Wicked: An Untangling of Adaptations
Chelsee Morris
My introduction to the land of Oz came when I was a child via my mother’s VHS tapes. I was four, five and six, and at least once every weekend I watched our tape of The Wizard of Oz. It was a good deal: my mom would have a designated time to nap while I sat spellbound for hours by the colors and music and wonder.My first encounter with Wicked was more incidental, through the mercy of an iHeartRadio's shuffled radio station when I was still too young to have money for music streaming services. I loved the songs, and when I was a teenager, I was given tickets to see the musical which I loved…
20 Books By Your Favorite Podcast Hosts
Yesterday, I was trying to convince a friend that we had to see a movie because “a lot of people had told me it was really great,” but, when pressed, I admitted “people” was just the host of a podcast I had recently listened to. In fact, I frequently find myself making this confession or prefacing an anecdote, fun fact, or recommendation with, “So I heard on this podcast...” More often than not, I’m talking about BPL’s flagship podcast Borrowed. Podcasts are one of my favorite sources of information because they, like books, are educational and accessible, and foster a…
A (Folk)Tale as Old as Time: 3 Folklore Retellings
I recently went to see Hadestown on Broadway. If you’re unfamiliar with the musical, it is a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. The story goes like this: Eurydice is trapped in the Underworld as a result of a deal she made with Hades. Orpheus travels there to rescue her, and they are told that they can walk out of Hell, but if he looks back at Eurydice as they walk out, she has to return to the Underworld permanently. Just as they’re about to escape, Orpheus is plagued by doubt and turns to make sure that Eurydice is still following him. She gets pulled back into Hell as he laments…