Vivaldi and Ballet
The Fine Arts incorporated into two pieces of pop culture
Hello and happy Memorial Day weekend!
As some of you readers of Leading Ladies know, I accepted a teaching position last August and that has certainly impacted my newsletter output. But the year has been winding down and I wrapped up classes last week! Let me tell you — it’s a good feeling.
With the closing of the school year, I’ve had more time to catch up on my pop culture. I’m reading Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (which I mentioned at the end of this newsletter). I’m also finally reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, an absolute must for anyone who wants to accomplish, well, anything.
Recently I watched Anora, and needed to hear some critics talk about it. I revisited an old favorite, Pop Culture Happy Hour.1 It’s an easy, short listen and I started catching up on other recent episodes, which led me to a few shows I’ve been watching this past week. They were my reward for grading my students’ essays on The Great Gatsby.2
The Four Seasons
The reboot of the 1981 Alan Alda film dropped on May 1st, and is currently in the Netflix Top 10. I tend to be a big fan of anything Tina Fey is involved in — most recently it was Girls5eva, a show that my husband and I were very sad to finish because it was so smart and funny. So The Four Seasons was already an easy pitch for me: Tina Fey co-created with Lang Fisher, a writer for several Mindy Kaling projects along with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Tracey Wigfield, a producer of 30 Rock and The Mindy Project, among other hit shows.
Add on to that, though: Steve Carell is one of the leads, and it’s a limited 8-episode series, with each installment running at about 30 minutes. I’m sold.
As Netflix shows go these days, the colors are oversaturated, the four seasons in which the story take place are the peak of those seasons (so the trees are very orange in the fall), and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons provide the delightful score along with several other familiar classics. My visual and auditory senses are delighted; it’s delectable! But the narrative, while digestible, is far from shallow or simple.
Three couples who have been friends for many years meet up in the spring at the lakeside home of Nick (Carell) and Anne’s (Kerri Kenney). It’s unclear where they are, but vaguely feels like upstate New York. It could also be the Midwest? Anyway, Nick and Anne are about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when Nick drops the bomb to two of his friends, Jack (Will Forte) and Danny (Colman Domingo). Nick is leaving Ann. All Ann wants to do is play FarmVille on her iPad. Nick wants to live his life!
Jack can’t keep this information from his know-it-all wife Kate (Fey). Kate convinces Danny that they need to tell Danny’s husband. Danny shouldn’t keep secrets from Claude (Marco Calvani), a theme that recurs for that particular couple. And what’s Kate and Jack’s issue? From the very first episode, Kate acts the reasonable, practical spouse who always has to clean up her emotional, sensitive husband’s messes.
It’s watchable in a day or over a weekend. Each episode ended with a little cliffhanger that made it very difficult to avoid the “next episode” button. While the conclusion of the first episode is slightly predictable, and Pop Culture Happy Hour had spoiled that for me, I found the rest of the narrative to contain several surprising, relatable, and touching twists and turns.
I’m not middle-aged, and I’m only a year and a half into marriage, but I appreciated the insight into mature relationships and the types of difficulties and crises that can arise through years of doing life together. At the same time, it was sweet to see longtime friendships on screen and imagine what my own friendships will be like in 20 years.
If you’re looking for an easy watch with some language, only one instance of nudity (an old man’s butt), and tender, feel-good moments, this is your pick! Then, go listen to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in full.
Étoile
This is Amy Sherman-Palladino’s latest. She and her husband co-created this new dramedy, now streaming on Prime Video. I’m an Amy Sherman-Palladino fan, no holds barred. I love Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The end.
If you don’t care for those shows, for the ASP style of dialogue, quirkiness, and wit, then this show is not for you. You might even love those shows, and Étoile still might not be your cup of tea. And that is absolutely okay.
However, here are some other things to love: it’s set in New York City and Paris. I love the former and want to visit the latter. It’s about Ballet, capital “B” because it’s about more than dance. It’s about the people who manage and direct and sponsor the art form. There are shots of rehearsal rooms, and warm-ups at the bar. There are plenty of tutus, point shoes, and a bossy costume designer.
I was in theater, not ballet, but there are enough similarities behind the scenes that I love the look into the world of ballet and all that comes along with it. Prima donnas exist in both. So do hopes, dashed dreams, and big donors who make their money in ways the theater people don’t approve. I’m only a few episodes in — they are around 50 minutes each and more of a time investment — but I know I’m going to stick it out because I can’t get enough of the things I love: showbiz, dance, and two of the greatest cities in the world.
One more thing to like: the Palladinos have gathered some of their actors from former shows, and we get to see a few familiar faves. Most notably for me: Luke Kirby (Lenny Bruce in Maisel) is Jack McMillan, the director of the “Metropolitan Ballet Theater” in New York. And Yanic Truesdale (Michel in Gilmore Girls) is an assistant to the director of the Paris ballet.
So, if you enjoy great actors, quick dialogue, beautiful dancing, city scenery, and show business politics, give Éoile a try! Just writing about it for you has me ready to queue the next episode.
Pop Culture Happy Hour has a Letterboxd account! Fun!
See “temptation bundling” in Atomic Habits