poppadoms or bread?
This newsletter includes vault tracks, concealer sticks, and a movie you have to tell your therapist about.
Hello! You’ve reached kelsey’s corner, the only newsletter on the internet written and lovingly curated by me, Kelsey. This newsletter was drafted while I absorbed the Aaron Tveit/Sweeney Todd news.
And did you think I didn't see you?
There were flashin' lights
At least I had the decency
To keep my nights out of sight
Only rumors 'bout my hips and thighs
And my whispered sighs
Oh, Lord, I think about jumpin'
Off of very tall somethings
Just to see you come runnin'
And say the one thing I've been wanting, but no
I broke my own heart 'cause you were too polite to do it
Oh, I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
Now that I go into the office once a week I’m back on my “podcasts as a little treat” game. My latest little treat is the Off-Menu podcast, which invites a new friend into the magical restaurant to build the meal of their dreams. The Paul Mescal episode is particularly lovely and soothing.
Did you know Alden Ehrenreich could be mean? Well, did you? Don’t lie to me!1
I don’t know what’s going on between Hasan Minhaj and the New Yorker but Slate kindly tried to explain things.
Happy Birthday to Wicked, which has brought us twenty years of riffs and Fiyero pants and very heavy baby dolls2 and this anecdote that I can’t stop thinking about:
Idina flew at the end of “Defying Gravity” and Kristin entered the show flying in her bubble. Do you remember the first time each of you tried those stage mechanics out?
K.C.: The only thing I remember is that during tech Joe Mantello was going to give a few notes to me in the bubble, but it took me a few seconds to get up there. Then I got up there and they forgot. They started going on into practicing something else …
I.M.: And they left you up there?
K.C.: Yes, and I sang the highest note I could so that somebody would notice.
I knew I wanted to see All of Us Strangers at the Chicago Film Festival (it’s the only movie I bought a ticket to, actually) but I didn’t realize how much it would weigh on me for weeks after. It made me feel seen, it made me feel angry, it made me write a list of notes to go over with my therapist. Watch at your own risk if you’re an only child with a dead parent! Not even Paul Mescal’s butt could stop me from crying during this one.
I don’t remember what reminded me of this video but I’ve watched it every time I open this draft, which is saying something. (I open this draft a lot.)
I am not a base makeup person: this is not because I’m so naturally beautiful, but moreso because the older I get the more I have to come to terms with the fact that I have sensory issues. Feeling foundation on my face makes me want to scream and take a shower. However, for as sensitive as I am my face also gets red as hell under the most innocent of circumstances and I wanted to avoid that at a recent wedding. I was influenced by TikTok girlies to buy The Minimalist, which is a “perfecting complexion foundation and concealer stick” from Merit Beauty. I gotta tell ya - this thing is good! You put it where you need and kind of buff it in (I used the recommended brush because I didn’t have other tools at home) and it blends so nicely. It lasted through two car rides and sweaty dancing to a club remix of Defying Gravity. Highly recommend and will absolutely repurchase when I have the chance.
I know everyone’s seen the clip of Jonathan Groff announcing he gets wet from the Merrily lie detector video, but have you seen the clip where he’s asked if he knows what the thing is? And better yet, has he done the thing?
past corner | I went to a wedding and I wore a dress! Please clap!
future corner | Tonight I’m seeing Nicole Byer at the Rivera and next week I’ll hopefully sit down and watch Killers of the Flower Moon. I also booked a February trip to New York that I’m really excited about - as of right now we’re looking at three or four shows in four days, so…chill! It’ll be chill! Probably gonna have a two show day on our plates.
Your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Buck celebrated the holiday by trick-or-treating at his local Circle K. He also wants you to know he thinks the Sam Raimi movies are terribly overrated. He identifies most closely with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
I’ll be back on November 17, hopefully with tickets to Aaron Tveit’s second performance as Sweeney Todd. In the meantime, why don’t you check out the most-clicked link from our last newsletter — a haunting yet beautiful ode to Halloween. And, if you want to follow me around the internet you can find a link to my other socials here.
If you liked this newsletter, please share it with a friend or an enemy using the button below. If you double-liked this newsletter and want to buy me a Slurpee for my troubles here’s my virtual tip jar. Until then, please be nice to people. I’ll be thinking of you.
Your friend,
Kelsey
I love how this article says we need to apologize to Alden Ehrenreich. Speak for yourself, lady! I’ve been beating this drum for literal years!
Once I got to go backstage on the Wicked tour and I held the baby from the opening of the show and it was 25 times heavier than you’d expect. I think about that baby often.