Category: Sphinx Spotlight

In the early 1970’s, Marlo Thomas (“That Girl” & National Outreach Director for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital) was reading bedtime stories to her young niece and she was getting increasingly frustrated at the types of stories being told to young girls. With the collaboration of the Ms. Foundation for Women, Marlo Thomas created “Free to Be…You and Me“.

How I found it: I was raised by hippies.

For a long time, I didn’t realize that not everyone was raised around child psychologists, lawyers, doctors and elementary school teachers. My early television viewing included a steady diet of musicals, plays and anything blessed by Children’s Television Workshop.

Why I love it: I was raised by hippies.

And…it’s just a really great message and collection that was well before its time. Covering topics like fragile masculinity, gender stereotypes and gender equity in all areas of life while still being accessible and interesting to kids?!

Tell me another program that can do that.

And it stands the test of time.

My favorites

The “Boy Meets Girl” sketch is a classic. Written by Carl Reiner and Peter Stone and featuring the voices of Mel Brooks and Marlo Thomas, this segment is word-perfect comedy at its finest. The fact that it also obliterates gender stereotypes in under 2.5 minutes is *chef’s kiss.

As a child, I was convinced that this playground was just around the next corner and one day, my parents would take me, and these cool cats would still be singing “Sisters and Brothers”.

In 2020, as part of Stars at Home, Marlo Thomas was joined by Gloria Steinem and many others to talk about what Free to Be meant to them and how much they enjoyed the broadcast. Sara Bareilles (a Sphinx favorite) released an update of the theme song and Broadway Inspirational Voices recorded a new version of “Sisters and Brothers”.

Related

• Watch episodes of “That Girl”, a pivotal series for its time.
• Danny Thomas, father of Marlo Thomas, founded St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. The amazing story behind the hospital is that Danny Thomas was struggling to make ends meet and right before his first child was about to be born, he put his last $7 in the offering plate and prayed to St. Jude that he’d have enough to support his family. A week later, he got a gig that paid him 10x what he put in the offering plate. He went on to have a very successful acting career, but never forgot about his answered prayer. St. Jude is the shrine that he built in thanksgiving for his blessing. At St. Jude’s, no family ever receives a bill for their care.
• Purchase the 2020 music: Sara Bareilles’s “Free to Be…You and Me” theme song | Broadway Inspirational Voices “Sisters and Brothers”

Singer, rapper, and writer Dessa has made a career of bucking genres and defying expectations.

How I found her: In 2011, Dessa released her album “Castor the Twin“. NPR used to have a podcast (or more accurately, an RSS feed) that compiled all of the pop culture stories of the week. If you had asked me before writing this post, I would sworn it was Michel Martin who interviewed Dessa about the album but the NPR archives insist that it was Guy Raz. Don’t know how I ever got those two mixed up, but it is what it is.

Why I love her: There are some albums that resonate with you immediately and “Castor the Twin” did that with me. Dessa has a throaty alto singing voice and fast-but-not-muddled rapping speed. My three most played tracks are “Alibi”, “Dixon’s Girl” and “Mineshaft 2”, but “The Chaconne” and “551” hold a special place in my heart as well. It’s just a really great album.

It’s also really fun to discover an artist and then see them pop in other areas of your life. It’s like a confirmation from the universe, saying “You are not as incongruous as you thought.”

Other areas where Dessa has popped up:

The first universal vibration I experienced with Dessa was to hear her in a TED Talk. She gave a fun and enlightening talk about using modern medicine to try to fall out of love. It was one of the most entertaining TED talks I’ve ever listened to, and I’ve listened to a lot.

The second was to hear a Dessa song (off of her newest album, “Chime“) on an episode of the podcast Welcome to Nightvale. Dessa’s voice and her musical stylings are easily identifiable and I nearly dropped my tea when I heard the music start. Digging in deeper, I found that she’d co-written an episode of Nightvale and done some of their live shows! How cool is that? I’ve never attended a Nightvale Live Show (there usually isn’t a seating option for Sphinxes) but I don’t know how I could have missed her guest spot in the Nightvale episode “Niecelet”! Dessa’s voice is so distinct that once you hear it, you’ll recognize it anywhere.

Related

• On August 18, 2020, she will be participating in a live poetry reading with Poets & Pints.
• Dessa: Website (with store) – Website (solo info)
• Welcome to Nightvale (a podcast, a few books, an experience)

In 2008, Hallmark aired The Good Witch, a movie starring Catherine Bell as Cassie Nightingale and Chris Potter as Middleton Chief of Police Jack Russell. 12 movies and 5 television seasons later, the magic finally came together in Good Witch (Season 6).

Probably due to Catherine Bell being one of the Executive Producers of the series, the show has consistently and expertly passed the Bechdel Test. Middleton seems to be pretty decently populated with independent and influential women (business owners, council members, etc.). I mean, try to get anything done in Middleton without Mayor Martha Tinsdale!

For Season 6, it feels as though there were some changes (both in front of the camera and behind the scenes) that led to a much more cohesive and satisfying season than we’ve had from Good Witch previously. No disrespect to Bailee Madison (who left after playing the role of Grace Russell since 2015) but, with the characters of Nick and Grace graduating high school and going away to college, there was an opening for new plot arcs and it definitely it looks like a lot of interesting ideas made it to production.

In addition to adding the character of Joy Harper (a mysterious stranger played by Katherine Barrell who comes to Middleton with a secret; a character intro that has been used M.A.N.Y. times on this series), the show also had more diverse casting for the one-off storylines, which was super refreshing. The main cast is still very white, but there does seem to be a desire to show Middleton residents who don’t all look alike. Very nicely done!

As well as opening up the casting decisions, the storylines this season felt fleshed out and natural. In previous seasons, while there was usually one overarching mystery that covered the whole season and acted as a bridge between the movies (more on that in a minute), the smaller story arcs both came out of nowhere and disappeared back into oblivion after 3 episodes. In Season 6, we got some really good story-telling and plot creation that had implications and ramifications for most of the characters. Again, very well done!

Every Good Witch season is book-ended by a movie, airing around mid-October. (And then never repeated again! What’s up with that Hallmark?!) The movies usually only tangentially tie into the stories of the season but every now and then, there is a character or scenario introduced in one of the inter-seasonal movies that becomes a part of the series. We missed the movie that aired between Season 5 & 6 (Grrr!), but even without it, Season 6 really shone above the prior seasons. Good Witch was renewed by Hallmark for a 7th Season, with a release date to be determined.

Lingering Frustration: What is the Bistro?! Stephanie’s Bistro Cafe (usually referred to as “The Bistro”) simply defies definition. It is a sandwich shop, a coffeehouse, a bakery, the kitchen for her catering business and food truck, Middleton’s (only?) restaurant, a cafe and a wine bar. It is also the community hub, serving as an open mic venue and a place to bring international dignitaries. It has outdoor seating, which we never see, and apparently no waitstaff or kitchen crew other than Stephanie.

Related

• My hands-down favorite character on Good Witch is Mayor Martha Tinsdale, played by the indomitable Catherine Disher. She has done behind-the-scenes clips and location tours for Hallmark, which should not be missed.
• Katherine Barrell (Season 6’s newest addition) had previously been on Wynona Earp, a show that we started but got lost in the shuffle, so it’s been fun to revisit Purgatory and catch up on that show.