Juan A. Ramirez
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All Film Theatre Features Interviews In-Depth Columns
Writing All Film Theatre Features Interviews In-Depth Columns
Juan A. Ramirez
film + theater articles and reviews
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Film
Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN, You Missed Your Chance
Sep 22, 2021
Review: DEAR EVAN HANSEN, You Missed Your Chance
Sep 22, 2021

Finally, a stage-to-screen adaptation that asks, “What if we replaced the main character in a teen suicide drama with Howard the Duck?”

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Sep 22, 2021
A Different Kind of Coming-Out Story
Sep 16, 2021
A Different Kind of Coming-Out Story
Sep 16, 2021

The kind that isn’t actually a “story.” It’s a process.

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Sep 16, 2021
This New Song in "Everybody’s Talking About Jamie" Is the Highlight of the Film
Sep 15, 2021
This New Song in "Everybody’s Talking About Jamie" Is the Highlight of the Film
Sep 15, 2021

them.: “This Was Me” is a touching tribute to queer history, and the movie's beating heart.

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Sep 15, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! A Soulless Tribute to the Queen of Soul
Aug 18, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! A Soulless Tribute to the Queen of Soul
Aug 18, 2021

It’s a shame Hudson had to be wasted in a joyless, pointless, and entirely soulless recounting of the Queen of Soul’s early life and career.‍

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Aug 18, 2021
Review: EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE – Twinky Boots
Aug 14, 2021
Review: EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE – Twinky Boots
Aug 14, 2021

Enough motherly patronizing, because Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is ultimately a pleasure to experience and features strong supporting turns from its cast.

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Aug 14, 2021
John Benjamin Hickey on SUBLET and Gay Representation
Jun 26, 2021
John Benjamin Hickey on SUBLET and Gay Representation
Jun 26, 2021

I spoke with Hickey about Sublet, his career, and ‘straights playing gay’ discourse.

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Jun 26, 2021
Review: ZOLA
Jun 23, 2021
Review: ZOLA
Jun 23, 2021

Zola is the most Florida movie I have ever seen (this is a good thing).

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Jun 23, 2021
Krysta Rodriguez Talks Liza Minnelli and Messy Women
Jun 16, 2021
Krysta Rodriguez Talks Liza Minnelli and Messy Women
Jun 16, 2021

I delved deep into stan territory with the Halston actor about what makes Minnelli a popular culture legend.

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Jun 16, 2021
REVOLUTION RENT Brings America to Cuba and Back Again
Jun 15, 2021
REVOLUTION RENT Brings America to Cuba and Back Again
Jun 15, 2021

I spoke with Andy Señor Jr., an early ‘Angel’ replacement in Rent, about bringing the musical to his Cuban homeland.

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Jun 15, 2021
IN THE HEIGHTS’ Daphne Rubin-Vega on the Power of Representation
Jun 8, 2021
IN THE HEIGHTS’ Daphne Rubin-Vega on the Power of Representation
Jun 8, 2021

I caught up with the Broadway legend to talk about her career, and why she thinks the film is a landmark for movie musicals and Latinx representation.

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Jun 8, 2021
Review: CRUELLA, The Joker Wears Puppies
Jun 3, 2021
Review: CRUELLA, The Joker Wears Puppies
Jun 3, 2021

Like a mistake that nine months later turns into a beloved, if troublesome, child, CRUELLA is a welcome addition to the landscape.

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Jun 3, 2021
Review: IN THE HEIGHTS Lives Up To Its Name
May 21, 2021
Review: IN THE HEIGHTS Lives Up To Its Name
May 21, 2021

Leave everything at home and tell that friend with the speakers to come through, because Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights is the glimmering rainbow under an open fire hydrant, and with just as much force.

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May 21, 2021
Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn talk A WEEK AWAY — Netflix’s Latest Movie Musical
Mar 30, 2021
Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn talk A WEEK AWAY — Netflix’s Latest Movie Musical
Mar 30, 2021

An interview with Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn, the stars of Netflix’s movie musical, A Week Away.

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Mar 30, 2021
Review: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Jan 3, 2021
Review: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Jan 3, 2021

Despite lacking a certain oomph in the portrayal of its iconic titular character, Wolfe’s adaptation is a lowkey, low-stakes affair with excellent performances and captivating tension.

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Jan 3, 2021
Staff Pick: Images of 2020
Dec 18, 2020
Staff Pick: Images of 2020
Dec 18, 2020

My picks for best moving image works of 2020: I May Destroy You and Circle Jerk

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Dec 18, 2020
Festival Report: NYFF 2020 Revivals
Nov 2, 2020
Festival Report: NYFF 2020 Revivals
Nov 2, 2020

Brief review of Smooth Talk, from the 2020 New York Film Festival’s Revivals section.

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Nov 2, 2020
Staff Pick: Stoner Movies 2020
Sep 25, 2020
Staff Pick: Stoner Movies 2020
Sep 25, 2020

DigBoston Staff Pick for iconic stoner movies. My go-to? Radley Metzger’s Score.

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Sep 25, 2020
Review: "Bill & Ted Face the Music"
Sep 8, 2020
Review: "Bill & Ted Face the Music"
Sep 8, 2020

Bill & Ted Face the Music is a completely unnecessary but winsome enough entry in the Southern California dude saga that’s as comforting as our bad teenage habits.

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Sep 8, 2020
Festival Report: Wicked Queer 2020
Jul 21, 2020
Festival Report: Wicked Queer 2020
Jul 21, 2020

An opinion piece about the beauty of 2020’s virtual Wicked Queer festival, followed by reviews of Ask Any Buddy and Dry Wind.

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Jul 21, 2020
Film Review: "Palm Springs"
Jul 13, 2020
Film Review: "Palm Springs"
Jul 13, 2020

The Lonely Island’s giddy, inspired sense for pushing a particular theme to its most illogical conclusion while still keeping ample room for #random punchlines carries through Palm Springs, the breeziest 90 minutes I’ve spent all year.

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Jul 13, 2020
“Booksmart” aims to be the anthem of a generation
Apr 17, 2019
“Booksmart” aims to be the anthem of a generation
Apr 17, 2019

An interview with “Booksmart” director Olivia Wilde, writer Katie Silberman and stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever .

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Apr 17, 2019
History, Stolen and Sold in "Museo"
Jan 31, 2019
History, Stolen and Sold in "Museo"
Jan 31, 2019

Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Museo, aside from being a virtuoso piece of filmmaking, is unique in that it considers the precarious morality of history museums.

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Jan 31, 2019
Harvard Film Archive – Weekend Matinee notes
Dec 1, 2018
Harvard Film Archive – Weekend Matinee notes
Dec 1, 2018

A few film descriptions for Harvard Film Archive’s Weekend Matinee series.

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Dec 1, 2018
Quality (Screen) Time in "Eighth Grade"
Sep 18, 2018
Quality (Screen) Time in "Eighth Grade"
Sep 18, 2018

With Eighth Grade, Bo Burnham has taken a sledgehammer to the outdated myth that high school is the worst part of growing up.

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Sep 18, 2018
Childhood in Black and White: Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis"
Aug 29, 2018
Childhood in Black and White: Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis"
Aug 29, 2018

Seeing things in black and white often means denying room for any nuance and detail. And yet, in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, black and white is ultimately a reflection and refraction of its protagonist.

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Aug 29, 2018
Scene Analysis: Choreographing the Camera in "West Side Story"
Aug 16, 2018
Scene Analysis: Choreographing the Camera in "West Side Story"
Aug 16, 2018

This 1961 Best Picture winner ingeniously builds upon the choreographed camera of Old Hollywood extravaganzas and the neo-Shakespearean tragedy at its core to create a New York at once gritty and dangerous as well as magical and fluid.

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Aug 16, 2018
Scene Analysis: A "Bumpy Night" in "All About Eve"
Aug 6, 2018
Scene Analysis: A "Bumpy Night" in "All About Eve"
Aug 6, 2018

And bumpy, it is. What should have been a celebratory night for Margo spirals into self-destructive paranoia, with each move of hers downplayed or eclipsed by her guests.

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Aug 6, 2018
Worlds Un/Like Our Own: "Annihilation" and "mother!"
Jun 1, 2018
Worlds Un/Like Our Own: "Annihilation" and "mother!"
Jun 1, 2018

Separate in genre and subject matter but equal in ambition and tone, neither film is explicitly about contemporary life — in fact, they seem to stand completely outside of time.

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Jun 1, 2018
Feminine Mystique: Vitalizing Sexuality in "Belle de jour"
May 14, 2018
Feminine Mystique: Vitalizing Sexuality in "Belle de jour"
May 14, 2018

By casting Catherine Deneuve, an actress whose doll-like beauty is matched only by her ability to act as both a blank slate and an impenetrable enigma, Buñuel was able to engage the audience on the multiple levels needed to attempt to understand a woman like Séverine.

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May 14, 2018
Scene Analysis: A "Very Predictable" Dinner in "Phantom Thread"
Apr 23, 2018
Scene Analysis: A "Very Predictable" Dinner in "Phantom Thread"
Apr 23, 2018

This carefully constructed film mirrors its characters by placing a liberal amount of actorly improvisation and dramatic chaos in a painstakingly crafted masterpiece that’s equal parts swooning fairy tale, haunting ghost story and absurdly funny romantic comedy.

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Apr 23, 2018

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Writing
Column: AND… SCENE! They Nearly Tore the Balcony Down!
Sep 18, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! They Nearly Tore the Balcony Down!
Sep 18, 2021

The Gwen’s Honest Truth about the mezzanine fight at Chicago’s reopening.

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Sep 18, 2021
Review: Triple-texting THE LAST OF THE LOVE LETTERS
Sep 13, 2021
Review: Triple-texting THE LAST OF THE LOVE LETTERS
Sep 13, 2021

Ngozi Anyanwu’s play is a mostly brilliant, knowing rendering of the humiliating mental gymnastics performed during a breakup

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Sep 13, 2021
Review: NI MI MADRE – Y mi mamá también
Aug 26, 2021
Review: NI MI MADRE – Y mi mamá también
Aug 26, 2021

A queer son plays his own mother in this one-man, one-hour tropical breeze that picks up into a storm of child-rearing trauma.

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Aug 26, 2021
Review: A New Dawn with PASS OVER
Aug 25, 2021
Review: A New Dawn with PASS OVER
Aug 25, 2021

Pass Over, with its flaws, beauties, and contradictions, is much the same, but heralds an electric new moment in highly-visible American theatre.

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Aug 25, 2021
Review: Revisiting Four Nobodies in ‘[title of show]’
Aug 17, 2021
Review: Revisiting Four Nobodies in ‘[title of show]’
Aug 17, 2021

NYT: For an outdoor residency at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Bridge Production Group breathes fresh life into a 2004 musical.

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Aug 17, 2021
Getting Personal with Amber Iman
Aug 12, 2021
Getting Personal with Amber Iman
Aug 12, 2021

The singer was spectacularly candid with her presence, and generous with her talent.

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Aug 12, 2021
Review: MERRY WIVES – Falstaff & Chill
Aug 10, 2021
Review: MERRY WIVES – Falstaff & Chill
Aug 10, 2021

It’s updates like these that left me feeling like this work might have been better left alone, without all the fuss about updating the show’s politics and instant relatability.

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Aug 10, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Concerts, Cabarets, and Causes Célèbres
Aug 4, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Concerts, Cabarets, and Causes Célèbres
Aug 4, 2021
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Aug 4, 2021
Larry Owens: All Sondheim, All the Time
Jul 30, 2021
Larry Owens: All Sondheim, All the Time
Jul 30, 2021

Sondheimia is an intimate blend of personal history and finely-tuned musical performance

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Jul 30, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Jagged Little Tina
Jul 23, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Jagged Little Tina
Jul 23, 2021

It’s Stanley versus Warren, and this predicament places me at an annoying gay crossroads.

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Jul 23, 2021
Phillipa Soo on Audible's THE STAND-IN and Representation
Jul 16, 2021
Phillipa Soo on Audible's THE STAND-IN and Representation
Jul 16, 2021

I spoke with Soo about The Stand-In, an Audible Original she narrates and performs.

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Jul 16, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Lillias White’s Parade
Jul 16, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Lillias White’s Parade
Jul 16, 2021

As we listen to “Zero to Hero” for the billionth time this weekend, let us all reflect on how best to put White back on the Great White Way.

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Jul 16, 2021
Review: FRUMA-SARAH Ready For Her Close-Up
Jul 15, 2021
Review: FRUMA-SARAH Ready For Her Close-Up
Jul 15, 2021

A world tour of the grandstanding kvetching for which Jackie Hoffman is rightfully beloved

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Jul 15, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Who is Flying Me Out To See ANYTHING GOES?
Jul 13, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Who is Flying Me Out To See ANYTHING GOES?
Jul 13, 2021

I suppose part of me should be upset that this isn’t a new production: I’ve always thought Anything Goes (God love musical comedy) is such, such a stupid show that it could withstand a rewrite every 10 years.

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Jul 13, 2021
Column: AND...SCENE! Sweet, Sweet, Charity
Jun 18, 2021
Column: AND...SCENE! Sweet, Sweet, Charity
Jun 18, 2021

To paraphrase MacArthur Genius Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “We Should All Be Sweet Charity Stans.”

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Jun 18, 2021
Column: AND... SCENE! Suddenly Screaming
Jun 11, 2021
Column: AND... SCENE! Suddenly Screaming
Jun 11, 2021

Ellen Greene scream-singing in this Little Shop of Horrors medley is glorious.

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Jun 11, 2021
THE NICETIES Finds Focus in New Virtual Production
Jun 10, 2021
THE NICETIES Finds Focus in New Virtual Production
Jun 10, 2021

Eleanor Burgess talks me through adapting The Niceties for a digital production.

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Jun 10, 2021
THE DRAMA BOOK SHOP is Reopening! Thomas Kail and David Korins Chat The Importance of This New York Landmark
Jun 8, 2021
THE DRAMA BOOK SHOP is Reopening! Thomas Kail and David Korins Chat The Importance of This New York Landmark
Jun 8, 2021

The Drama Book Shop—a storied purveyor of scripts and other theatre-related products— opened its doors in a new location on West 39th Street.

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Jun 8, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Orville Peck, Born His Way
Jun 4, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Orville Peck, Born His Way
Jun 4, 2021

Orville Peck released a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way (The Country Road Version)”. Once more, in case you missed it: Orville Peck released a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way (The Country Road Version)”. ‍

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Jun 4, 2021
Review: Immersive PERSOU In Chelsea Leaves Room For More
Jun 3, 2021
Review: Immersive PERSOU In Chelsea Leaves Room For More
Jun 3, 2021

Persou has the enjoyable edge of being one of the first in-person, immersive live productions happening in New York, but none of the Greek catharsis it promises.

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Jun 3, 2021
MARQUEE DIGITAL is Changing Theatre One Program At A Time
May 24, 2021
MARQUEE DIGITAL is Changing Theatre One Program At A Time
May 24, 2021

Marquee Digital––a paperless alternative to print theatre programs––has the potential to revolutionize the way we engage with the performing arts.

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May 24, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Everybody’s Disappointed About Jamie (and Evan)
May 22, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Everybody’s Disappointed About Jamie (and Evan)
May 22, 2021

While the rest of the world throws open its doors, Amazon has decided to shut us out of what could have been the glitziest, most high-energy screenings of the fall.

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May 22, 2021
Review: The ANIMAL WISDOM of Ghosts and Catfishes
May 20, 2021
Review: The ANIMAL WISDOM of Ghosts and Catfishes
May 20, 2021

Animal Wisdom is a delightful two hours spent in the company of a woman who knows how to old-school entertain and serves as the year’s best highlight reel for Christian’s talent.

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May 20, 2021
Their Fascination With ‘Real Housewives’ Is Anything but Fake
May 19, 2021
Their Fascination With ‘Real Housewives’ Is Anything but Fake
May 19, 2021

NYT: A cadre of Yale drama graduates have followed up a first streaming hit with “This American Wife,” a reality-blurring look at the long-running reality TV franchise.

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May 19, 2021
Review: LILIES Is No Fresh Bouquet
May 19, 2021
Review: LILIES Is No Fresh Bouquet
May 19, 2021

You don’t walk into a play titled Lilies, or the Revival of a Romantic Drama expecting realism, and yet, in this staging, one longs for the flowery melodrama the name promises.

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May 19, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Who’s Gonna Rouge Their Knees in September?
May 15, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Who’s Gonna Rouge Their Knees in September?
May 15, 2021

With the rapid-fire announcement of (almost) every Broadway show’s return this week came the question: Who will actually be starring in these?

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May 15, 2021
Column: AND...SCENE! Anything Went
May 8, 2021
Column: AND...SCENE! Anything Went
May 8, 2021

Foster’s got the technique and charm, but her clean-cut style already points to this growing trend that makes me nervous for the state of musical comedy.

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May 8, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Local Street Gangs Dance Again
May 1, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! Local Street Gangs Dance Again
May 1, 2021

The West Side Story teaser… It’s giving community theatre. It’s giving ‘80s sappiness.

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May 1, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! The TikToker’s Frug
Apr 23, 2021
Column: AND… SCENE! The TikToker’s Frug
Apr 23, 2021

It came as a delightful shock (or with loving horror), to receive a text yesterday asking whether I knew that the Rich Man’s Frug was quickly becoming the latest TikTok dance trend.

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Apr 23, 2021
Billy Magnussen Talks Stage, Screen, and Toxic Masculinity
Apr 20, 2021
Billy Magnussen Talks Stage, Screen, and Toxic Masculinity
Apr 20, 2021

A conversation with self-described “theatre YouTube nerd” Billy Magnussen about his stage roots and his new role on HBO Max’s Made for Love.

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Apr 20, 2021

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