Welcome to 2025! Or the end of it anyhow. It’s been literal years between updates so we’re going to do something end-of-year thematic and do a series of roundup posts which may also serve as a nice re-introduction. Let’s kick things off with…
The Theater!
The Lion King
You can tell the kind of theater patron I am in that 2025 was my first time seeing The Lion King on stage when it came to Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo.
For a musical that debut back in 1997, the staging and costuming still delight. While the story was entirely familiar, the kids in the audience were transported and still talk about the show to this day.
Two Trains Running
If you thought 28 years was quite the delay between a production’s debut and first viewing, this 35 year puts that to shame. I had the opportunity to see this play brought to life last March, again at Miller Auditorium.
The play takes place in the safety of a cozy neighborhood diner that wraps you in warmth and familiarity to contrast to the hard-recounted experiences and expansive themes of the world its characters occupy.
In my humble opinion, a play about the plight of black Americans set in the 1960’s shouldn’t still resonate with a 2025 audience, but this is the sort of discomfort that I expect can only surprise a white man—August Wilson’s characters illustrate a world that is designed to oppress and minimize them.
20-Sided Tavern
The heroes have been chosen, and adventure is near at hand. It’s time to dive into the Forgotten Realms, where we will battle monsters, solve puzzles, and, gods willing, save the day. #tst #twentysidedtavern #dungeonsanddragons #dndtst #andrechung #waterdeep #faerun #gamiotics
— Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern (@twentysidedtavern.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 11:27 AM
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For some lighter, contemporary fare, I traveled to Chicago for a show whose improv nature means that, in a sense, it is always debuting!
The Water Tower Theater was a relatively intimate venue compared to my previous 2025 experiences and I think that worked to the show’s benefit. Incorporating a rotating ‘big name’ guest into a show built around audience prompts and a cast that wasn’t shy about contemporary themes and drawing the line, the show was a delight.
The interactive smartphone elements felt a little like real life quick-time events, occasionally over before I was able to load/consider/submit my own 2 cents, but on the whole felt like a kind way to bring me into the show in a way that even I as an introvert was able to engage with.
Up Next…
Next post, I’ll be getting into the movies that came out in 2026. While corporate mergers, studio write-offs, and a political climate that is actively hostile against the art may be dragging humanity back into the dark ages, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t still a moment or two to find some distraction on the silver screen.
Until next time!