By Roger and Kathy Wienberg
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/18/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

10/18/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Thursday, October 18, 2018

ACROSS
1 Cartman on 
“South Park”
5 John follower
9 European 
farewell
14 Default takeback
15 Formal 
agreement
16 Two-time 
Argentine 
president
17 Famous __
18 Keys for Elton
20 They may be 
added to soup
22 Tennis’ Open __
23 Smooth-talking
24 Fight
28 “25” album 
maker
30 Federal URL 
ending
31 Lennon’s lady
32 Recognition 
event
36 Prop for Frosty
38 Crown installer’s 
org.
39 Short strings?
40 Camp activities
45 Inventor’s 
monogram
46 Head for Vegas?
47 Carpenter’s joint
49 Like Justice 
League 
members
51 Stub __
53 Stroke that 
doesn’t count
55 Vegas device 
used literally 
in three puzzle 
answers
58 Prime hotel time
61 Assessment
62 Comforting 
words
63 Support at sea
64 Destructive 
Greek god
65 Genres
66 Watch pair?
67 Sly attention-
getter

DOWN
1 Rub out
2 Rider on a shark

3 Audio system 
connector
4 Cuban thing
5 Hotter
6 Color named 
for a sea 
animal
7 Detective role for 
Beatty
8 Cleaning area
9 Say yes
10 Reason-based 
faith
11 Lyricist 
Gershwin
12 Many ages
13 Mattel game 
since 1992
19 Furnishings and 
such
21 Root beer 
alternative
25 Proprietors for 
word lovers
26 Diarist Frank
27 Elves’ output
29 Ram fans?
30 Camping stuff
33 Root beer since 
1937
34 Epidemic-
fighting agcy.

35 You won’t 
see one at 
Westminster
36 Trail
37 Requiem Mass 
hymn word
41 They’re assumed
42 Mother-of-pearl
43 Bottom lines
44 Feudal estate
48 John Wick 
portrayer

50 Natural clay 
pigment
51 Evaluate
52 More of that
54 Secret 
rendezvous
56 Title for Helen 
Mirren
57 Flutter
58 Baseball stat
59 Standoffish
60 Mountain pass

COMMUNITY CULTURE PROFILE

I would be lying if I did not 
say that at first, I felt intimidated 
about the notion of meeting 
Thomas Laub, a Senior pursuing 
a 
BFA 
in 
Musical 
Theatre 
and a minor in Ross School 
of Business, to speak about 
his new production company, 
Runyonland 
Productions. 
Runyonland 
Productions 
has 
been extremely successful since it 
first took off. Its first production, 
“SHEL,” written by University 
graduate Noah Kieserman, who 
stars as Evan in the “Dear Evan 
Hansen” National Tour, sold out 
in just three hours. “SHEL” will 
do its first industry reading in 
New York City during the month 
of May. When speaking with 
Laub, it soon became apparent 
that he was a humble young man, 
who is trying to ignite change 
in the theatre industry that he 
wants to see.
“I wanted to produce live 

theatre and so I worked with 
Disney 
theatrical 
group 
on 
Broadway, 
and 
during 
that 
summer I was sitting in my little 
box on 136th and Broadway, and I 
was thinking: ‘I don’t know what 
the point of doing this is if I’m 
not doing this with my friends 
and cultivating our own creative 
cohort’,” Laub stated, speaking 
to his experience on starting a 
production company.
From 
there, 
Laub 
gave 
Kieserman a call about producing 
his original musical; the company 
and “SHEL” took off from there.
Laub takes advantage of the 
diversity of talent hosted on 
campus. He recruits Engineering 
students for stage, scenic design 
and lighting, benefits from the 
incredible business and creative 
talent at Ross and uses his fellow 
cohort’s talents in SMTD to 
create large scale and small scale 
productions of high caliber.
“We exist to fill the space that 
isn’t currently filled on campus,” 
Laub said.
Runyonland 
Productions 
is 

not a student organization. In 
fact, it is a for-profit theatre 
production company that is 
a great and accessible way 
for students of all different 
backgrounds to do professional 
work in the theatre industry, 
with a company that has a direct 
pipeline to the booming theatre 
industry in New York.
The 
mission 
statement 
of 
Runyonland 
Production 
company is “to bring the best 
live theatrical entertainment 
to the widest, most diverse 
audience possible. Runyonland 
Productions 
aims 
to 
both 
enrich the community through 
producing 
Broadway-level 
artistic 
experiences 
and 
providing educational outlets 
for young artists and creators 
at the University of Michigan,” 
Laub said.
“If you want to do the best 
work you get the widest group of 
people. It seems obvious but it’s 
stunningly not … Growing up, 
I was told, ‘You’re into theatre: 
You should be a producer,’ and 

my equally smart, brilliant, 
talented female friends will be 
told, ‘You’re into theatre, you 
should be a stage manager.’”
If the production world were 
filled with Thomas Laubs, who 
appreciated and thrived for 
diversity in both casting and 
production, the world would be 
a better and more appreciative 
place. Women and people of 
color not only need to see their 
identities reflected on stage, 
but also in the creative and 
logistics part of live theatre.
Laub 
cultivates 
diversity 
in production to allow live 
theatre to reach new heights 
and see a brilliance that simply 
cannot be created by a team of 
solely old, white men. During 
his experience in a Broadway 
production office, Laub quickly 

noticed that meetings consisted 
of teams of this demographic, 
so he sought out to change that 
narrative.
Laub 
strives 
to 
make 
Runyonland 
Productions 
empower all different types of 
people into working in the theatre 
industry, to make art and theatre 
inclusive and unhindered. He 
knows the only way to create 
great art is by having everyone 
have a creative say in the industry. 
Runyonland Production aims to 
be an example of the change that 
needs to happen in the industry.
Upcoming 
Performances 
for 
Runyonland Productions:
“FOR 
THE 
RECORD”— 
December 6th and 7th at 7:00 p.m. 
in the Duderstadt Video Studio
A new play by Broadway director 
and U-M faculty member, Jeff 

Packard, about a young man whose 
father kills himself after learning 
he has Huntington Disease, a 
genetic disorder. World in HD and 
the Huntington’s Disease Society 
of America were major partners 
during 
this 
production, 
and 
representatives will be present for 
a talkback after the show.
“MERRILY 
WE 
RIDE 
ALONG” — February 28th and 
March 1st at 7:30 p.m. in the Lydia 
Mendelssohn Theatre
Written by Stephen Sondheim, a 
concert-style show, featuring some 
original Broadway cast members 
coming in. 
“A NIGHT OF MYTHS & 
HYMNS” — March 30th at 7:00 
p.m. and 9:00 p.m. in the UMMA
A song cycle written by two time 
Tony Award winner Adam Gettle, 
who wrote “Light in the Piazza.” 

Thomas Laub on the start 
of his production company 
Runyonland Productions

ISABELLE HASSLUND
Daily Arts Writer

After a momentary blip in the last 
decade, women in R&B have been 
making their long-awaited return 
to the charts. Following a fruitful 
’90s that brought in the success of 
powerhouses like Mariah Carey 
and Lauryn Hill, the prevalence of 
new artists began to wane in the 
late aughts into recent years. SZA, 
Janelle Monáe and Jorja Smith 
have received widespread critical 
acclaim for their works, but their 
commercial success wasn’t up to 
par. It’s for this reason Ella Mai’s 
newfound success with sleeper hit 

“Boo’d Up” came as a surprise, but 
not necessarily a shock: It’s been 
expected for some time now.
The song is nothing new: a 
throwback-esque jam that harkens 
back to the twinkly choruses and 
saccharine lyrics that have all been 
heard before. “Ooh, now I’ll never 
get over you until I find something 
new / That get me high like you 
do.” But the star ascends at a time 
infatuated with all things ’90s — 
it’s as nostalgic as comfort food. 
Her music may not be as sonically 
complex or compelling as those 
of her peers, but it’s an earworm 
catchy enough to get stuck in the 
heads of tweens and old-school 
rockers alike. Her debut eponymous 

album Ella Mai is no different.
The album, like Mai’s past 
EPs, is produced by none other 
than the infamous club anthem 
churner himself, DJ Mustard. 
No “Mustard on that beat, ho” 
signature this time around, but 
the album is full of others: trap-
flirting beats, simplistic synth-
bass openings, electronic snaps 
and claps, plinking keyboards. 
This is by no means a bad 
thing; it makes for the airy, 
finger-snapping appeal the 
album strives for. There are 
points, however, where the 
sound 
feels 
monotonous. 
“Everything,” a slow jam 
featuring John Legend, is a 
prominent example: the trap 
influenced chorus ill-fitting 
against Mai and Legend’s 
crooning and the adoring 
lyricism.
That being said, the album 

offers its intricacies elsewhere. 
The leading track, “Emotion,” 
takes charge in framing the 
album around an acrostic poem 
for Mai’s name via spoken word 
skits that last about 10 seconds 
every two to three tracks. The 
move leans juvenile but provides 
a deft showcase of Mai’s British 
accent, emotive lyricism and 
views on romance. Other points 
where Mai shines on the album 
include 
“Sauce,” 
her 
words 
scathing and vivid, informing 
her partner “You gotta level up 
if you want this (Stop) / Chewin’ 
with your mouth wide open.” 
The more vulnerable “Trip” is 
also worth mentioning, as she 
confesses “I put my feelings on 
safety / So I don’t go shootin’ 

where your heart be.”
Though centered on the idea 
of romantic love, Mai provides 
the story and personality that 
listeners have been waiting for 
since “Boo’d Up.” “Shot Clock” 
exudes confidence in its detailing 
of a confrontation between Mai 
and her lover, livid but assured as 
she demands to know whether 
or not what they have is serious. 
The doo-wop influence paired 
with an interpolation of Drake’s 
“Legend” heighten the already 
confrontational 
and 
sarcastic 
tone of the song. “Own It” adds a 
raunchy and fun element to the 
album. Mai eschews the more naïve 
air she paints for herself in other 
tracks by tapping into her more 
sensual side, her vocal range deeper 

amid the sampled Adina Howard. 
Conversely, bonus track “Naked” 
carries immense emotional weight 
as it explores experiences beyond 
the physical, Mai insecure as to 
whether or not she can convey her 
truest self to another. The track 
stands as the album’s sole slow song, 
stripped-down and strummed on 
an acoustic guitar.
By no means groundbreaking, 
Ella Mai provides a quick fix of 
nostalgia for the R&B sound many 
of us grew up to. If you’re a fan of 
some of the newer sounds surfacing 
onto the R&B scene, perhaps this 
album isn’t for you. That being said, 
the charming and upbeat nature 
of Ella Mai is undeniable; she is 
bound for success that goes beyond 
capitalizing as a one-hit-wonder.

Ella Mai’s debut album is 
nothing new, easy to like

DIANA YASSIN
For the Daily

ALBUM REVIEW

Ella Mai

Ella Mai

10 Summers/
Interscope Records

INTERSCOPE RECORDS

HANNAH SEIGEL / DAILY

‘The Romanoffs’ misses the mark

TV REVIEW

The 
tragic 
story 
of 
the 
Romanoff family, and its youngest 
member Anastasia in particular, 
has captivated audiences since the 
earliest era of the silver screen. 

Matthew Weiner, the creator of 
the widely praised series “Mad 
Men,” is the latest to take a stab 
at the story. The result is an 
anthology collection that shares 
“Mad Men”’s stylish flair but 
lacks the nuanced observations 
and character studies that made 
“Mad Men” memorable.
“The Violet Hour,” the first 
installation of the series, takes 
place in present day Paris. It 

centers around the estate of 
Anastasia LeCharnay (Marthe 
Keller, “The Escape”), an elderly, 
wealthy French woman who 
claims to be descended from the 
Romanoffs. Her nephew Greg 
(Aaron 
Eckhart, 
“Incarnate”) 
and his girlfriend Sophie (Louise 
Bourgoin, “I am a Soldier”) are 
her closest remaining relatives, 
despite the fact that they spend 
most of the episode waiting 
for her death and the resulting 
inheritance. Anastasia — who 
mostly goes by the diminutive 
Anushka 
— 
loathes 
her 
caretakers, especially the newest 
one Hajar (Inès Melab, “The 
Bird”), a young Frenchwoman of 
North African descent.
Anushka is cruel and uncouth 
towards Hajar, calling her a 
“terrorist” and citing events 
throughout 
history 
where 
“Western Civilization” defeated 
the 
“Muslim 
World.” 
She 
initially uses her family name 
and heritage as a symbol of 
“Western 
Civilization” 
itself, 
using it to constantly insult 

Hajar. While her tirades become 
rather uncomfortable to watch, 
it is even more disconcerting 
to somehow suggest that Hajar 
should sympathize with Anushka 
due to her clear isolation. The 
eventual thawing of relations 
never seems to feel quite natural. 
“The Violet Hour” is ostensibly 
an examination of power and its 
loss, but by using simple clichés 
such as a yellow Faberge egg and 
convoluted history lessons, the 
episode never gets its point across 
in a compelling way.
The 
episode 
fleetingly 
tackles other social topics as 
well, including the shrinking 
of the French middle class and 
the immigrant experience as a 
whole, but each discussion and 
exploration 
feels 
annoyingly 
superficial. 
Anushka 
is 
the 
only 
well-developed, 
fleshed-
out 
character, 
leaving 
the 
rest to serve as mere props. 
While Hajar is portrayed as 
sympathetic, Melab is not given 
the opportunity to show much 
range beyond her mildly annoyed 

reactions 
towards 
Anushka’s 
racial epithets. Moreover, her 
family’s story is not given much 
thought, despite the potential 
comparisons with Anushka’s own 
background.
What “The Violet Hour” — 
and “The Romanoffs” as a whole 
— lacks in effective storytelling, 
it makes up for in the visuals. 
Anushka’s gilded Paris mansion 
is both stunningly beautiful yet 
hauntingly empty, giving better 
context for her misery than her 
own speeches. The shots are 
always controlled and varied, 
in typical Weiner style. Scenes 
featuring Anushka fittingly give 
the sense that despite her family’s 
wealth, she is little more than a 
petty, vindictive miser who is out-
of-touch with modern France.
Perhaps due to its length, “The 
Violet Hour” never satisfyingly 
completes 
the 
discussions 
it 
brings up. While a beautiful 
watch, it straddles the line 
between “good” and “great,” 
lacking the subtlety to edge it 
towards the latter.

SAYAN GHOSH
Daily Arts Writer

“The Romanoffs”

Amazon Prime

Series Premiere

6 — Thursday, October 18, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

