Guest post by Brynn Alexander: Lady Gaga Announces The Born This Way Ball with a Gothic Poster

Being at the forefront of the contemporary music scene, Lady Gaga certainly knows how to spread news fast in the era of social media. Rather than holding a press conference or a private interview, the 2012 Grammy performer released a ‘leak’ of her 2012-2013 tour details via Twitter.



Recently, followers of Lady Gaga’s Twitter account were treated to a first look at the official poster for the Born This Way Ball, which will start touring sometime later this year and run through into 2013. Gaga described the poster as “a bit of homework” that she “finished early and felt compelled to leak after too much wine.”

The poster displays an apocalyptic scene with the singer’s memorable visage materializing out of wisps of smoke and clouds. Below this image is a gothic castle structure, complete with a medieval tower to one side and a stone staircase climbing backwards. At the front of the stage is Gaga herself accompanied by four men in suits, all of whom are standing casually against the ominous backdrop. And below all of this: simply the words “Lady Gaga” and “The Born This Way Ball” in large block letters. The overall style of the poster is quite powerful, with elements of pink and turquoise neon cutting through the gothic monochrome that dominates the scene. Gaga has made strong efforts to set the tone for her new tour, even in this early stage of development. If the poster is to be any indication it will be as theatrical as fans have come to expect from the singer over the years.

As well as preserving the eccentric Gaga flourish that all of her fans are familiar with, it can be noted that this image is very different in style from any other work previously offered by Lady Gaga, including her previous live outing, The Monster Ball Tour. That tour, which ran from November 2009 to May 2011 in hundreds of sold out venues around the world, saw Gaga perform her best songs in a modern-day New York City backdrop, that the singer went to great lengths to ensure was authentic and unique (a subway car, lighted marquees, and giant monster all added to the show’s weirdness).

In the lead-up to the reveal of the new poster, Lady Gaga described the elaborate stage set. “I'm so excited. The Haus has been working so hard, we can't wait for you to see it!!' she teased, before adding, 'Love you Little Monsters, have the time of your life.” With this new poster, along with an accompanying sketch of her forthcoming tour stage, fans can begin to get excited for what’s to come on the tour. The only real question now is when fans can expect the first tour dates to be announced. Gaga herself put any rumors to bed, again in the form of a tweet: “Tomorrow at 11AM PST the first tour dates for THE BORN THIS WAY BALL will be released. I will also tweet the 1st official tour poster!”

Previous Lady Gaga posts:

Whipped Cream, Gaga and #YesGayYA
Lestat and Louis, Caught in a Bad Romance
"Telephone" according to the Powerpuff Girls
Newsies Bad Romance
Lady Gaga on Drinkify

(Do you love that Gaga's co-star in "You & I"/current boyfriend is Taylor Kinney, who played werewolf Mason Lockwood on The Vampire Diaries? The song is actually about her ex, Luc Carl, but it's Kinney who gets to play Dr. Frankenstein here.)

Producing The Hit Broadway Show 'Wicked'

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A Guest Post From Brynn Alexander:

By now, most people have heard of the hit Broadway musical Wicked. Since its debut in 2003, Wicked has taken America by storm and entertained thousands of patrons around the country with its magical sets, inspiring story, and memorable songs. The Oz-ian tale of two witches (based on L. Frank Baum’s original characters of Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West) has found appeal in both adults and children, and continues to entertain theatergoers each night in venues around the world.



The story behind Wicked is loosely based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which itself is a parallel novel and prequel of sorts to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and Baum’s original material. It sees two witches - Elphaba, whose emerald-green skin and fiery disposition sets her apart from the other residents of Oz, and Galinda, the beautiful, ambitious and popular blonde witch - develop an unlikely friendship. Throughout the story, the two witches struggle through opposing viewpoints and compete over the same love interest. As the plot unfolds, Elphaba becomes increasingly ostracized for opposing the corrupt government in Oz, while Galinda remains headstrong and is embraced by the people of Oz.

(Stacie Morgain Lewis and Kristy Cates in a Chicago performance of Wicked)

When interviewed in El Paso about her role as Galinda, Katie Rose Clarke described her character’s arc: "She starts out as a young girl going to school for the first time, away from her comfort and her family and then going through just difficulties of life." What follows is a tale of friendship between Galinda (who later becomes Glinda, the Good Witch of the North) and the misunderstood Elphaba. "I think it's known to be life-changing. People very much relate to the story, everyone can," said Katie Rose.

One aspect of the production that has received widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike is the sets. Galinda’s now-famous magic bubble is one of the key props, while other props, equipment and lights that feature onstage all come together to give a sense of magic rarely seen in other stage productions. It is because of this high level of production that fans have wanted to come back time and time again to see this spectacular show.

The costumes, too, are quite fantastic. With a reported $2 million spent on this part of the production alone, no expense has been spared in producing the best outfits for the cast. Describing the fitting process, Katie Rose said, "All the characters have the costumes made for their bodies. We go in. We get measured, so it's a work-intensive process to get costumes for every company." And what happens when one of the cast members becomes sick? “We try to get better hopefully before we do the show that night. And if not, then we have understudies that are amazing and they rehearse just like we do.”



Wicked tickets are available from various online outlets, including at the show’s official website. New dates have recently been announced for Salt Lake City in July, and further dates are expected for 2012 in locations around the US.