One Song Glory / Light My Candle / Today 4 U

572 words

4 minute read

Tune Up #1 / Voice Mail #1 / Tune Up #2 / Rent / Tune Up #3 / You Okay, Honey?

One Song Glory - Once Mark leaves, Roger is alone. He picks up his guitar and sings what is, in our opinion, his best song. A plaintive rock ballad about wanting to leave “one song” behind “before the virus takes hold.” 

We think this was definitely a highlight of Brennin Hunt’s performance. He hit some of the iconic notes that Adam Pascal (OBC Roger) made famous. This song has meant a lot to us over the years, giving voice to depression as well as the specter of life-altering illness.

Light My Candle - Just after Mark leaves, Roger hears a knock on the door.  Thinking Mark’s forgotten something, Roger answers.  Instead of Mark, Roger finds Mimi (played by Tinashe). Tinashe really brings a youthful vulnerability to Mimi.  It’s easy to believe she’s 19.

Mimi’s come to Roger to ask if he has a match for her candle, as the power has blown for the entire building and is still out.  Roger notices Mimi’s shivering, and appears weak.  He asks after her, and she insists she’s fine, just cold, and “hasn’t eaten much today.”

She leaves, but doubles back when she realizes she’s dropped her stash somewhere in Roger’s dark apartment.  She looks for it, and Roger realizes that he recognizes her as a dancer at the Cat Scratch Club.  He sees a resemblance between Mimi and his recently deceased girlfriend, April.  

Roger finds her drugs and pockets them.  (Roger’s a recovering addict himself and asks why she doesn’t forget the drugs, because “you look like you’re 16.”  Mimi assures him she’s 19 and is “old for my age.”)

She ends up flirting more and more with Roger, as she knows he has her drugs, and eventually is able to take her drugs back from him and leaves.

It’s a song we really enjoy, particularly the chemistry between Mimi and Roger.  The part that makes us laugh out loud has no dialogue at all.  It’s just the look Mimi gives Roger after she asks if she has “the best ass below 14th Street,” and Roger stutters a reply.  The smile on Mimi’s face is something that we love.

Today 4 U - Collins finally makes it up to Mark and Roger’s apartment, with Angel, bearing groceries.  (We learn, courtesy of Mark, that Collins is a computer genius and "the coolest person who ever lived in our apartment.")

Collins says that their benefactor is Angel, who met a woman in a limousine who asked for Angel’s help in making her neighbor’s dog stop barking.  The rich lady explains that she believes if Angel plays her drums nonstop the dog will “bark itself to death.”

Angel agrees to play her drums nonstop for an hour until the dog finally jumps from the 23rd story of the building.  Angel gets paid $1,000 for her help, plus a bonus if Angel trimmed her tree. 

We also see that Angel has indeed gone home to change her clothes and is now in a spectacular dress, with her hair and makeup done.

Vocally, this one is probably the weakest of Valentina’s performances, but her physical performance and dancing is on point, plus she makes up for it in a big way later on.  So, we’re still major fans of her.

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