Otters, smiles, Earth, Sears — oh my!
You oughta know what I think of jukebox musicals.
So, you’ve come back for a second prettied-up email with words written by me and some random links. Thank you! If this is your first newsletter from me, welcome and thank you. 🍒
I want you to know
As a Broadway in Pittsburgh subscriber, I get a chance to see the live stage shows that stop in town each season. I love musicals. I credit an elementary school invitation to join the high school’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” as a children’s choir member as my eye-opening experience of musical theater — thus, making all the world a stage to me.
But for as much as I love musical theater and really wish busting out in a prepared song and dance choreography was acceptable in the middle of, say, a busy Pittsburgh street (the toe-tapping song would be “Yinz Are Jagoffs”) or the self-checkout area of Target (with the show-stopping song called “Self-checkout” *jazz hands*), there is one thing I detest about musical theater: Jukebox musicals.
Wikipedia defines a jukebox musical as a show “in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music.”
This format is not new, though its origins in a contemporary sense are apparently largely unknown. And, before I continue, I should note that I love the music of a jukebox musical — I want everything in life to be “Glee”-d up (all the world’s a stage). What irks me about jukebox musicals is cramming popular songs to match the sometimes awkward storyline. (We’ve all seen “Mamma Mia!” at least three times, swearing we’d never watch it again but then watching it again because the music is really good.)
(By the way, there’s even a jukebox musical about Susan Boyle — aptly (?) named “I Dreamed a Dream.”)
Anyway… the national tour of “Jagged Little Pill” was in Pittsburgh this week. The cast — led by Heidi Blickenstaff as Mary Jane Healy — was fantastic. Blickenstaff reopened in the role on Broadway following a COVID-19 pause. When the show was canceled in December 2021, Blickenstaff joined the tour.
Look. The story of the show is engaging and emotional — bringing important, real-life issues to light in a way that hopefully helps theatergoers understand that society and the unrealistic standards we’ve created are immensely toxic and damaging. And the music is Alanis Morissette’s bad-ass songs from the ‘90s that played on our favorite top 40 radio stations in the ‘90s (RIP, B94) — just recreated for musical theater.
Hearing people sing songs after a sexual assault, after a drug overdose and about gender expression all seemed a little odd. Though, to be fair, “Les Misérables” is one of my favorite shows, and by the end of that show (which is not a jukebox musical), most of the people singing are dead.
Anyway, I’ll await the “MJ the Musical” stop in Pittsburgh, hopefully in the near future.
FDA’s proposal to change so-called ‘gay blood ban’ doesn’t do much
A lot of news outlets ran with stories in the past several days practically cheering on the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed changes to allow blood donations from gay and bisexual men.
Buried from the headlines and ledes was that not much about the FDA’s proposal really changes.
First, some quick background: Blood donation restrictions date to the beginning of the AIDS epidemic as an effort at the time to protect the blood supply from HIV. The FDA prohibited gay and bisexual men from donating blood. While a lifetime ban was eventually removed, the current policy states that men who have sex with men can only donate blood if they haven't had sex with other men for three months.
What does the proposed policy say?
The new proposed policy would eliminate the time-based restrictions on men who have sex with men (and their female partners) and instead screen potential donors' eligibility based on a series of questions that assess their HIV risk, regardless of gender. Anyone taking medications to treat or prevent HIV, including PrEP, would not be eligible. — NPR
That last line is important: Anyone taking medications to treat or prevent HIV, including PrEP, would not be eligible.
PrEP, or “pre-exposure prophylaxis,” is a medication that helps prevent HIV, and is highly effective when taken as prescribed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says PrEP is 99 percent effective when taken as prescribed.
In 2019, 35 percent of gay and bisexual men were said to be taking PrEP. Stats for Latino men and Black men were lower than for white men. PrEP usage dropped during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gay and bisexual men in “monogamous relationships” apparently would be eligible to donate, the new policy states.
While advocacy group GLAAD welcomed the proposed changes, the organization also said the proposal still does not go far enough to end stigmas.
"When we limit and defer people who are being proactive in their sexual health, that stigmatizes them. The misconception is that people on PrEP are promiscuous or have a higher risk of HIV infection — that's categorically false," a spokesperson for GLAAD told NPR.
By the way, about 22 percent of new HIV cases in 2020 were from people who identified as heterosexual. Fewer than 1 percent of straight people use PrEP.
You otter believe it!
There are officially river otters at Presque Isle State Park in Erie County, Pennsylvania!
Environmental staff members and others had long thought that North American river otters existed on the 3,200-acre peninsula that juts into Lake Erie. Presque Isle is among the top spots in the country for bird-watching and is home to several animal species not seen elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
There had been signs that river otters called Presque Isle home: Tracks, otter slide imprints and sightings from park visitors.
But no known photographic evidence existed.
That is, until Dec. 31.
“When I saw it on the video, I yelled for Brian to come over because we’ve been trying for so long. I got a little excited about it. It’s been my unicorn for a while. We were just missing out on them or the camera batteries were dying. It was just one of those things that just didn’t click.” — Presque Isle State Park environmental education specialist Ray Bierbower told WJET-TV
Bierbower and Brian Gula, also an education specialist, shared their news on the state park’s Facebook page.
“After years of finding tracks, slides in snow, and a few latrines, we were rewarded New Year's Eve … with our first video clip of an otter here at Presque Isle,” Bierbower wrote.
State park officials estimate that three otters live at Presque Isle.
The North American river otter can stay underwater for eight minutes, the National Wildlife Federation says. And here’s something I didn’t realize: The NWF says the otter can grow to three or four feet and weigh up to 30 pounds.
Fun fact: Erie’s minor league hockey team is named the Otters. They play in the Ontario Hockey League. You may have heard of Connor McDavid, the 26-year-old NHL star who plays for the Edmonton Oilers. He played for the Otters.
Stories I’ve read recently…
Sheetz is apparently reviewing a policy in its employee handbook that suggests people can’t be hired if they have "missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth." Apparently, some workers call it the “smile policy.” Business Insider reported on the policy and confirmed its existence with three former workers and with a spokesperson for the company. Nick Ruffner, the spokesperson, told Business Insider that the news outlet’s inquiry “has prompted a more specific review to ensure our policies are aligned with Sheetz's commitment to foster a culture of respect.” (Insider)
Full disclosure: I am a Sheetz Freak (the term used to describe people obsessed with Sheetz) and have been known to go to Sheetz stores one, two or more times a day.
As Florida continues to attempt to erase Black history from its classrooms and lesson plans, 82-year-old professor emeritus Marvin Dunn and seven others are suing the state over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ law that lets the government dictate what material leaders think is “woke.” Merriam-Webster defines “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” (I suspect DeSantis has a different definition.) Dunn is offering “Teach the Truth” tours across Florida, where he takes participants to “some of the worst racial violence in Florida history.” (WaPo)
Ever think about how much plastic is involved in your everyday life? It’s a stupid amount of plastic — including the number of plastic bags a cashier will wrap like three items in (I recently forgot reusable bags for a Target trip and was mortified). That’s where “The Plastic Bag Store” comes in. This installation serves as environmental awareness and an immersive performance. Creator Robin Frohardt said she was “struck by the ridiculous amount of packaging that we’re using every day.” The installation is a fake grocery store where products look lifelike but are made completely out of plastic. The exhibit began in Times Square in 2020 and is on display this week in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (The Ann Arbor News, though an interview on The Weather Channel prompted me to search for more information)
It seems the people saying “nobody wants to work anymore” can add Earth’s inner core to the things that have paused from working. New research suggests the inner core may have stopped spinning around 2009. But don’t be worried: “Nothing cataclysmic is happening,” geophysicist Hrvoje Tkalcic, who wasn’t involved with this specific study, said. (CNN)
Remember when drugstore chains decried organized shoplifting, saying it was wreaking havoc in the industry? Well, Walgreens now says that it “maybe cried too much.” A year ago, in January 2022, Walgreens’ CFO James Kehoe said the shoplifters aren’t “somebody who can't afford to eat tomorrow. These are gangs that actually go in and empty our stores of beauty products.” He said the company saw “shrink” (a retail industry term for lost revenue) decrease 1 percent — from 3.5 percent to 2.5 percent. The National Retail Federation says the median shrink percentage was 1.2 percent in 2021, which was the same as it was in 2016. That said, more than 70 percent of retailers have considered theft more of a priority over the last five years. (USA TODAY)
Thirty years ago this past week (Jan. 25, 1993), Sears stopped publishing its well-known catalog. The company published its first catalog — which, over time, sold everything from apparel to houses (it even sold heroin) — in 1888. Long before Amazon’s powerful existence, Sears was struggling, and 50,000 workers lost their jobs when the company killed off the print publication that once had more than 1,000 pages. In 1993, Sears had 859 stores. Today, it apparently has under two dozen stores left.
Thank you for being a friend
I was recently thinking about age and work and retirement … and the ages of Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia in “The Golden Girls” came to mind. In season one, which began in 1985, Rose was 55, Dorothy was 53, Blanche was 47 and Sophia was 79. Meanwhile, the actresses’ real ages were quite different. Rue McClanahan was 52. Bea Arthur and Betty White were 63. Rose was 62 when the series ended. CBR did the math through some pretty detailed work. And it might not even be accurate since Blanche literally had the governor delete her age.
Read more about me here, including my disclosure notice.