All stories by Monica Reida on BroadwayStars

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Where Have All the Bad Guys Gone? by Monica Reida

Spoilers ahead for “Moana,” “Sing,” “Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Big Hero 6,” and “Frozen,” although I assume everyo…

SOURCE: Fragments at 03:36AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 28, 2016

Monica Goes Back to Iowa: Day Three by Monica Reida

The Thrilling Conclusion! Cedar Rapids I woke up in my darkened hotel room, disoriented by the blackout curtain. The alarm on the other end of my king size bed was beeping and I rolled over …

SOURCE: Fragments at 02:12AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 25, 2016

Monica Goes Back to Iowa: Day Two by Monica Reida

Ames, Morning I awoke in my hotel room and started my day like I normally do, with stretching and doing some exercises. I went down to the lobby for the free breakfast and was a little disap…

SOURCE: Fragments at 07:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 24, 2016

Monica Goes Back to Iowa: Day One by Monica Reida

I haven’t been to Iowa in five years. I’m sure if I sat down with a therapist, I can find some deep reason as to why I have managed to not visit the state I’m from, but I c…

SOURCE: Fragments at 12:31AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Moon by Monica Reida

I would go to the movies with a guy I dated and as we were leaving, I would notice the moon. I would comment about it and he would just say, “Huh” or “That’s nice,…

SOURCE: Fragments at 12:50AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 25, 2016

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” by Monica Reida

Once upon a time, in the year 2012, a film called “Snow White and the Huntsman” was released in a year where the world received two Snow White films–the other was “Mi…

SOURCE: Fragments at 03:08AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 21, 2016

Missing Milk by Monica Reida

It was sixth period AP English Language and Composition and I was sitting there, ready to analyze the work of the great philosophers. I just had to make it through this class, and then I cou…

SOURCE: Fragments at 04:31AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 23, 2016

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Descendants” by Monica Reida

I don’t own a TV and it’s not something I go around bragging about as if I’m the coolest person you know. I could probably fit a TV somewhere in my apartment if I got rid o…

SOURCE: Fragments at 08:36PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 19, 2015

Slow Down… by Monica Reida

A note was published on Gapers Block yesterday announcing the site will go on an “indefinite hiatus” on January 1, 2016. If you followed the site at all, it’s worth reading…

SOURCE: Fragments at 06:12PM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 6, 2015

Hey, Where Are You Writing? by Monica Reida

After going five months without writing anything for a publication–although I did write blog posts, an intentionally bad play with a NSFW title and a frantic emotional tweet after seei…

SOURCE: Fragments at 07:48PM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 25, 2015

I Love to Travel, Don’t You? by Monica Reida

One of the fun things that comes with having a full-time job is time off. Instead of staying at home, reading, curling up with my cat and crying while listening to indie folk records, I deci…

SOURCE: Fragments at 08:11PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 5, 2015

Milwaukee Film Festival: “Call Me Lucky” and “Nina Forever” by Monica Reida

Call Me Lucky Barry Crimmins made a name for himself as a humorist in Boston in the 1980s, influencing many young humorists, including Bobcat Goldthwait, the director of this film. Crimmins …

SOURCE: Fragments at 06:01AM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 4, 2015

Milwaukee Film Festival: “Iris” and “30 Seconds Away: Breaking the Cycle” by Monica Reida

Iris Iris Apfel became a fashion icon basically by doing her own thing and not caring what other people wanted. As she states in Albert Maysles’ documentary, “It’s better t…

SOURCE: Fragments at 05:37AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 28, 2015

Milwaukee Film Festival: “The Russian Woodpecker” and “Wisconsin’s Own” by Monica Reida

The Russian Woodpecker A woodpecker sound was detected over radio waves in the 1970s. The sound originated from the Soviet’s over-the-horizon radar system, Duga. Duga consisted of thre…

SOURCE: Fragments at 03:13AM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 13, 2015

Thoughts on “Fun Home” by Monica Reida

“Fun Home,” Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about her relationship with her closeted father and her coming to terms with her sexuality, was a book I found heartbreaking and…

SOURCE: Fragments at 03:10AM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 19, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Loverboy” by Monica Reida

Occasionally I’ll watch a movie and afterwards wonder if I was too harsh on other movies. Yes, Divergent, Mrs. Doubtfire and Myra Breckinridge are that bad, but Loverboy is such a bad …

SOURCE: Fragments at 01:33AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 18, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Mystic Pizza” by Monica Reida

Thanks to Meghan-Annette for suggesting this film for “I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!” I have a confession to make: I’ve never watched “Mystic Pizza”…

SOURCE: Fragments at 01:40AM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 10, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Mrs. Doubtfire” by Monica Reida

“Mrs. Doubtfire” is one of those movies my generation probably feels nostalgic for. It’s a Robin Williams comedy with three adorable children he’s fighting to keep. I…

SOURCE: Fragments at 02:37AM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 18, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Riddick” by Monica Reida

Thanks to Meghan-Annette for suggesting this film for “I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!” After watching “Myra Breckinridge” I found myself explaining to peo…

SOURCE: Fragments at 10:53PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 9, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Myra Breckinridge” by Monica Reida

I remember reading “Myra Breckinridge” about five years ago after perusing the selection of Gore Vidal novels at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago. I found the nove…

SOURCE: Fragments at 10:48PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 9, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Divergent” by Monica Reida

I think I need to watch Dominic West dancing in “Pride” first. (watches clip) Okay, I’m back. “Divergent” is based on the first book in a trilogy by Veronica Ro…

SOURCE: Fragments at 12:46AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 28, 2015

I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!: “Catch Hell” by Monica Reida

Welcome to “I Can’t Believe I Just Watched This!” a new blog post series where I watch movies that sound bad and then write about them, mostly to see if they’re worth…

SOURCE: Fragments at 11:27PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 27, 2014

There Are Giants in the Sky by Monica Reida

“Into the Woods” is a film people have been anticipating with either glee or dread. On the one hand, it’s an adaptation of a relatively beloved musical–at the very le…

SOURCE: Fragments at 08:30PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Boo On You, MSU by Monica Reida

For the winter commencement at Michigan State University, where I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, they have selected Michael Moore–which makes sense since he’s from …

SOURCE: Fragments at 12:17AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 30, 2014

What Makes a Musical Artist Belong to a Community? by Monica Reida

The finalists for the Radio Milwaukee Music Awards were announced on Tuesday and there were quite a few that weren’t surprises, like GGOOLLDD doing really well in various categories an…

SOURCE: Fragments at 12:58AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 17, 2014

The Problems With the Ice Bucket Challenge by Monica Reida

By now you’ve probably seen videos of people having buckets of ice dumped on their heads, be it on the news, on Twitter or on Facebook. The challenge is part of an effort to raise awar…

SOURCE: Fragments at 03:58PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 13, 2014

Some Thoughts On Same-Sex Marriage in Wisconsin by Monica Reida

A United States district court judge overturned Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage last Friday, which initially seemed like a really great thing. In various counties same-sex couples have a…

SOURCE: Fragments at 02:07PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 6, 2014

Someone Let Me Talk on the Radio for 10 Minutes About an Abandoned Hospital by Monica Reida

It’s now no longer recent, although it could qualify as semi-recent, but I appeared on WBEZ’s The Morning Shift back in February to talk about Edgewater Medical Center, a long-em…

SOURCE: Fragments at 05:55PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Disney Princess Project: “Frozen” by Monica Reida

Previously: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cinderella Sleeping Beauty Beauty and the Beast Pocahontas Hercules Atlantis: The Lost Empire The Little Mermaid The Princess and the Frog Brave T…

SOURCE: Fragments at 11:57PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 23, 2013

An Ode to “Mass Text” by Monica Reida

Every year I write for Punching a Jayhawk about the worst music videos of a given year. Last year’s choice for the worst music video of the year, “Stupid Hoe,” was so delig…

SOURCE: Fragments at 08:37PM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 22, 2013

(pause) by Monica Reida

I was a weird kid. When I was in high school, I discovered Harold Pinter and fell in love with his plays. When I auditioned to get in to Rockford College’s theater program I did the en…

SOURCE: Fragments at 02:41PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off