What We Learned From ‘Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’: Her Love for Shakespeare, MGM Musicals, Sabrina Carpenter as a Fellow Survivor, and More
Key Takeaways
- The theatrical event "Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl" is running for a limited three-day engagement.
- The program centers on the premiere of the music video for "The Life of Ophelia," which features Swift exploring various historical 'showgirl' personas.
- Swift provides commentary on the inspiration behind the 12 tracks from her "Life of a Showgirl" album.
- The music video reunited many performers and crew members from the recent Eras Tour.
- The video's ending directly references the album cover, which is itself an homage to Sir John Everett Millais's 1850 painting of Ophelia.
The limited-run theatrical event, "Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl," has premiered, giving fans deep insight into the "Life of a Showgirl" album through commentary and extensive BTS footage. The 90-minute program kicks off with the premiere of the music video for "The Life of Ophelia," which Swift directed to showcase different historical personas of a 'showgirl,' ranging from Pre-Raphaelite subjects to modern pop stars. The rest of the runtime is dedicated to lyric videos for the remaining 11 tracks, each preceded by Swift discussing her songwriting inspiration. A significant draw for dedicated fans is the reunion of Eras Tour performers and crew, such as production designer Ethan Tobman and choreographer Mandy Moore, in the video footage. The "Ophelia" video concludes with a recreation of the album cover, which Swift reveals is a direct reference to the circa-1850 painting of Shakespeare's Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais, explaining the tragic inspiration behind the character's demise.
