Melissa Kacar

Stranger Th ings: The First Shadow  follows the origin story of one of the series' main characters, Henry Creel, during his high school years. He is a major part of the fourth and fifth seasons of the show, and it's one of my favorite storylines in the entire series. I love everything about the Henry / Vecna / 001 developments in the fourth season especially, so to get a more in-depth look into who he is and why he became what he did in such an in-depth way is such a creative concept that they executed so well. It gives so much more clarity and depth to the timeline, filling in the gaps of what happened between the parts shown in the series.  The show opened on Broadway in 2025 following a successful ongoing run at London's West End, and I've been wanting to see it ever since it arrived in New York City . It's currently showing at the Marquis Theatre, which I last visited in 2016 to see Penn & Teller's Broadway show. The upper lobby of the hotel the theater ...

"serena joy" by Olivia Rodrigo As the theme song for her inaugural all‑female music festival, Daisy Chains Fields, Olivia released the incredible "serena joy", which is a cautionary anthem meant to inspire action and change for women around the world. All proceeds from the song, and from the festival itself, are going to numerous charities focused on advocation for and funding women's causes globally. She's already raised over $20 million, which is such an extraordinary feat. There aren't many artists with the guts, conviction, or foresight to pull off something this massive, especially something rooted entirely in helping people around the world on such a massive scale, but Olivia has always stood firmly on her morals and used her platform to make a difference. I've always admired her for that. Named after a character from The Handmaid's Tale , the song carries the mantra "if they do it to them, they'll do it to you", which is a re...

If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is a largely dark and brooding exploration of femininity, identity, body autonomy, and gender exploration beyond the framework of traditional stereotypes and conventions. There are many aspects of Halsey 's life that informed this conceptual project, but perhaps the most pertinent influence is their own path to motherhood. She has been very open about her health and fertility journey throughout her career, especially in bringing awareness to her endometriosis diagnosis and the miscarriages she has experienced. This album became a bold and honest confrontation of all that society and the world at large place on women, as well as the limitations of her own body as someone living with chronic illness. In January 2021, Halsey announced she was pregnant with her first child, and she gave birth just a month before the album was released. So much of this album is rooted in reclaiming autonomy over her body in the wake of illness, pregnancy, and the ...