The Scholar's Take

A partnership between McCarter Theatre Center and GradFUTURES, The Scholar’s Take curates essays by Princeton graduate students in response to experiences at McCarter. It is part of Arts & Ideas which connects University scholarship and campus life to the work on McCarter's stages. Co-sponsored by the Humanities Council at Princeton University.

Scholar's Take essays expand upon the themes, characters, and ideas in a play or performance, explore the physical space, design, or aesthetic of a concert, and situate a piece or an artist within larger social, historical, or artistic contexts. Graduate students join a collegial and collaborative writing environment and get to share their ideas with a broader audience. In short, The Scholar’s Take brings graduate student research, interest and expertise into conversation with the performing arts. 


 

Scholar's Take Essays

The Scholar's Take: Alex Diaz-Hui on "An Evening with Natalia Lafourcade"
Oct. 10, 2024
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Written by Alex Diaz-Hui

I gasped and lifted my eyes towards the stage once she sang in falsetto. Her voice drew the breath out of my lungs. She would later describe how naked she feels to perform with just her guitar. Then came another shout from someone sitting to my left— “¡Nunca estás sola!” (“You’re never alone!”).

The Scholar's Take: Annie Liu on "A Conversation with Laufey"
Oct. 2, 2024
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Written by Annie Liu

When prompted to give advice to those who are trying to create their own path, Laufey reassured the audience: “Doing something different probably means you’re doing something right.” She encouraged the audience to claim ownership of their difference and to be a little more delusional. 

The Scholar's Take: Samantha Sasaki on "Empire Records"
Sept. 30, 2024
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Written by Samantha Sasaki

I have a confession: I walked into Empire Records: The Musical without having watched the cult classic film. Surrounded by audience members referencing the movie’s iconic lines, I worried that I would feel adrift without the knowledge or (perhaps, more importantly) nostalgia of the film. Lacking the fond memories of being a record-buying teenager in the 90s, would the show hold up?

The Scholar's Take: So Hye Yoon on "Empire Records"
Sept. 29, 2024
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Written by So Hye Yoon

“All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” A fitting twist on this quote from Anna Karenina that could be applied to McCarter Theater’s musical Empire Records might be, “Every weird happening is weird in its own way.”

The Scholar's Take: Samantha Sasaki on "Choice"
May 18, 2024
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Written by Samantha Sasaki

When is a theater performance over? Is it when the final line is spoken? Or when the actors take their final bow? Or when the audience stops talking about and thinking about the show? Winnie Holzman’s Choice makes a convincing case for the latter.

The Scholar's Take: Andrew Schlager on "Choice"
May 13, 2024
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Written by Andrew Schlager

What is it that makes us simplify ourselves for others? How hard do we follow the dream of being uncomplicated, free of our mess of contradictions, so that we might have a story about ourselves, and about a world we’re sure we know how to change?

The Scholar's Take: Rachel Glodo on "Trailblazing Women of Country"
April 21, 2024
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Written by Rachel Glodo

Different hair, different woman, different decade...but it hurts just the same. And that right there is the key to women’s country music—thank you Dolly! The details might be different, but it’s all the same story, and that story is by, about, to, and for other women.

The Scholar's Take: John White on "Hubbard Street Dance Chicago"
March 28, 2024
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Written by John White

Whether looking at a painting, reading a poem, or going out on the town, we encounter inspiration that moves us, oftentimes literally. I was reminded that the identity of ‘dancer’ has no barriers, no prerequisites. As long as we are moving, we are dancing. 

The Scholar's Take: So Hye Yoon on "Dreamgirls"
March 8, 2024
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Written by So Hye Yoon

Applying an economic perspective to Dreamgirls adds depth to analyzing the allure of its characters and their potential success. The musical invites academic curiosity by raising questions about demand prediction. For me, it also illuminates the importance of human values, raising an issue not typically pondered: Must we resign ourselves to frustration and conflict if we anticipate being less desired in the marketplace?

The Scholar's Take: Ipsita Dey on "Coco"
Oct. 4, 2023
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Written by Ipsita Dey

This October, we shared  a temporary, never-again-to-be-experienced musical rendition in a shared space, shoulder to shoulder with our fellow audience members. Live music is a full body experience, Coco is a full emotional experience, and theater-going is a fully shared experience.

The Scholar's Take: Ipsita Dey on "Bulrusher"
Sept. 14, 2023
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Written by Ipsita Dey

Most of us will never receive the gift of a neat third act that tidies the loose ends of family mysteries and answers questions we have carried with us. We learn to live with our unknowns, carrying them, sorting them, and passing them down. Some of us carry histories of violence, trauma, and dehumanization. Others of us struggle to find a place to belong, our feet placed in homes separated by oceans and/or geopolitical borders. Some of us yearn for dreams we cannot articulate, hopes we cannot speak aloud because no one has cared to listen before.

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