. I think that if he wore a suit and tie every single day, this particular outfit would have looked very standard on him. I think that the tie, and the idea of polishing off the suit, made this occasion special, and made him look that much more amazing.

I still like wearing ties, and even bow ties sometimes. I like the extra flash, and the clean look it lends an outfit. I also really enjoy the laid-back So Cal persona that I have come to embody my last 6 years here (and 17 in California all together) to the point if I could get away with a tank top and basketball shorts everyday, it would be so blissful. and I don't feel like challenging that.

So, one big win with the 30 day, mile a day challenge, and one small defeat in the tie a day challenge. I hope the next one goes a little better.

Though, the lessons learned during this challenge were surprisingly numerous. I found some great combinations in my wardrobe that I never would have thought of before, It was also telling me that I need to do some additional purging in the closet. I remain steadfast that dressing up is fun, but its not necessarily as easy as I always pretend it is, and looking good for an occasion can mean more when its not expected of you. I guess having a ton of ties isn't the same as wearing a ton of ties, and most importantly, its okay to fail at something.

That last one is something that is always really hard to swallow.

Miss Saigon - 25 years later

Miss Saigon represents a lot in musical theater. It gave us Lea Solanga, which I feel we are all grateful for. It gave us another hit show from the team that gave the world Les Misérables, and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 1991

It currently holds the place as 13th longest running musical on broadway, April 11, 1991 thru January 28, 2001 with 4,092 performances.

It has its hold firmly on one of the most recognizable Asian storylines in the history of performing arts. Originally opening on the west in 1989, to celebrate is 25th anniversary, there was  a London Revival in 2014.

It was recorded and presented at select movie theaters around the nation on Thursday 9/22 and I was able to see this.

I had never seen Miss Saigon. It had been one of those shows that has always hovered on the periphery of my musical theatre obsession, but never really made its way to the forefront until recently.

When the 25th-anniversary cast recording was released, I listened to it. It was beautiful, but it didn't really catch me. There was one number that i feel in love with, and would listen to a lot from time to time. “Move in my mind” is one of those songs that will always get me going. Women singing, especially if there is harmony involved, and belting, and emotions. Yes. please.

I also did a little research on the show, and found out a lot about the original cast and some of the racist undertones, and that it was, unsurprisingly based on Madame Butterfly.

I was able to sing backup for a small men’s ensemble of Bui Doi once, and that was amazing, so i knew the music was great.

When they announced that we would be able to view i knew that it was something that needed to be seen with my own eyes. I immediately bought tickets, and convinced some of my friends to join my boyfriend and I.

I didn't really know what to expect. I heard from several people that they changed some of the songs, and of course there was a lot more swearing than anyone ever remembered. I want to say I enjoyed it, though the Social Justice Warrior in me kept complaining about the sexism, the racism, the white-saviorhood of the whole thing. It was also extremely depressing, but, you know, Madame Butterfly is also super sad.

I overall enjoyed the music more than anything. Much like Les Mis, it was incredibly powerful, and there are definitely some melodic lines that got stuck in my head, but it wasn't an easy score to hum along to.

The biggest downfall for me, was seeing the Gala at the end. I know for a lot of people it was a true highlight, and I feel like those people's opinions need to be honored, but for me, it was distracting. Lea Solanga is an incredible talent, but the first few acts were… confusing. Watching her sing was great, but then seeing her sing with cast members who just performed, was weird. When they brought out the original Chris, that was cool. But then the new Kim, and the new Chris… and all the kissing. It was… awkward, and seemed ill-planned

T

hen Jonathan Pryce came out, and he is not in the best shape. And he did the biggest number that the character he originated sang in the show, which is 900 years long. He brought out the new engineer, then the original producer, and composers came out. It was just… it dragged. I dont know what they could have done to entertain me. I think because I am new to this show, i felt like I was on the outside and I hated that.

Now that its being revived on Broadway, a new generation will be exposed to the Heat in Saigon. I really hope that the show has the same impact as the original.

I appreciate having a complicated relationship with this show now, at least I have a relationship with it now. I do feel that the history of this show may be just as important as the actual show itself.