Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 24, 2017

If she only had the nerve.

Are we saying Fay (and her mother) is going to see a play of L. Frank Baum’s literary masterpiece?

Braids. Dorothy. Dorothy. Braids.

Think she’ll be trying for the part of the witch?

Fay and her munchkin allergies getting in the way of her happiness once again.

This episode is open to interpretation. But to me, it looks like the school play IS The Wizard of Oz. And Fay can’t try out for what’s all set to open next week. She’s been so ill that she could never try out while she had the chance.

She can’t try out for a play that opens next week. If it opens next week, the cast is already set. No mystery there, and no negativity. Just reality…

Fay is one shade darker than Luann. I had to go back to yesterday’s strip to wonder why I did not notice yesterday.

Fay is one shade darker than her mom.

I hope dad exists and we get to see him, and his race and skin color will be absolutely meaningless to any future plotline.

“Marty — Uh — Fay …”

I’m quite sure Fay has a father and some brothers and sisters we have not met yet.

A play with extended time usually has alternate cast members or understudies in case one or more of the original cast can’t attend. Often they are given a chance to perform at least once before the run is over. Luann can give Fay a crash course and maybe Fay can get her big night.

Soooo…..

Puzzler Prize seakers, what play will the Fuse put on with Fay in a leading role?

The Wizard of Ox.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Decorum.

Stall Log (Not Yet) Seventeen.

Seven Derides For Seven Mothers.

Showbloat. (Tiffany in the lead role. “Old Man River” redone as “On Shelf Twinkie.”)

Ham, Mute On…. ( A redoing of Hamilton with all the characters cast from Pearls Before Swine. Talk about a crossover.)

This arcworries me about little Fay. She is introduced as a sweet, needy character, who really responds well to Luann’s emphathy, and her positive attitude for life. This child is sick, and it affects her ability to do something she wants too, and which boosts her confidence, and which she has the skill to do. I hope the lead up is not too dark. Could she be dying? Or is she just very sick, or the Munchausen syndrome might be possible here, although I doubt it. It is very worrisome I think.

Why can’t she?

Perhaps Les could try out for the part of the wicked witch. Gunther could be the lion, Knute the scarecrow, Ox the tin man, Frank the wizard, and Puddles Toto. If Tiffany gains a lot more weight, she could be the state of Kansas.

“Opens next week” would mean that the tryouts and rehearsals are past.

Oh well. She missed the auditions and the cast was chosen. The play begins the next week. The cast is in dress rehearsals. Fay is similar to my daughter in law – she is sickly due to so many allergies. She’s always sniffing her nose, has splotches all over her body, itches herself, has several food allergies and is deathly allergic to peanuts and bees. I worry about my grandson – hoping he doesn’t inherit all of her allergies. He has skin reaction to strawberries…so far and he’s 2.

I have always wanted to see the product placement version of The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy arrives in Munchkinland durring a street fair. She has no cash on hand and cannot buy anything until she sees a familiar sight in the wall of one of the shops.

She runs to it, reciting her now famous line:

“ATM! ATM!”

omg, this girl better develop fast, boring

If someone has already suggested this, apologies for the repeat. But… What if she has already memorized the Dorothy lines and rehearsed in front of her own bedroom mirror with no one’s knowledge. This shy kid might do that, and fantasize playin the part while never daring to try out. But when she shares this with Luann, and the actor cast in the part is unable to perform for whatever reason. Deus ex wherever. Not a prediction, just to point out that in the world of comic strips there are more possibilities in heaven and earth than Horatio ever dreamed.

Her mom is tiffany’s dad’s girlfriend, which is the real reason she missed a few weeks. She was off on the vacation that tiffany used to go on with her dad. She’s a compulsive liar in addition to being a terrible parent.

it is clear to me now that her mom is the one telling Fay what to be sick with: Fay is being manipulated and is completely healthy. hopefully Luann will be what Borenice is studying to be: a psychologist. you have to have the natural ability for it because books will never show you how to be one, no matter how much you read them.

Well, maybe like that Dr. Claw guy says: “Next time, inspector Gadget!….Next time!…”

“Flight Of The Hinder-berg”

“Pause…Then, Play…..And Pause, Again”

“It’s Much Too Late, For Good Tries” (♬)

“I Think I Missed, Again” (♬)

“A Wait, On Your Shoulders”

“Intermission… Not So Impossible”

“Wrapped In Foiled”

“A Prevent Defense”

“Runnin’ To Catch The Constrain”

“Curbed Air”

“The One Time The Little Engine Couldn’t”

“If It’s Fleeting, Just Wait For The Next Ship”

or

“The Wizz-er Of Was”

I think this arc is about Luann realizing what form her career will take. She will see that she not only wants to help young people, but that she has the rare gift of making them trust her. A degree in social work comes as close as anything else. Perhaps this is like the Eiffel party being less about lingerie and more about Les, and his growing awareness of where his true family lies.

So Fay hasn’t been going to school because her Mom has been making her take more meds than usual and that made her drowsy enough to not try out. Nice going Mom.

This arc just now gave me the drizzling…diarrhea!

3

I see folks have a lot of different interpretations of today’s comic. From my perspective, here is what I am seeing:

1. Any play, even one in the middle school level, would usually involve many weeks if not months of rehearsal.

2. If the play “opens” next week, the suggestion to me is that it will be PERFORMED next week. If it had been for auditions, I would have thought the flyer would have said something akin to “open auditions next week” or something similar.

3. So, if the play is going to be performed next week, there is no hope, IMO, of Fay being a part of it, so the question is…. why did not Fay go for auditions? The possibilities I see are where the story may be heading:

a) perhaps she was legitimately sick and ended up being unable to audition

b) perhaps she did not pay attention well to the timing of auditions and simply missed them.

c) perhaps she was feeling far too shy to even begin to drum up enough courage to audition and now is just feeling regretful.

d) if the arc is moving towards a “helicopter mom” or even a “Munchhausen by Proxy” mom arc (I tend to doubt either of these very much.) then perhaps her mother is foisting the various illness upon Fay to keep her from doing much that is not tightly controlled by Mom.

e) perhaps she purposefully did not try out because she knew Axel was going to try out and be in the play and it made her too twitter-pated (This is another one I sincerely hope is not the direction of the story, because I personally do not look forward to a potential return of Axel.).

Last minute changes in programs are not uncommon.

There’s still time.

EXACTLY “then perhaps her mother is foisting the various illness upon Fay to keep her from doing much that is not tightly controlled by Mom.” which makes no sense since it is MOM who signed her up to the failed camp<AD hired Luann

C’mon people! Occam’s Razor again !

Fay and her mom state she’s been ill the past few weeks, visiting doctors and such. THAT MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO TRY OUT FOR THE PLAY!!!!!

“Too clever by half” is how I would describe today’s strip—so I (and others) don’t understand the message.

If Evans were to try to tackle a real issue like racism or gun violence that would be a breath of fresh air for this strip that is too white, too mainstream (it’s about teenagers but read mostly by senior citizens) and dangerously out-of-touch. Also it’s too bad that Delta had to be bussed out just as the Obama presidency began. Clearly she has more important things to do than hang around with this lot of losers…..Anyway this is a stupid storyline about a non-issue. And if it is a real issue, Luann is by her own admission pretty far from equipped to handle any aspect of it…..

Playing a part in the “Wizard of Id”….,Uh I MEAN, “Oz,” Fay? Nothing to It! Here, Watch Your Uncle Mordo!

(Inhaling a bag of Helium)

♪♪ “As Corner, I MUST A-Ver!”

♪♪ “I’ve (GAG) Thoroughly Examined Her!”

♪♪ “And Ma Berger’s Not just Merely Dead,”

♪♪ “I Hope She’s Most Sincerely Deaaaaaaad!”

OR

♪♪ “Ding-Dong, Old Les is DEAD!”

♪♪ “Frying Pan, Upside His Head!”

♪♪ “Ding-Dong, The Worthless Punk is Deaaaaaaaaad!”

OR

♪♪ “We Misrepresent the Polygamous Guild! Polygamous Guild, the Polygamous Guild!”

♪♪ “And in the Name of the Polygamous Guild, We welcome You, to La-La Land!”

OR

♪♪ “Um, Uh, Here, Er, I, there,”

♪♪ “And a Couple of Oh My Gaws!”

♪♪ “That’s How Gunth spends His time with Tiff, in the Merry Old Land of Ozzzz!”

(Big Munchkin Finish)

♪♪ “La,La,La,La,La, La-La-La-La-La! La,La,La,La,Laaaaaaaa!”

♪♪ "La, La, La, La, LAAAAAAAA……..,EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! (Screams of Panic!!)

Fay is depressed and anxious, exacerbated by her mother’s interference. Fixing Fay will be beyond the scope of Luann’s sweet abilities.

Munchhausen by Proxy? Such a morbid bunch in here. Imaginative too. There ARE people like Fay and my daughter in law is one. Constantly dripping something from the nose, itching, splotchy skin and so on. I can tell you her mother has nothing to do with it and neither does my son, her husband. Fay’s mother is trying to make up for her missing out so much due to her allergies.

Ringo. Re missing posts.

I posted the Tucson temperature above and it did not show up on my next reload.

I have been kicked over to Google twice this morning I think when a response comes in while I have been typing one.

Five times in the past two days while on GoComics I have “won” a $1000 Amazon card. Everything has to be closed.

I believe S-Dog suggested that the auditions will open next week – I’m thinking that’s the case, too, with Luann asking if Fay will try out. If so, the timeframe is more realistic. Also, the flyer is not completely shown as the bottom portion is cut off from our view. Today’s strip can be confusing though in that regard.

Still, now with less than an hour until her mother returns, that’s hardly any time today for Luann to help Fay…

In the first frame, Luann projects so much warmth! Other Luann characters steal the show from time to time – but Luann is the heart of the story.

Maybe Luann will stage a mini “Wizard of Oz” production with the Fuse staff – giving Fay the lead role. Luann would need to enlist Gunther to make costumes. Probably a part for Shannon as well.

Fay is now shown with more shape under her sweater. She is growing up – maybe a year older by this time.

munchausen by proxy.

My guess is she is already in the Wizard of Oz, which is not the school play, which is why she can’t try out for the school play.

As Schro-Dog said above, the subtle cue is that Faye can’t try for W.OO., because she missed the deadline (the handbill says the play will be next week). Poor lass couldn’t try out for the play (let alone rehearse, even if she could get a part in time). Treatments, rest and illness getting in the way are a sad part of her life, for now.

Yup; Fay positively can’t, because the Wizard of Oz opens already next week. Too late! Too late!

And too ill. Fay’s allergies may be real, or not (psychosomatic?), but they are in any case debilitating. And that’s awful for this girl. I don’t know how Luann can possibly help with that, but I hope she does….

There are points in the first panel so let her finish.

Is this a case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy? “(MSBP) is a mental health problem in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury in a person under his or her care, such as a child…”

opens next week? hopefully it means tryouts not the play itself… Fay looks like Judy Garland; she could be Dorothy.

It says only, “Opening Next Week” nothing else.

Aww that’s disappointing. I wanted to see fay in it

yeah but Luann’s remark makes it sound like tryouts are still going on. Maybe we can’t see the whole flyer. Ther’s text on the bottom part.