Stories by @Jeshisthename

The Matchmaker

It's 1884 in Yonkers, New York. Dolly Gallagher-Levi is a Jane-of-all-Trades, but her latest and most lucrative venture is as a matchmaker, setting men up with women with the intention of matrimony. This job is ironic as she was previously married herself, not enjoying the experience. Her latest client is older penny-pinching retail store owner, Horace Vandergelder, who works his two young meek clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, to the bone. As Horace won't give them a day off, Cornelius and Barnaby plot to close the store and sneak into New York for the day, their mission to meet and kiss a girl. In New York, Cornelius spots Irene Molloy, a young female milliner upon who he sets his sights. On their meeting, Cornelius is unaware that she is also one of Horace's possible brides. Beyond what happens between Horace, Cornelius and Irene, Dolly herself may be ready for matrimony again despite her words to the contrary.

Manos: The Hands of Fate

A family on vacation in the desert takes a wrong turn and ends up in an old dark house run by the creepy Torgo, who says he takes care of the place while The Master is away. As night falls, the family is menaced by The Master and his wives, a supernatural cult that worships the evil deity known as Manos.

Henriad (Season 8. Richard III)

In this series finale to the Henriad, the deformed Richrd of Gloucester cuts a bloody path to the throne in Shakespeare's historical tragedy. Determined to seize the English throne from his brother Edward IV, he rouses Edward's hatred from their brother Clarence, who is arrested and murdered while imprisoned. The cunning Richard woos Anne, widow of Henry VI's son whose death he has arranged. Following the death of the king from natural causes, Richard has the little princes murdered in the Tower. The vicious Gloucester removes all who stand between him and the crown. Henry of Richmond raises an army against Richard, drawing supporters from all over England.

Henriad (Season 7. Henry VI: Part 3)

After York's claims to the throne, Henry changes the succession and makes York his heir, disinheriting his own son. Henry's queen kills York, and York's son Edward seizes the throne. Henry is imprisoned several times and eventually killed by King Edward's brother, Richard.

Henriad (Season 6. Henry VI: Part 2)

Against the wishes of the nobles, King Henry marries the penniless Margaret who plots against him with her lover. As tensions between York and Lancaster build, the Duke of York gathers supporters for his claim to the throne. York secretly leads a rebellion, his supporters proclaim him king, and Henry is forced to flee.

Henriad (Season 5. Henry VI: Part 1)

With an underage boy now king of England, Henry VI, Part 1 depicts the collapse of England's role in France, as English nobles fight each other instead of the French and as Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc) brings military strength to the French army. The English hero Lord Talbot attacks Orleans but is defeated by Joan. In England, Gloucester, Henry VI’s Protector, and Gloucester's rival Winchester encourage their followers to attack each other in the streets. Richard Plantagenet (later the Duke of York) and Somerset are equally antagonistic, with their followers signaling their allegiance by wearing white or red roses. Henry VI is crowned in Paris, and orders York and Somerset to fight the French instead of each other. As they squabble, French forces kill Talbot and his son. The English army captures and executes Joan. Suffolk arranges a marriage between Henry and Margaret, daughter of the king of Naples, in order to keep her near him and give him, though her, control of England.

Henriad (Season 4. Henry V)

After an insult from the French Dauphin, King Henry V of England invades France to claim the throne he believes should be his. Henry stops an assassination plot, gives powerful speeches, and wins battles against the odds. In the end, he woos and marries the Princess of France, linking the two nations.

Henriad (Season 3. Henry IV: Part 2)

In the aftermath of the Battle of Shrewsbury, Northumberland learns of the death of his son. The Lord Chief Justice attempts, on behalf of the increasingly frail King, to separate Falstaff from Prince Hal. The rebels continue to plot insurrection. Falstaff is sent to recruit soldiers and takes his leave of his mistress, Doll Tearsheet. The rebel forces are overcome. This brings comfort to the dying King, who is finally reconciled to his son. Falstaff rushes to Hal’s coronation with expectations of high office.

Henriad (Season 2. Henry IV: Part 1)

Richard is dead and Henry Bolingbroke is now King Henry IV. The king is not enjoying his reign. He feels guilty about the removal of Richard, and it troubles his conscience. He'd like to go to the Holy Land on crusade to pay penance but there are troubles much nearer to home that need his attention. His reign is threatened by growing opposition from some of the very nobles who helped him to the throne – especially the Percy Family. Wales and Scotland are threatening rebellion as King Richard's nominated heir, Edmund Mortimer looms large on the horizon. King Henry's suspicious, rude and perhaps arrogant treatment of Henry Percy (the Earl of Northumberland's son who is known as 'Hotspur' because of his courage and impetuous nature) only makes matters worse.

Henriad (Season 1. Richard II)

A television adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henriad: a pair of tetralogies chronicling the rise of the Lancaster branch of England’s House of Plantagenet. Richard II, set around the year 1398, traces the fall from power of the last king of the house of Plantagenet, Richard II, and his replacement by the first Lancaster king, Henry IV (Henry Bolingbroke). Richard II, who ascended to the throne as a young man, is a regal and stately figure, but he is wasteful in his spending habits, unwise in his choice of counselors, and detached from his country and its common people. He spends too much of his time pursuing the latest Italian fashions, spending money on his close friends, and raising taxes to fund his pet wars in Ireland and elsewhere. When he begins to "rent out" parcels of English land to certain wealthy noblemen in order to raise funds for one of his wars and seizes the lands and money of a recently deceased and much respected uncle to help fill his coffers, both the commoners and the king's noblemen decide that Richard has gone too far.

The Phantom Tollbooth

For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams.

The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar details the life of Esther Greenwood, a college student who dreams of becoming a poet. She is selected for a month-long summer internship as a guest editor of Ladies' Day magazine, but her time in New York City is unfulfilling as she struggles with issues of identity and societal norms. She meets two other interns who manifest contrasting views of femininity as well as Esther’s own internal conflicts: the rebellious and sexual Doreen and the wholesome and virginal Betsy. During this time, Esther thinks about her boyfriend, Buddy Willard, and her anger when he admitted that he was not a virgin, claiming to have been seduced. She believes he is a hypocrite, having acted as if she was more sexually experienced. After being rejected for a writing class, Esther must spend the rest of her summer at home with her mother; Esther’s father died when she was young. She struggles to write a novel and becomes increasingly despondent, making several half-hearted suicide attempts. She ultimately overdoses on sleeping pills but survives.

The Wild Duck

Gregers Werle has returned from the Hoidal works up north and unexpectedly turned up at his father’s house, a place of secrets and sins. Gregers accuses his father of scapegoating his former business partner, and then acting charitably only to cover up his misdeeds: Old Werle has set up his former partner’s son, Hialmar, with a photography studio, and introduced Hialmar to his now-wife, Gina. Hialmar and Gina have a 14-year-old daughter, Hedvig, a curious child with failing eyesight who tends to the rescued wild duck living in their house. Gregers is determined to right the wrongs of past generations, no matter the cost or who he hurts in the process--so deeply does he believe in the idealism of living without lies. What will he expose? About whom? And will he be able to restore the integrity he seeks, or will he succumb to his own self-righteous ego? Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck is an investigation into the psychology of what makes people happy and content, and the lengths to which they will go to preserve their life’s illusions.

The Taming of the Shrew

The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship; however, Petruchio "tames" her with various psychological torments, such as keeping her from eating and drinking, until she becomes a desirable, compliant, and obedient bride. The subplot features a competition between the suitors of Katherina's younger sister, Bianca, who is seen as the "ideal" woman.

The Berthold Babies

Andrea Goddard, a washed-up former actress unable to divorce herself from a scandal in the 1980s, finds her journey to success threatened by the arrival of her estranged descendants, who were presumed dead at the height of her career.

Three Times Lucky

Miss Moses LoBeau, rising sixth grader, has plans for the summer. To hang out with her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III and his dog, Queen Elizabeth II. To help out in the eccentric café run by the Colonel and Miss Lana, who took her in 11 years ago when a hurricane washed Mo into town. To continue her lifelong search for her Upstream Mother. And to research her own life story – which so far is one big fat mystery. Mo’s summer looks sweet. Until Detective Joe Starr shows up asking too many questions. And cranky old Mr. Jesse turns up dead. And Dale becomes the chief suspect in tiny Tupelo Landing’s first murder. Can Mo’s life get any worse? Mo’s summer looks sweet. Until Detective Joe Starr shows up asking too many questions. And cranky old Mr. Jesse turns up dead. And Dale becomes the chief suspect in tiny Tupelo Landing’s first murder. Can Mo’s life get any worse Fortunately, Mo’s always been lucky. Mo and Dale set out to clear Dale’s name, solving the mysteries of their own lives in the process. Fortunately, Mo’s always been lucky.

Hail To the King!

An experimental anthology musical film centered around a rockabilly musician who soars through a miscellany of lifestyles, both glamorous and imperfect in a larger-than-life pursuit of a career and the love of his life.

𝒲𝒾𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓈𝒷𝒶𝒸𝒽

A lonely sculptor in the heart of Manhattan finds a muse in the form of an expectant wife who commissions her to make a belly cast. Giving way to an intimate affair with an imminent deadline and unwanted attention.

Don't Look Up (1981)

Kate Dibiasky, an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy, make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem - it's on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe, Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean, and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason, to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie and Jack. With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up.

Thumbelina

A girl no bigger than her mother's thumb feels all alone in the world knowing she is the only person her size. Her wish for a companion at last comes true when the Prince of the fairies arrives at her window sill. However, the naive Thumbelina's life goes downward from there when a toad kidnaps her. While she tries to find a way home, she begins to grow up and learns about hope with the help of the friends she always wanted.