“Taylor Swift: The Official release Party of a Showgirl” has begun unspooling in cinemas nationwide for its limited three-day engagement, and the theatrical event’s behind-the-scenes footage and personal commentary from Swift are giving fans more insight into the hit album it’s promoting.

The hour-and-a-half program (presented in theaters with no trailers or other preliminaries) begins with Swift offering a brief introduction and thanks, then goes straight into the premiere of the elaborate music video for “The Life of Ophelia,” followed by behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the Swift-directed video. Moast of the rest of the 90 minutes consists of semi-static lyric videos for the other 11 tracks from the “Life of a Showgirl” album, preceded by Swift offering two or three minutes of commentary about the inspiration for the songwriting in each instance.

More BTS footage from the “Ophelia” shoot is scattered throughout the program, which ends with a reprise of the opening video – with viewers now having more insight into where to look for fun moments that will have gone overlooked on first viewing. (The repeat showing of the music video at the close is also handy for any latecomers to the theater who didn’t believe the part about there being no trailers.)

Discussing the “Ophelia” video, Swift says, “The idea I came up with for this music video was sort of a journey throughout all these different ways in which over time periods, historically, you could be a showgirl… Like, how you would be in the public eye back during the 1800s, when you’d sit for a Pre-raphaelite painting. Or you could be a showgirl by being a cabaret burlesque club performer. You could be a theatrical actor putting on a performance. You could a Vegas showgirl. You could be one of the girls in the Busby Berkeley screen-siren era of the ’30s and ’40s. You could be a pop singer on the Eras Tour.”

Indeed, the time-tripping allows the star to take on several different personas, including a classic showgirl with a Marilyn-Monroe-platinum bob hairdo, a ’60s-style brunette go-go dancer in a nightclub, an Esther Williams-like bathing beauty on a movie set with a giant staircase and a cast of dozens, and a raven-haired theatrical actress. All of these different looks show up later in the lyric videos, via brief video loops that run behind the giant-sized lyric excerpts.

Serious Swifties will enjoy the music video, and especially the copious behind-the-scenes footage, for the many familiar faces that populate these scenes.One of the reasons for her excitement in sharing all this, she says, is that “is that we got everybody back together from the Eras Tour; all of the perf

Taylor Swift Breaks Down ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Tracks

Taylor Swift is offering a deep dive into her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, revealing the stories and inspirations behind its songs.In a recent behind-the-scenes look, Swift detailed the creative process and the meanings woven into the tracks.

During a set visit, Swift highlighted the intricate set design, even playfully acknowledging the inclusion of her own bread as a prop.”This is a really exciting day for me as a baker as my bread is actually a music video star as of today.”

One point that comes up as the dancers learn their choreography: “the Fate of Ophelia” was not actually played on-set, to avoid leaks. And so the dancers required extra direction because of that. “We’re in secret sauce. no one’s hearing this track.All anyone’s hearing in the room is just click. So I also have to be able to inform the dancers, ‘You need to feel this in this moment.'”

As the song explanations proceed, she brings clarity to what has quickly emerged as a fan-favorite song, “Opalite,” and explains the two color distinctions that would be lost on most listeners without her spelling it out.

“Opalite is manmade opal. I’ve always loved opal; my mom has always loved opal; it’s kind of like our thing – one of our many things,” Swift says.”And I loved the metaphor of a manmade opal (as) you had to make your own happiness in your life. You had to get yourself through some tough times to get to the positive place you’re in now. And I really loved the idea that the manmade gemstone jewel is also a metaphor for choosing your own path to happiness… It didn’t just happen to you. You had to fight for it. You had to work for it. You had to earn it.”

Swift has been highly reluctant to discuss who her songs are about, going back at least to her second album, so she isn’t about to break form with that now and discuss the real-life figures whom Swifties believe are addressed in the diss tracks “Father Figure” and “Actually Romantic.” But she does lend context to her thinking about those tunes.

The singer says her basic love for alliteration is why she was drawn to George Michael’s “Father Figure,” which is the one interpolation on the album, in her new composition of the same name. She felt there was room to work it as “that line in the context of the George Michael song is romantic,” but “I always thought it might very well be cool to use the line ‘I’ll be