#Victory Gardens Theater Review

[claudia1829things]

"CINDERELLA MAN" (2005) Review

"CINDERELLA MAN" (2005) Review When I had first learned about Ron Howard’s biopic about boxing champion James J. Braddock, I was very reluctant to see the film. In fact, I did not even bother to go see it. Instead, I merely dismissed "CINDERELLA MAN" as a ‘"SEABISCUIT" in the boxing ring’. After I finally saw the movie, I must admit that my original assessment stood.

”CINDERELLA MAN” and the 2003 Oscar nominated film, ”SEABISCUIT” seemed to have a lot in common. Both were released by Universal Pictures. Both films possessed a running time that lasted over two hours, both were sentimental stories that centered around a famous sports figure and both were set during the Great Depression. Unlike ”SEABISCUIT”, ”CINDERELLA MAN” told the story about a man – namely one James J. Braddock, an Irish-American boxer from New York and Bergen, New Jersey. The movie started out with Braddock (portrayed by Russell Crowe) as a boxing heavyweight contender in 1928, who had just won an important bout against another boxer named Tuffy Griffiths. But within five years, Braddock found himself as a has-been struggling to keep his family alive during the depths of the Depression, while working as longshoreman. Thanks to a last minute cancellation by another boxer, Braddock gets a second chance to fight but is put up against the number two contender in the world, Corn Griffin, by the promoters who see Braddock as nothing more than a punching bag. Braddock stuns the boxing experts and fans with a third round knockout of the formidable Griffin. After winning a few more bouts, Braddock ends facing boxing champ, Max Baer (Craig Bierko), for the heavyweight title in 1935. Despite the similarities between ”CINDERELLA MAN” and ”SEABISCUIT”, I must admit that I regret not seeing this film in the theaters. It turned out to be a lot better than I had expected. Director Ron Howard, along with screenwriters Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman, did an excellent job of chronicling Braddock’s boxing career at a time when he had been labeled a has-been by the sports media. The movie also featured some excellent fight sequences that came alive due to Howard’s direction, Crowe, Bierko, and the other actors who portrayed Braddock’s opponents. Although the movie’s main event was the championship fight between Braddock and Baer during the last thirty minutes, I was especially impressed by the sequence that featured Braddock’s fight against Art Lansky (Mark Simmons). In my opinion, most of the praise for these fight sequences belonged to cinematographer Salvatore Totino, and editors Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill (who both received Academy Award nominations for their work) for injecting the boxing sequences with rich atmosphere and effective editing. Ironically, the movie’s centerpiece – at least in my opinion – was its deception of the Depression. I understand that Howard had used the city of Toronto to serve as 1930s Manhattan and New Jersey. And judging from the results on the screen, he did an excellent job of utilizing not only the cast led by Crowe, but also the talents of production designer Wynn Thomas, Gordon Sim’s set decorations, Peter Grundy and Dan Yarhi’s art direction and Totino’s photography to send moviegoers back in time. There are certain scenes that really seemed to recapture the desperation and poverty of the Depression’s early years: *Braddock begs for money from the sports promoters and boxing managers at Madison Square Garden *Mae Braddock’s discovery of the gas man turning off the family’s heat *The Braddocks witness the desertion of a man from his wife and family *Braddock’s search for his friend, Mike Wilson (Paddy Considine), at a Hooverville in Central Park Howard and casting agents, Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins, managed to gather an impressive group of cast members for the movie. The ironic thing is that despite the impressive display of talent on screen, hardly anyone gave what I would consider to be a memorable performance – save for one actor. Russell Crowe naturally gave an impressive, yet surprisingly likeable performance as James Braddock. Although I found his performance more than competent, I must say that I would not consider it to be one of his best roles. There was nothing really fascinating or complex about his Braddock. I suspect that screenwriters Hollingsworth and Goldsman could have made Braddock a more interesting character . . . and simply failed to rise to the occasion. I have to say the same about their portrayal of the boxer’s wife, Mae Braddock. Portrayed by Renee Zellweger, her Mae was a loving and supporting spouse, whose only kink in her personality revolved around her dislike of Braddock’s boxing. In fact, Zellweger’s Mae threatened to become a cliché of the countless number of women who end up as wives of men in dangerous professions. Thankfully, Zellweger managed to give an excellent performance and with Crowe, create a strong screen chemistry. Paul Giamatti received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Braddock’s manager, Joe Gould. Many had assumed that Giamatti had received his nomination as a consolation prize for being passed over for his superb performance in ”SIDEWAYS”. After seeing his performance as Gould, I suspect they might be right. I am not saying that Giamatti gave a bad performance. He was excellent as Braddock’s enthusiastic and supportive manager. But there was nothing remarkable about it . . . or worthy of an Oscar nomination. If there is one performance that I found impressive, it was Paddy Considine’s portrayal of Mike Wilson, Braddock’s friend and co-worker at the New York docks. Considine’s Wilson was a former stockbroker ruined by the 1929 Crash, who was forced to become a menial laborer in order to survive. Although his plight seemed bad enough to generate sympathy, Considine did an excellent job of portraying the character’s bitterness and cynicism toward his situation, President Roosevelt’s ability to lead the country out of the Depression and the world itself. I hate to say this, but I feel that the wrong actor had received the Oscar nomination. God knows I am a big fan of Giamatti. But if it had been left up to me, Considine would have received that nomination. We finally come to Craig Bierko’s performance as Max Baer, champion boxer and Braddock’s final opponent in the movie. Baer’s character first makes his appearance in a championship fight against Primo Carnera, following Braddock’s surprising upset over Corn Griffin. From the start, he is portrayed as a brash and aggressive fighter who does not know when to quit. And it gets worse. Before I continue, I want to say that I have nothing against the actor who portrayed Baer. Like Crowe, Zellweger and Giamatti, Bierko had to do the best he could with the material given to him. And he did the best he could. Bierko, being an above-average actor, infused a great deal of energy and charisma into his portrayal of Baer. It seemed a shame that Howard’s direction, along with Hollingsworth and Goldman’s script forced Bierko to portray Baer as some kind of callous thug who felt no remorse for killing two other fighters in the ring and was not above needling Braddock at a Manhattan nightclub by making suggestive remarks about Mae. Baer’s son, Max Baer Jr. (”THE BEVERLY HILLIBILLIES”) had been naturally outraged by what he deemed was the movie’s false portrayal of the boxer. What the movie failed to convey was that Baer had only killed one man in the ring – Frankie Campbell – and had been so shaken up by the other man’s death that it affected his boxing career for several years. Nor did Baer ever make any suggestive remarks toward Mae Braddock. He also hugged and congratulated Braddock following the latter’s June 1935 victory. I really do not know why Howard thought it was necessary to turn Baer into a one-note villain. Someone claimed that the movie needed a nemesis for Braddock that seemed more solid than the vague notion of the Depression. If that is true, I believe that Howard and the movie’s screenwriters turned Baer into a villain for nothing. As far as I am concerned, the Great Depression made an effective and frightening nemesis for Braddock. This was brilliantly conveyed in Braddock’s bout with Art Lasky. At one point in this sequence, the New Jersey boxer seemed to be on the verge of defeat . . . until his memories of his family and how the Depression had affected them . . . urged him to a hard-won victory. Sequences like the Braddock-Lasky fight and Braddock’s search for Mike Wilson in the Central Park Hooverville made the Great Depression a more effective nemesis than the one-dimensional and crude behavior of a falsely portrayed Max Baer ever could. Despite the movie’s badly written portrayal of Baer, and slightly uninteresting major characters like James and Mae Braddock, and Joe Gould; ”CINDERELLA MAN” is still an excellent biopic that featured exciting boxing sequences. More importantly, it is one of the few Hollywood films that revealed an in-depth look into one of the country’s most traumatic periods – namely the Great Depression. Flawed or not, I believe that it is still worth watching.

[thecomicsnexus]

Absent Friends

WATCHMEN #2 OCTOBER 1986 BY ALAN MOORE, DAVE GIBBONS AND JOHN HIGGINS

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Laurie Juspeczyk visit, or had to the Nepenthe Gardens retirement home to see her mother, Sally, the original Silk Spectre. She only came because she been forced to visit, transported by Jon since she hadn't wanted to attend the funeral of Eddie Blake. Sally shows a large sense of sympathy for Blake.

During her conversation with Laurie, Sally remembers the night that the Minutemen were taking their group photo in 1940. The group discussed about the war in Europe, until the original Nite Owl stopped the discussion and they all headed down to the Owl's Nest, except for Sally who stays behind to change her clothes. The Comedian stepped into the room and interrupts her, attempting to sexually assault her to which Sally clawed his face. Blake brutally attacked her, intending to rape her, before Hooded Justice walked in. He viciously attacked Eddie, but lets him go when Eddie says to him "This is what you like, huh? This is what gets you hot...".

At Eddie's funeral, Adrian Veidt recalls the first meeting of the Crimebusters, held by Nelson Gardner, Captain Metropolis, in April, 1966. Nelson attempt to recreate another team of masked adventurers since the Minutemen's breakup in 1949. However, The Comedian deride Nelson's plan as "bullshit" and accuses Nelson of trying to seek personal glory as akin to "playin' cowboys and Indians." Nite Owl II (Dan Dreiberg) defends Nelson's Crimebusters idea by saying that he and Rorschach had made some success together fighting criminal gangs. Though Rorschach agrees with his partner, but he sees the group as more of a "publicity exercise" and too unyielding. Ozymandias speaks in that the group only need the right person coordinating them. The Comedian continues to mock the group's intentions, especially Veidt's, and arguing the Crimebusters would not make a difference in a world heading towards nuclear apocalypse. He then burns Metropolis' presentation board and leaves the room with nearly everyone following. Nelson, in vain, begs them not to leave, telling them that someone had to "save the world."

Doctor Manhattan recalls "V.V.N. Night" - the celebration of America's victory in the Vietnam War due to Manhattan's intervention - in Saigon with Blake and discussing his strange attitude toward life and war, how he sees it all as a joke, although admittedly not a "good joke." He mentions how anxious he is to leave the country. A Vietnamese woman approaches Blake and telling him that she is pregnant with his child. She also asserts that Blake has a responsibility to the child. Blake doesn't seem to care, saying how he will forget them and their entire country. The woman angrily breaks a glass bottle and slashes Blake's face. Blake impulsively shoots her, while Manhattan stands watching. Blake then lash out Manhattan for not intervening to save the woman and accuses him that he doesn't care about human life. He then walks away to look for someone to heal his face as he laments over Manhattan's loss of touch with humanity.

Dan Dreiberg recalls how he and The Comedian worked riot control during the 1970's Police Strike in New York. The streets are crowded with angry rioters, but The Comedian and Dreiberg (as the Nite Owl) clear the streets after The Comedian throws a gas bomb into the angry mob. Looking at the devastation, Dreiberg asks Blake, "What's happened to the American dream?" Blake replies while starting into the foggy streets filled with riot gas, "It came true. You're lookin' at it."

As the funeral ends, Dan drops The Comedian's smiley face badge into the grave. A man in a trench-coat leaves flowers on Blake's grave and walks to his apartment. The man is suddenly ambush by Rorschach, who leaps out of the man's refrigerator. Rorschach identifies him as Edgar Jacobi, a former villain known as Moloch the Mystic. He questions him about Eddie Blake, and Jacobi explains that he attended Blake's funeral out of compulsion because Blake broke into his home one night while he was in bed, babbling about how it's all a joke that he doesn't get it. Blake mentioned an island with writers, scientists and artists, and he says that he did bad things before leaving. Rorschach doesn't consider the retired villain as Blake's murderer. He then informs Jacobi that he found him using Laetril, a faked cancer cure medicine that is widely illegal. Jacobi defend himself that he is diagnosed with cancer and was desperate. Rorschach leaves Jacobi alone but will be seeing him again.

Rorschach goes to the cemetery at night to pay his respects to Eddie Blake. Finishing with his journal entry, he leaves the cemetery with a red rose.

UNDER THE HOOD

Chapter III Hollis Mason becomes deeply interested in the Hooded Justice's actions and decided upon himself to become a super-hero, known as the 'Nite-Owl'. The name was based on his habit to work out as much as possible. Although his first exploits were largely unspectacular, it has aroused a lot of media interests simply because at the time dressing up in a costume and protecting a neighborhood had becoming something of a fad.

Within several months since the appearance of the Hooded Justice, several other costumed vigilantes began to appear: Silhouette, Mothman, the Comedian, Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre (Sally Jupiter), and Dollar Bill. Hollis reflect on each of their background and how people thought of them. Regardless of the heroes' reasons and their faults, Hollis believed them to be "doing something because [they] believed in it."

Chapter IV On the suggestion of Captain Metropolis, Sally Jupiter and her agent Laurence Schexnayder, the heroes band together to form the Minutemen in 1939. However, the Minutemen did not last long. The Comedian's attempted rape of Sally Jupiter resulted in his departure from the Minutemen and Sally's decision not to press charges against him, as persuaded by Schexnayder for the group's image. The Comedian soon changed his flimsy costume for leather armor following an unconnected stabbing incident, and became a war hero in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two. Hollis personally hoped that America have a better class of hero than the Comedian.

Problems for the Minutemen further deteriorated. In 1946, a newspaper exposed Silhouette's lesbian relationship with a woman and the group was forced to expel her on Schexnayder's persuasion. Six weeks later, Silhouette was murdered along with her lover by one of her former enemies. In the same year Dollar Bill was shot dead by bank robbers. In 1947, Sally quit crime-fighting and married Schexnayder, and gave birth to her daughter Laurie in 1949. By then the villains that the group fought were less interesting to fight. Their enemies were either imprisoned or moved to less glamorous activities. Among those is Moloch, who began as a stage magician at the age of seventeen and became an flamboyant criminal mastermind before moving into impersonal crimes such as drugs, financial fraud and vice clubs. Hollis concluded that the Minutemen was finished, but it didn't matter. The damage had already been done.

REVIEW

Just so you get a sample of the level of detail in this novel, Rorschach’s speech balloons are normal in the flashbacks and are weird in present day, as he wasn’t unhinged at that time.

This issue is very strong. When these things happened in the film adaptation, I actually saw couples leaving the theater (I think the movie may have had the wrong ad campaign and people thought this was a super-hero story).

There is a vast use of mirrors and reflective surfaces in this issue, following the theme of “reflections” and “flashbacks”.

The use of flashbacks is also justified to understand the ongoing mystery as to who may have killed the Comedian. Usually Flashbacks are hated because they stop the story, but in Watchmen... some characters live everything at the same time, making the term “Flashback” inaccurate. In any case, the Flashbacks are part of the murder mystery, and so is the supplementary material.

To be continued...

[misterboho]

Dr. 2's Surgery with EthiopianAmerica at the Victory Gardens Theater

Patient: EthiopianAmerica

Surgery Date: 05-17-19

Parents: Director Sophiyaa Nayar, Playwright Sam Kebede

Siblings: Simon Gebremedhin, Gabrielle Lott-Rogers, Freedom Martin, Joseph Primes

Surname: Definition Theatre Company

Address: 2433 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Insurance: Paperkutz

Symptoms: traditional, modern, tramodernal, assimilation blues

Diagnosis: Domestic smiling

"I just want to be happy! No bad things, just happy."  -- Girma Kifle

Operation Overview:

The Kifles are the most darling black Americans behind the modern white picket fence since A Raisin in the Sun. Joseph Primes as Mr. Kifle is occasionally out back tootin’ his McCiggies before his boys get home from playing basketball or being successfully deferred from Harvard. He jostles their robust manhood with old school wrestling matches every now and then. He’s just too damn proud his new men. I was as tickled as his sons from his throbbing traditionalist optimism.

Mr. Kifle is the king of daddy-os with his skinny-fat beer belly and in-between afro. He is truly the senior papa of suburbia. All he needs is a sassy apron for those backyard BBQs with the Joneses and he will be the new Chief Americano. I could just barely tell that Joseph Primes was affecting his voice with a thick Ethiopian accent. So damn sexy he brought a tear to my eye.

The show started earlier than the official curtain up with Johnathan Kifle (Simon Gebremedhin) jammin’ to 2010 bangers like Katy Perry. John is almost as sexy as Papa, with all the deliciously disgusting awkward movements a 17 year old nerd can produce when provoked with Katy Perry. Simon Gebremedhin… is, The Black Napoleon Dynamite, if not worse/better. He just about dances as well as him too. I almost gave him my handkerchief.

The playbill was a resume: boring, blank, except for Sophiyaa Nayar’s essay on the work. My goodness have I been thirstier than a bankrupt hooker this year for an artistic impulse from a playbill. Did you know that Actor X is excited for their X Theater Chicago debut? If it wasn’t for the enlightening essay, I would have likely given up playbills cold turkey.

Freedom Martin as Daniel Kifle is John’s suave antithesis brother. He likes water bottle vodka and slow walks on the beach. Daniel is a too cool punk… that cares. In this instance it wasn’t cliche. Freedom Martin was legitimately experiencing the character, or else the playwright’s words would have likely miscarried. Bad boy roles are sad when they’re aped. They often are. Sad, bro.

The patient’s frame was electrifying. The stage had basic cube edges that outlined the main room. It lit up at heated moments with an instant symphony of different lights that one wouldn’t expect for a black box theater. It was literally cool, never cattle prodding pointless action. I wondered at first if it was too telling… it wasn’t. The acting and Nayar’s directing gave simple ideas force in this low concept play.

The low-key to high-key misogyny was accessible but clever. Gabrielle Lott-Rogers as Elizabeth Kifle was the best-fit choice for Kebede’s Elizabeth. Liz was the perfect paradox to live out the implications of burgeoning female dignity in suburbia where Papa still reigns. 

Elizabeth Kifle’s sweet but never saccharine mommy-o-ism took my heart during high notes of domestic pathos while evoking my sobriety during her own clench for respect. Mr. Kifle consistently plays the “I planted the Tree of Life under your feet.” card while such a play is embarrassingly inaccessible to Mrs. Kifle, despite her owning half the house with her day job. Her vanity to clout a patriarchal respect is amplified by the contrast of her soft but competent personality. Gabrielle Lott-Rogers is Nayar’s secret sauce as Elizabeth Kifle is Kebede’s. 

From this subplot, the actors combusted with the most deft power plays amongst each other that I’ve ever seen. It’s a wonder how they had so much energy and synergy for these basic, familial scenes. Nayar and her actors have the talent to create the most striking, natural moments from a simple story.

The audience watched the family watch too much TV. Yep. I’ll get the scalpel. Too much Jeopardy is bad for the soul. Perhaps it was necessary to lead into the Ethiopian, shoulder thrusting dance maneuvers. Again, more sexiness from Mama and Papa.

The familial theme was a bit cloy, but healthy, as it naturally is. In the beginning, it hurt the story because it elongated the exposition: e.g., watch the cute family do more cute family things that don’t move the plot forward with abrasion. 

The worst error is Kebede’s ability to back up, or even squarely draw up, Mr. Kifle’s mysterious flaws. The story is isolated in the present because Mr. Kifle, as the blessed, central, “Tree of Life,” has his backstory missing and his tomorrowstory missing. They came from Ethiopia. They are traditional. They want a darling life in America. Jr.’s leaving for Big College. Okay, but it’s not enough, particularly to explain Mr. Kifle’s snake in the grass. His demons were seemingly born on stage. A single walk on character could cure this by giving him some context outside of his home. Where does he even work? Does he? I missed it.

Playwright Kebede, however, hits the mark with Mr., Jr., and Mrs. It must be their own nonfiction story, because it barely exists in the brief transition of cultural assimilation from Africa to America. The window of opportunity for this one generation story is as skinny as Jr. Does anyone notice that these stories are predominantly dated? One day, there will be one, assimilated, uninterrupted America. 

As such, it represents a true masterpiece in modern American theater: combating the on-going battle of compromising Old America, New America, and EthiopianAmerica. The patient is in near perfect health.

Rx: More McCiggies

[argunners]

TITLE: Band of Brothers

This landmark miniseries based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s best-seller, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, recounts the remarkable achievements of an elite team of U.S. paratroopers during World War II. This series tells the story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, 506th Regiment, and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord, through V-J Day.

EPISODES: Band of Brothers

[junkie-toggle title=”Season 1″ state=”closed”]Episode 1: Currahee

In Toccoa, Ga., 1942, a disparate group of young men begins voluntary training to become members of one of America’s newest military regiments – the paratroopers. Under the harsh leadership of Lt. Sobel (David Schwimmer), members of the newly formed Easy Co. go from green civilians to some of the Army’s most elite soldiers. As training progresses, a rivalry flares between Sobel, whom the men despise, and Lt. Winters (Damian Lewis), a junior officer who’s earned the respect and admiration of the company.

Episode 2: Day of Days

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, planes with thousands of paratroopers cross the English Channel to France, where they come under heavy fire. None of the men land where they expected to, and many lose their weapons and supplies in the drop. Winters links up with solitary soldiers, and they set off to find their units. Winters (Damian Lewis) is later chosen to lead an attack on a fortified German artillery position; the mission is successful, but Winters, now acting company commander, loses his first man.

Episode 3: Carentan

Two days after D-Day, Easy Co. is sent to take the town of Carentan, engaging in a successful battle that results in several casualties. Some soldiers, including Pvt. Blithe (Marc Warren), have a difficult time adjusting to combat. After 36 days in Normandy and several fierce battles, Easy returns to England, but their celebrations are short-lived, as news comes that they’re moving out again.

Episode 4: Replacements

Due to heavy casualties, a group of fresh paratrooper replacements joins Easy Co. in time for a massive drop into German-occupied Holland for Operation Market-Garden. While met with no resistance in Eindhoven, Easy and a cluster of British tanks are repelled from a nearby town by a superior German force, sustaining many casualties as they retreat. The Allied plan to enter Germany through Holland and end the war before Christmas fails.

Episode 5: Crossroads

Winters (Damian Lewis) leads a risky mission on a Dutch dike, resulting in a resounding victory, for which he is promoted to Battalion Executive Officer. Dissatisfied with his new, largely administrative job, Winters is concerned about the leadership of the three companies he now commands. After a weekend pass to Paris, news arrives of a massive Axis effort in the Ardennes Forest, threatening to break the Allied lines. Easy Co. races in to hold the line, ill-equipped for the bitterly cold weather and the entrenched battle ahead.

Episode 6: Bastogne

In the dead of winter, in the forest outside of Bastogne, Belgium, the men of Easy Company struggle to hold the line alone while fending off frostbite and hunger, having arrived with no winter clothes and little supplies and ammunition. Medic Eugene Roe (Shane Taylor) is overwhelmed, on edge and close to combat exhaustion when he finds friendship with a Belgian nurse. Easy Co. spends a miserable Christmas in the trenches, and receives the news that the German army’s demand for surrender was met with Gen. McAuliffe’s defiant answer: “Nuts!”

Episode 7: The Breaking Point

Having thwarted the Germans at Bastogne, the exhausted Easy Co. must now take the nearby town of Foy from the enemy. Several are killed and wounded in fierce shelling, compounded by the incompetence of their commander, Lt. Dike (Peter O’Meara), about whom Winters (Damian Lewis) can do nothing. Easy takes Foy, but at an enormous cost.

Episode 8: The Last Patrol

Easy Co. arrives in the Alsacian town of Haguenau near the German border, and are ordered to send a patrol across the river to take enemy prisoners. Lt. Jones (Colin Hanks), fresh from West Point and eager for combat experience, volunteers to lead. While successful, the mission costs another paratrooper’s life, prompting Winters (Damian Lewis) to ignore the order to send a second patrol the next night.

Episode 9: Why We Fight

Easy Co. finally enters Germany, to surprisingly little resistance, and has a chance to relax for the first time in a long time. A patrol in a nearby forest discovers an abandoned Nazi concentration camp, still filled with emaciated prisoners. The local citizenry, unbelievably disavowing knowledge of its existence, is made to clean it up, as the news arrives that Hitler is dead.

Episode 10: Points

Once home to the top officers of the Third Reich, Easy Co. enters the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden, and captures “Eagle’s Nest,” Hitler’s mountaintop fortress. Facing imminent deployment to the Pacific Theater, the men compare their “points” to see who has earned enough to go home. However, the Japanese surrender ends the war. A closing vignette tells what happened to the men of Easy Company after they returned home.

[/junkie-toggle]

IMAGES: Band of Brothers

DETAILS: Band of Brothers

Title Band of Brothers Country US Created by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg Cast Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston Language English, German, Dutch, French English Subtitles Yes

CAST:

Damian Lewis as Major Richard “Dick” Winters

Scott Grimes as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey

Ron Livingston as Captain Lewis Nixon

Donnie Wahlberg as Second Lieutenant Carwood Lipton

Shane Taylor as Technician Fourth Grade Eugene “Doc” Roe.

Frank John Hughes as Staff Sergeant William “Wild Bill” Guarnere

Michael Cudlitz as Staff Sergeant Denver “Bull” Randleman

Neal McDonough as First Lieutenant Lynn “Buck” Compton

David Schwimmer as Captain Herbert Sobel

Dexter Fletcher as Staff Sergeant John “Johnny” Martin

Kirk Acevedo as Staff Sergeant Joe Toye

Matthew Settle as Captain Ronald Speirs

Eion Bailey as Private First Class David Kenyon Webster

James Madio as Technician Fourth Grade Frank Perconte

Colin Hanks as First Lieutenant Henry S. Jones

Rick Gomez as Technician Fourth Grade George Luz

Rick Warden as First Lieutenant Harry Welsh

Douglas Spain as Technician Fifth Grade Antonio C. Garcia

Ross McCall as Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Liebgott

Richard Speight, Jr. as Sergeant Warren “Skip” Muck

Rene L. Moreno as Technician Fifth Grade Joseph Ramirez

Marc Warren as Private Albert Blithe

Dale Dye as Colonel Robert Sink

REVIEW: Band of Brothers

WATCH: Band of Brothers

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Generation War (2013)

List of War Themed Mini-Series and Television Series

We’re always looking for reviews, plots, synopsis, press releases, stills, trailers (free to use), corrections and other interesting information or facts about any of the listed series and movies, if you can help, please contact us. 

Band of Brothers (2001) TITLE: Band of Brothers This landmark miniseries based on Stephen E. Ambrose's best-seller, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, recounts the remarkable achievements of an elite team of U.S.

[orbemnews]

To Save Penn Station, New York Wants to Build 10 Skyscrapers For years, one of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s top priorities has been an enormous development in the heart of Manhattan that would be among the largest real estate projects ever built in the United States. Ten new buildings — five taller than 1,000 feet — would rise around Pennsylvania Station and form a towering business district stretching west toward Hudson Yards, the biggest private development in the country, and east to the Empire State Building. At the center, the universally disliked rail station — North America’s busiest train hub — would be brought into the modern age with a sleek, expanded redesign and additional tracks and platforms. Before the coronavirus pandemic the transit hub served 600,000 daily riders on subways, commuter lines and Amtrak trains that crisscross beneath Madison Square Garden. But the world has changed both for Mr. Cuomo, who has been weakened by deepening scandals that threaten his tenure, and for New York, where the pandemic has made remote work a lasting legacy and there is a record glut of office space. Emboldened to confront a suddenly vulnerable governor, a coalition of elected officials and neighborhood groups, while acknowledging the need to fix Penn Station, have united in opposition to the plan, questioning whether this is the right time for such a mammoth undertaking even as the city moves to reopen and loosen nearly all pandemic restrictions. “Do we need 10 more supertalls in the surrounding area of Penn Station?” asked State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat. “Will there be demand for it?” Mr. Cuomo argues that a global capital like New York needs a world-class transit hub and an ambitious development — “The next great investment,” he said in February — to transform a dowdy slice of Manhattan into a sleek commercial corridor. It would also achieve the dreams of many business leaders who have long sought to build big around the city’s most important transit nexus. The state intends to pay for the rebuilding of Penn Station, which would cost an estimated $16 billion, through the development of the new towers, whose owners would contribute part of the revenue from office leases, retail sales and other sources. But generating the needed money could be difficult if office buildings become less desirable. Critics also argue that the project would mainly reward one of New York’s most powerful real estate firms, whose chief executive and family have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the governor’s campaign. Mayor Bill de Blasio, though he supports rebuilding Penn Station, called Mr. Cuomo’s plan a “land grab that relies on overriding city rules.” With the city electing a new mayor this year, Mr. de Blasio’s successor could influence the project’s fate. Now what had seemed like a foregone deal that would have allowed the state to circumvent city control and oversight is facing serious scrutiny. The brewing conflict came to a head during eleventh hour state budget negotiations in Albany. On one side, Mr. Cuomo’s aides stressed that the project was his highest priority, making clear he would not tolerate any effort by the Legislature to remove his request for $1.3 billion. The funds would be used to buy dozens of properties, including low- and mid-rise office buildings, residences, shops and restaurants for the development. In the end lawmakers celebrated what they saw as a victory: The $1.3 billion was restricted to transportation improvements at Penn Station though it may be somewhat symbolic since the state said it still had the power to clear land for the project. The state also buckled to critics and agreed to an outside review by an array of stakeholders, including the city, local community boards, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, to look at the best ways to pay for a new rail terminal. While the review’s findings would not be binding, they could complicate and delay the process and even lead to legal challenges. “Nothing is set in stone,” said Gale Brewer, the Manhattan Borough president. “No one objects to fixing up Penn Station, but right now it’s a top-down plan for 10 buildings.” Ms. Brewer and others said the project could be financed by other means, such as with contributions from state, city and transit agencies combined with federal assistance. The mounting opposition has rattled state officials, who were confident that little stood in the way of the project, which could also receive financial help from President Biden’s sweeping infrastructure bill if it makes it through Congress. “After decades of stops and starts,” said Matthew Gorton, a spokesman for the Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing the project, “the state proposed an actionable plan that leverages the momentum of the Biden administration’s focus on transportation and infrastructure, and the universal consensus — locally and across the region — that Penn Station needs to be overhauled and expanded and the surrounding neighborhood needs to be revitalized.” The state said it still had the authority to purchase properties — and take them by eminent domain, if necessary — near the rail terminal, including a campus of Touro College and a 150-year-old Roman Catholic church that would have to be bulldozed to make room underground for nine new rail tracks and five platforms. Under the state’s proposal, the 10 towers would include offices, stores and two hotels, with a portion of the revenues generated by those buildings paying down the billions of dollars in bonds needed for the rail terminal. “There is no better place for a transit-oriented development in the entire New York City region than around Penn Station,” said Brian Fritsch, a manager at the Regional Plan Association, an influential planning group. Mr. Gorton said the state was prioritizing “engaging with the community and elected officials on the land-use proposal and related improvements through a robust outreach process.” State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat whose district includes the development site, called the project “a mega real estate deal posing as a transit improvement plan.” At 19.6 million square feet, the project would be larger than Hudson Yards, which has more than 18 million square feet. An overhauled Penn Station would have a total of 30 train tracks and eventually link to new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, vastly improving access to Manhattan for suburban commuters. “Where in the world is there a better place to put real estate bulk than right on top of the hub that’s the busiest in the country,” said Dan Biederman, the president of the 34th Street Partnership, a business-improvement district around the rail terminal. “This is exactly what we should be doing.” While the Cuomo administration believes the development could be a cornerstone of the city’s post-pandemic recovery, it imagines a New York in which people will revert to the ways they worked and lived before the coronavirus. Nearly three quarters of the new towers would be office space. However, there is more office space available for lease in Manhattan than at any point in at least three decades, and the market value of the city’s office buildings has plunged an estimated 25 percent over the past year. State officials said the development was a bet on a robust economic recovery and that it made sense to build office towers within walking distance of Penn Station. As proposed by Mr. Cuomo, the state would wield tremendous authority to override city rules on zoning and planning, which developers would have been subject to if they had proposed the buildings without the state’s involvement. Unlike Hudson Yards, which was built atop rail tracks in a mostly undeveloped zone, the area around Penn Station is not empty, though it is sparsely populated — roughly 210 people live on blocks that would be bulldozed, the state said. On one side of Penn Station is the Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square, home to some of the city’s most expensive retail space and busiest pedestrian traffic corridor. Across Eighth Avenue from the station is the new Moynihan Train Hall, which opened in January and serves Amtrak and the Long Island Railroad and siphons off some of the crowds at Penn Station, but did not add more train tracks. The area south of the station is less appealing, dominated by large parking garages, but does include the Church of St. John the Baptist, a French Gothic church where the first Mass was held in 1840. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, said the church had “very general discussions” with the state and that “no decisions have yet been made.” Perhaps the biggest winner in the project would be Vornado Realty Trust, one of the city’s largest office developers, which owns four sites in the development zone and part of a fifth. The five towers built atop its properties would be among the buildings whose revenues would help finance a new Penn Station. But it has not been determined how much Vornado might pay, including whether the company could negotiate a lower rate that would amount to a tax break. The company’s chief executive, the billionaire Steven Roth, has laid out a vision of erecting skyscrapers in the neighborhood and has called the project the company’s “Promised Land.” Mr. Roth and his wife, the theater producer Daryl Roth, have collectively given Mr. Cuomo about $400,000 in campaign donations. State officials said the donations had nothing to do with Vornado’s role in the venture. “Manhattan’s West Side is the economic growth engine for the city,” Mr. Roth said in a statement, “anchored by Penn Station, the most vital transportation center for the region.” Source link Orbem News #build #Penn #save #Skyscrapers #Station #York

[esonetwork]

Downton Abbey Review: An Elegant Return To The Castle

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/downton-abbey-review-an-elegant-return-to-the-castle/

Downton Abbey Review: An Elegant Return To The Castle

When I sat down in the theater to see the Downton Abbey movie, I wondered if the magic of the show could be recreated. Sometimes reboots don’t work. Yet, the first sweeping shots of the Downton Abbey castle accompanied by the iconic orchestral theme on the theater screen were instant magic. It was as if no time had passed since the series finale and I had to know what all of my favorite characters were doing.

It’s been 4 years since Downton Abbey ended its series run on TV. It was a show that detailed the differences between the life of the elite upstairs world and the working class downstairs servants. Yet, you somehow felt a connection to both worlds because of the fantastic storytelling. Each episode was full of gorgeous sets, detailed character development, and one special castle.

In Downton Abbey, the Crawley family is expecting a visit from the King and Queen of England. This provides a shake up at Downton as the staff must get ready for the most regal visit they’ve ever encountered at the manor. Will it all go according to plan? Can Mrs. Pattmore make enough food? Will Carson return as butler? You just have to see the movie to find out.

I won’t give away plot details, but I can say that director Michael Engler does well balancing several storylines in Downton Abbey and bringing them all together. I’d say it’s important to be a fan of the show to follow along with the film. It assumes you understand the character dynamics and plot details. So if you haven’t caught up yet, now’s the time to binge it on Amazon Prime! The series always bounced around from one plotline to another in each episode. The movie does the same thing, but they all fit together under the plot line of the King and Queen’s visit. There is the downstairs struggle of frantically preparing everything for the royal visit (chaos ensues, naturally). Then there is the upstairs struggle of keeping the estate going. Writer Julian Fellowes makes sure that the audience remains intrigued throughout the film. No moment drags and all of the beloved characters are brought back for the big screen debut. (Except for Lady Rose! I missed seeing Lily James reunited with the Downton crew.)

As a huge fan of the show, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing each character get a special moment to shine in the movie. There are certain character relationships that are so great to see in the movie like the friendship between Mary and Anna, Carson and Mrs. Hughes, and Daisy and Ms. Pattmore. It’s the little moments at Downton Abbey that stand out. Every character gets their moment, but I’ll give you a quick ranking of who are the most highlighted characters

Mary We all know Mary (Michelle Dockery) is a boss. Downton began with Mary being DENIED the ability to inherit Downton even though we all know she was the true heir. (The 20th century was a complicated time and women couldn’t get any respect.) She also had the tendency to be a little catty towards Edith. Those days are over, so wave goodbye! Mary has come full circle. She and Edith are getting along! She is organizing events for Downton. Don’t try and stop her because this is a whole new, mature Mary.

Tom Branson Tom deserves happiness. Ever since the death of Sybil, (may she rest in peace. No one will ever be over season 3) things have been tough for Tom. He gave up his life in Ireland to stay at Downton and raise his daughter with the Crawleys. That was a very mature thing to do. He gets such a great storyline in the film and continues to show that he’s such a loyal and upstanding character. Allen Leech plays the character with such charm and ease. You go, Tom Branson.

Anna Anna is the best. We all know this from watching Downton Abbey. She is the most loyal and kindhearted person who happens to have the worst luck in the world. Thankfully, she doesn’t suffer at all in this movie! She and Bates see no time at a court house and don’t go to jail for the whole two hours. Can you say miracle? Thank you Julian Fellowes, for having mercy on the innocent. For the movie, Anna shows a strong sense of leadership when morale is low among the servants. Joanna Froggat portrays Anna perfectly.

The Dowager Countess What is Downton Abbey without the Dowager Countess? It’s not a show! Maggie Smith’s portrayal is full of wit and charisma in every scene. The film adaption makes sure she has plenty to do, keeping the fans entertained. She has a trove of one liners ready to go at a seconds notice. Violet has more to do than just fire witty comebacks though, the film presents an intriguing storyline about her relationship with a cousin.

Carson/Mrs Hughes In the 4 years since the show ended, Carson (Jim Carter) was off living that retirement life. He got married to Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan), settled down, and planted a garden. #Retirementgoals, am I right? When the details of the royal visit become known, Mary believes he will do a much better job organizing things than Barrow. So she asks for his help. Just like that, Carson is back, carpooling with Mrs Hughes to work. (Actually, they’re walking because I doubt they have a car.) Goodbye to that retirement life. While Carson seems to have a grumpy exterior, all fans know how much he loves Downton. It wouldn’t have been a movie without him in attendance at the royal visit. As for Mrs. Hughes, she is still in charge of the housekeepers at Downton. Don’t try to cross her because she will come out victorious in her efforts. Her relationship with Carson is so sweet. I’m happy for them. Hopefully after the royal visit, he can go back to his retirement life.

I could spend plenty of time writing about other characters because the film is a wonderful collage of moments letting everyone have a storyline. Yet, I will say Daisy and Andy’s plot is a bit disappointing. She spends most of the film pouting that the royals are coming to visit while he is jealous of her flirting with a local handyman. It’s not the most thrilling storyline and it made me wonder how they ever became a couple.

The characters may give us the drama, intrigue, and comedy, but what would Downton be without the set and costume design? If you thought it was incredible on the show, wait until you see it on the big screen! The details of every set are exquisite. This is truly a spectacle film that should be seen on the big screen to admire the beauty of the grand sets. There are numerous costume changes that will impress all Downton fans. Mary’s final dress and Edith’s blue sequined Star dress were my personal favorites, but I’ll have to see it again to catch more details.

Downton Abbey marks a grand return to one of television’s most elegant shows. Fans, don’t miss out on this cinematic event. My Rating: 8/10

[changechest3-blog]

Bulls outlast Knicks 116-115 in Double OT Thriller

The Bulls wins these season, with a third Monday 116-115 in double overtime against the New York Knicks, have been revolutionary. And not only because each has been against a team from one of the original 13 colonies. Those wins have been radical because they have required a special breakthrough, and the Bulls have gotten it each time from Zach LaVine, who Monday scored a career high 41 points and the winning free throw with two tenths of a second left.

“At the end of the day, I am going to do what I do to help us get a win,” said LaVine. “I’ve worked hard to get to the next level.”

It’s becoming a special place as LaVine scored all the Bulls points in the second overtime, overcoming a pair of Knicks leads with bursts to the basket that eventually made the difference.

“I am going to attack,” said LaVine, who had three driving scores with his explosive first step and a pair of free throws to hold off Knicks rallies in the second extra session. LaVine also scored the Bulls last 11 points in regulation with a triumvirate of three-point baskets and had the score to tie the game at 108 in the first overtime. That one did come after LaVine dribbled out of bounds among his eight turnovers.

“I had some costly turnovers I have to clean up,” LaVine acknowledged. “But at the end of the day I did what I had to do.”

With so many regulars injured, LaVine is basically the last hope before defeat.

LaVine played 49 minutes against the Knicks with 11 of 14 from the free throw line highlighting his new career high game. In the Bulls three wins, LaVine is averaging 33.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and four assists with an average of 10 made free throws in each victory.

“I was just doing what I had to do to get us a lead,” LaVine said about that decisive second overtime. “Get to the cup, get to the free throw line, and I feel I did that. Then I knew I either was going to lay it in with time on the clock (or get fouled). I knew there was (time) on the clock; the ball was out of my hands.”

LaVine had to make just one free throw for victory with .02 left. He made the first and intentionally missed the second, which ended the game since .03 automatically runs off the clock on a rebound. In a similar situation last month in a win over Charlotte, LaVine accidentally made a second free throw with .05 left when he tried to miss. In that game, LaVine stole a Charlotte inbounds pass with seven seconds left in a tie game that led to LaVine’s winning free throws going to that orange circular cup.

And as a result, the Bulls again could raise their cups in a toast to success.

“Our guys needed to get a close one,” said Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. “We needed our guys to get a little confidence. We had a lot of miscues (19 turnovers and three for stepping out of bounds within a few minutes), but we needed a big stop and we got it (at the end of regulation and the first overtime). The guys hung tough and they stuck together. We found a way to get the win.”

The Bulls improved to 3-8, the same record as the Knicks. The Bulls also got 17 points off the bench in 20 minutes from Antonio Blakeney, 15 points from Jabari Parker and 11 points and 13 rebounds from Wendell Carter Jr. before he fouled out late in regulation. The Knicks were carried by their reserves with 66 points, including 23 points and 24 rebounds from Enes Kanter. That enabled the Knicks to crush the Bulls on the boards 62-48 and 21-11 on the offensive boards. But led by LaVine, the Bulls had 64 inside points. Despite the offensive rebounding dominance, the rebuilding Knicks had just 11 second chance points.

That was helped by a late, emergency appearance from Robin Lopez, who played the overtimes after Carter fouled out in place of Cristiano Felicio and had a pair of vital blocks and ferocity at the basket.

“I give Robin Lopez a lot of credit for being ready when we needed him,” said Hoiberg.

Neither team was truly ready for this game, which became entertaining, if not exactly artistic and captivating. The Bulls led 24-21 after the first quarter when Blakeney got hot to close the quarter. Though the middle part was weighted down by a sequence of eight shared possessions which produced two Bulls shots blocked and one Knicks shot blocked, a lob out of bounds and two other turnovers. The game overall featured 20 lead changes and 15 ties, but felt the weight of the injury absences. Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine were out for the Bulls. Leading Knicks scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. was out and top rookie Kevin Knox played only briefly in a recovery from an ankle sprain. Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis is still recovering from an Achilles injury.

And so former Bull Noah Vonleh was in the starting lineup for the Knicks along with two second round picks and undrafted Allonzo Trier. Trier had 21 points and was the Knicks main go to guy for the late shots.

The game skittered back and forth in the second quarter with a 47-47 tie at halftime. LaVine also was the prime ball handler for many possessions, though some of his turnovers were when teammates failed to look for the ball or veered away to the safety of spectator status.

“I feel like I made some good passes,” said LaVine. “I’m trying to create open shots for the guys.”

Parker had a nice scoring run in the third quarter as the Bulls took a 78-72 lead going into the fourth quarter. Chandler Hutchison continued to show flashes with this long armed drives to the basket and eight points, though Hoiberg elected to close with Parker and Justin Holiday. Holiday shot just two of 10, but he came away with a vital loose ball to send the game into a second overtime.

The game was tied at 93 with four minutes left when LaVine made back to back pull up three pointers and an even longer three for a 102-97 Bulls lead with two minutes remaining.

Trier then scored five straight with a three around a pair of LaVine misses to tie the game at 102 with 49 seconds left in regulation. Then came the first of many wild scrambles between these two teams unpracticed in success. LaVine drove and spun, but lost the ball. It bounced to Holiday. He threw to Cameron Payne, who began dribbling endlessly, a habit that’s been too frequent with this Bulls group. Payne had eight points and two assists in 40 minutes. Finally his drive was blocked out of bounds by Vonleh. With five seconds on the shot clock, LaVine missed a baseline jumper that went off Payne. The Knicks had a last chance with 25.9 seconds. Trier drove and missed a baseline jumper and Mario Hezonja missed the follow just short.

The first overtime appeared to be assembled by Rube Goldberg with LaVine and Hezonja exchanging air balled threes and then Parker and LaVine stepping out of bounds for turnovers on consecutive possessions sandwiching a Vonleh turnover. It was still tied at 106. LaVine matched a New York score with a baseline fade with 1:13 to tie at 108 and neither team scored again. Though there were chances.

First LaVine stripped Vonleh for a turnover and then missed a three. The long rebound went to Payne with 33 seconds left. He then rushed a three pointer that went well long to the Knicks for a last shot.

Again the last shot went to undrafted Trier, who beat Holiday right. But Lopez came darting across the lane to block the shot with 4.1 seconds left. Holiday stole the inbounds pass switching to his bright orange head band. LaVine then had a last shot and stepped out of bounds turning around for the three. The Knicks didn’t have a timeout and had to go full court. Kanter’s three went long.

It felt like half a league as these somewhat noble 10 rode into the valley of misses in the second overtime. Trier gave the Knicks a 111-108 lead with a three. LaVine seemed to have had enough. After all, the Bulls were staying overnight before leaving for New Orleans. LaVine put his head down so the Bulls finally could hold their heads high. His back to back driving scores gave the Bulls a 112-111 lead. Trier scored again on a drive to give the Knicks a one-point lead with two minutes left. LaVine evened it with one of two free throws. LaVine then rebounded a Kanter miss and drove full court, crossed over and laid the ball in on the left side of the basket for a 115-113 Bulls lead with 43.5 seconds left. Trier missed a rushed runner that went to Kanter. LaVine stripped it away again and it was recovered by Holiday. But LaVine missed a baseline jumper as the Bulls could not run out the clock. The Knicks got the miss and Emmanuel Mudiay running full court blew by Payne and Holiday for the basket to tie with 2.7 seconds left in the second overtime.

Madison Square Garden long has been known as the mecca of basketball. Players cherish big games in New York with the theater lights type setting for the court. It’s the game’s greatest spotlight. There was Michael Jordan’s famous double nickel 55 points in his 1995 comeback. Kobe had a 61, Curry a 54, LeBron a 52. And don’t forget Wilt’s 73 in 1962, which he pretty much scored everywhere.

“You get up for these types of games,” said LaVine. “It’s the mecca. You hear about everybody throughout history, the greats always having great games here. They get up for it; you can feel the energy.”

So LaVine waiting to spring from the left elbow with his fifth game this season already surpassing 30 points got an inbounds pass from Parker with 2.7 seconds left. Trier was trying to defend LaVine. Lopez screened Trier and LaVine got the ball above the three-point circle on top. The Knicks brought a double team with Damyean Dotson. But LaVine blew by him also down the left side. Mudiay came over late, grabbing LaVine’s arm with .02 left. The official under the basket immediately called the foul, but there was, of course, a review. LaVine went to the free throw line and swished the first for point No. 41. LaVine finally revealed a bright smile. As soon as the ball caromed off the backboard on the second free throw the game was over.

“I was up for this game,” said LaVine. “We were ready and earned this win.”

Because Zach LaVine did just about everything he could to produce some of his own history.

Source: https://www.nba.com/bulls/gameday/bulls-outlast-knicks-116-115-double-ot-thriller

[instapicsil3]

TONIGHT: Join us for Lincoln Park Night Out at Victory Gardens Theater! CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND has received rave reviews and is a Must See. Use the code LPCC to receive 20% off tickets PLUS one free drink per ticket from the bar. See you TONIGHT! . . #LincolnPark #2019isYOCT #ChiTheatre @victorygardenstheater http://bit.ly/2Gl09cB

[instapicsil2]

TONIGHT: Join us for Lincoln Park Night Out at Victory Gardens Theater! CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND has received rave reviews and is a Must See. Use the code LPCC to receive 20% off tickets PLUS one free drink per ticket from the bar. See you TONIGHT! . . #LincolnPark #2019isYOCT #ChiTheatre @victorygardenstheater http://bit.ly/2Gl09cB

[thefatgirloffashion]

BREACH AND BLACK BEAUTY FESTIVAL AT VICTORY GARDENS THEATER

BREACH AND BLACK BEAUTY FESTIVAL AT VICTORY GARDENS THEATER

“I hide the takeout menus under the couch pillows.” _ Aunt Sylvia (Breach)

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This past weekend, Victory Gardens Theater and the Black Women’s Expoteamed up to be the shopping destination for Black-owned and operated beauty companies in Chicago. Victory Gardens did this while being the home of Antoinette Nwandu’s play Breach.  You got so much bang for your buck.  The ticket for Breach included…

[inkagnedotv]

A Boston Celtics fan who threw a water bottle apparently at Kyrie Irving's head as he was leaving the court at TD Garden following the Brooklyn Nets' 141-126 victory on Sunday night has been arrested, according to a statement from TD Garden. The fan was escorted out of the arena by Boston police, and was arrested "for throwing an object,'' according to the statement. The bottle narrowly missed Irving, who was walking toward the tunnel after his 39-point performance helped give Brooklyn a 3-1 series lead over the Celtics. "You can see that people just feel very entitled out here," Irving said about the incident. "They paid for their tickets -- great, I'm grateful that they're coming in to watch a great performance. But we're not at the theater. We're not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at the people that are performing." "We will support and provide assistance to Boston Police as this incident is under review," a TD Garden spokesperson said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for violations of our guest code of conduct, and the guest is subject to a lifetime ban from TD Garden." This is the most recent incident in a slew of instances of fans throwing items or hurling bodily fluids toward players. Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook had a carton of popcorn dumped on him by a fan in Philadelphia when he was walking through a tunnel at the Wells Fargo Center last week. Hawks guard Trae Young was spit on by a fan in Madison Square Garden. Tee Morant, father of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, said that several fans in Salt Lake City directed racist and vulgar remarks at him and his wife while they were attending a game in Vivint Arena. —Malika Andrews & Tim Bontemps, ESPN Follow @inkagnedotv ⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #ball #ballislife #basketball #bball #cavs #celtics #dunk #espn #football #jordan #kawhileonard #kevindurant #kobe #kobebryant #kyrieirving #lakers #lebron #lebronjames #losangeles #love #nba #nbabasketball #nbafinals #nbanews #nbaplayoffs #nike #sports #stephcurry #stephencurry #warriors https://www.instagram.com/p/CPifhG9JMtG/?utm_medium=tumblr

[zeldaspeaksmindfulness]

LIVE READING SERIES AUGUST 7TH 7PM! American Blues kicks off new play reading series on August 7th!  American Blues Theater announces “The Room” Live Reading Series Monthly live reading series kicks off August 7, 2020 with A Shot: #A Love Story Inspired by Black Lives Matter  By Gloria Bond Clunie, Directed by Chuck Smith Chicago, IL– American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, announces “The Room”, a brand-new reading series that brings original work, plays in development, and new stories to Chicago audiences. Offering in-depth discussions as well as action steps for patrons that intersect with themes of the plays, “The Room” will debut virtually via Zoom for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic with the intent to transition into an in-person experience in the future. Inaugurating the series is A Shot: #A Love Story Inspired by Black Lives Matter by Gloria Bond Clunie, directed by Ensemble member Chuck Smith and featuring Ensemble members Wandachristine and Ian Paul Custer. Artistic Affiliate Cara Parrish is the Production Stage Manager. The reading of A Shot: #A Love Story Inspired by Black Lives Matter takes place Friday, August 7, 2020 at 7pm. Gwendolyn Whiteside notes, “It has long been our desire to host a regular reading series to highlight new work, original commissions, and plays in development. Postponing our in-person work due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic allowed us time to launch the reading series. While we anxiously await the day when we can safely gather together in-person again, we’re thrilled to connect with audiences virtually via ‘The Room’.” Tickets for A Shot: #A Love Story Inspired by Black Lives Matter are Pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $10, and are currently on sale at www.americanbluestheater.com. Ticket holders will be sent a pre-reading email complete with instructions on joining the virtual reading via Zoom. Future readings in “The Room” series include: September Yes, My Name is...Lucy Written by Ensemble member Wandachristine Directed by Ensemble member Chuck Smith Featuring Tony Award winner Deanna Dunagan & Artistic Affiliate Camille Robinson October Alma Written by Benjamin Benne Directed Ana Velazquez Winner of 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award November Days of Decision - the music of Phil Ochs Written & performed by Artistic Affiliate Zachary Stevenson Songs by Phil Ochs December Red Bike Written by Caridad Svich ABOUT A Shot: A Love Story Inspired by Black Lives Matter Friday, August 7, 2020 at 7pm Runs: 35 minutes; followed immediately by a post-show discussion When Mrs. Nettie Morris (Wandachristine) goes to the storefront campaign office of congressional hopeful Jeffrey Talbott (Ian Paul Custer) determined to save her grandson from Chicago’s violent streets and incarceration with an ingenious plan – a very personal life and death struggle takes a surprising turn. GLORIA BOND CLUNIE (playwright) is an award-winning playwright, director, and educator. She is a founding member of the Playwriting Ensemble at Chicago’s regional Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater where her plays North Star, Living Green, and Shoes premiered and the founding Artistic Director of Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Other works by this Northwestern University graduate (B.A. Theater, MFA-Directing) include Sweet Water Taste, Smoke, Blu, Quark, Buck Naked, Bankruptcy, #Lovestories inspired by Black Lives Matter, My Wonderful Birthday Suit, and the adaptation of The Last Stop on Market Street. Theaters presenting her work include The Goodman, Triad Stage, Chicago Children’s Theater, Children’s Theater of Charlotte, and Orlando Shakespeare. This Dramatist Guild Fellow has numerous awards including a Chicago Jeff, Theodore Ward African-American Playwriting Prizes, NEA and Illinois Arts Council Fellowships, the American Alliance for Theater’s Education Distinguished Play Award, YWCA YWomen Leadership Award, a Dramatist Guild Fellowship, and the Evanston Mayor’s Award for the Arts. CHUCK SMITH (director) is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater. At Blues, he directed Leroi Jones’ Dutchman and Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West. He is a member of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees and is Goodman Theatre’s Resident Director. He is also a resident director at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota, Florida. Goodman credits include the Chicago premieres of Pullman Porter Blues; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Race; The Good Negro; Proof; and The Story; the world premieres of By the Music of the Spheres and The Gift Horse; James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, which transferred to Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company, where it won the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award for Best Direction; A Raisin in the Sun; Blues for an Alabama Sky; August Wilson’s Two Trains Running and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Objects in the Mirror; Having Our Say; Ain’t Misbehavin’; the 1993 to 1995 productions of A Christmas Carol; Crumbs From the Table of Joy; Vivisections from a Blown Mind; and The Meeting. He served as dramaturg for the Goodman’s world-premiere production of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. He directed the New York premiere of Knock Me a Kiss and The Hooch for the New Federal Theatre and the world premiere of Knock Me a Kiss at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater, where his other directing credits include Master Harold… and the Boys, Home, Dame Lorraine, and Eden, for which he received a Jeff Award nomination. Regionally, Mr. Smith directed Death and the King’s Horseman (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Birdie Blue (Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Story (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), and The Last Season (Robey Theatre Company). At Columbia College he was facilitator of the Theodore Ward Prize playwriting contest for 20 years and editor of the contest anthologies Seven Black Plays and Best Black Plays. He won a Chicago Emmy Award as associate producer/theatrical director for the NBC teleplay Crime of Innocence and was theatrical director for the Emmy-winning Fast Break to Glory and the Emmy-nominated The Martin Luther King Suite. He was a founding member of the Chicago Theatre Company, where he served as artistic director for four seasons and directed the Jeff-nominated Suspenders and the Jeff-winning musical Po’. His directing credits include productions at Fisk University, Roosevelt University, Eclipse Theatre, ETA, Black Ensemble Theater, Northlight Theatre, MPAACT, Congo Square Theatre, The New Regal Theater, Kuumba Theatre Company, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, Pegasus Players, the Timber Lake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, Illinois, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is a 2003 inductee into the Chicago State University Gwendolyn Brooks Center’s Literary Hall of Fame and a 2001 Chicago Tribune Chicagoan of the Year. He is the proud recipient of the 1982 Paul Robeson Award and the 1997 Award of Merit presented by the Black Theater Alliance of Chicago. WANDACHRISTINE (Mrs. Nettie Morris) is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater. She has starred on many stages throughout the country in notable productions as the touring company of Fences, The Vagina Monologues, Gee’s Bend, and Thyestes. For her work in Old Settler, she received a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Supporting Actress and a Best Actress nomination for the noted Ruby Dee/Black Theater Alliance Award. For her work in American Blues Theater’s production of Beauty’s Daughter, she won the Ruby Dee/Black Theater Alliance Award for her solo performance. She’s toured regionally in Danai Gurira’s (“Black Panther” & “Walking Dead”) production of Familiar as well as the San Diego’s Old Globe production. Other recent productions include A Wonder in My Soul at Baltimore Center Stage and Incendiary at Goodman Theater. In film she’s worked alongside Whoopie Goldberg in “Clara’s Heart” and starred in the hit comedy as Mrs. Jones in “Me and Mrs. Jones” with Kym Fields. She’s appeared in the television series “Chicago PD”, numerous commercials, and voiced the animated characters in “The PJ’s”, “The Justice League”, and “Scarface” the video game. She’s written a fiction novel, “I Love You More…Than Shoes!” about four actresses over 50 years old still trying to make it in Hollywood; she working on a Zoom production of the popular novel. As a playwright, she’s written for American Blues Theater’s Ripped Festival for 3 years. Her newest play, Yes, My Name is…Lucy! was commissioned by Ensemble member Chuck Smith. It will receive a reading in American Blues Theater’s The Room – reading series. To all her friends, she’s known as…”The Woman Who Can Do It All!” IAN PAUL CUSTER (Jeffrey Talbott) is a proud Ensemble member of American Blues Theater. He’s previously appeared in Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (Jeff Award – Best Ensemble, Best Musical), Little Shop of Horrors, The Columnist, and 8 years with It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! Chicago credits: 33 Variations (Jeff Award – Best Production), To Master the Art (TimeLine Theater/Broadway Playhouse); Bad Jews (Theatre Wit); Annie Bosh is Missing (Steppenwolf Theatre, Next Up); High Holidays (Goodman Theatre); Princess and the Pea (Marriott Theatre); Watson’s Go to Birmingham (Chicago Children’s Theatre). Regional credits: Hero: The Musical (Asolo Rep) and Peter Pan (360 Entertainment – London, UK). Television credits: “APB” and “Empire” (FOX); “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago PD (NBC). Ian is a graduate of The Theater School at DePaul University and is represented by Gray Talent Group. CARA PARRISH (stage manager) is a proud Artistic Affiliate of American Blues Theater where is also the Human Resources Coordinator. Chicago credits: Gem of the Ocean, Electra, Hard Problem, Photograph 51, Five Guys Named Moe, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, & Lady From the Sea (Court Theatre); WITCH, Port Authority, Yellow Moon, The Letters, The Caretaker, Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf, & The Blond, The Brunette, and the Vengeful Redhead (Writers Theatre); Too Heavy for Your Pocket & The Vibrator Play (TimeLine Theatre Company); James and the Giant Peach (Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook); Jabari Dreams of Freedom (Chicago Children’s Theatre); Romeo and Juliet & Emma (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Beauty’s Daughter & Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (American Blues Theater). Cara is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. ABOUT American Blues Theater Winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home.  American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves. The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Equity Ensemble theater in Chicago.  The 31-member Ensemble has 600+ combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2020, the theater and artists received 221 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and 38 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.  

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The magical Concrete Temple Theatre returns to Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre this coming weekend, November 22-24, for a three-performance run of PACKRAT, a new multi-media puppet extravaganza that contemplates humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

Inspired by the classic survival and adventure novel “Watership Down”, the play follows the adventures of Bud, a peculiar rodent with a penchant for hoarding humankind’s goods. When a discarded cigar sparks a wildfire, the animals in the desert where Bud lives blame him for the human-made disasters infiltrating their lives and ban him from the community. What will he find in the Land of the Big Sagebrush? PACKRAT is a poignant account of Bud’s journey to find his place in the world and his ultimate realization of the interconnectedness of all life. This Concrete Temple Theatre production for audiences of all ages is written and directed by Renee Philippi and designed by Carlo Adinolfi, with original music by Lewis Flinn. Performances will be held on Friday November 22nd and Saturday November 23rd at 7:30pm and on Sunday November 24th at 2:00pm. Advanced tickets can be purchased at packrat.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006. For more details, visit the theatre’s website at BridgeSt.org. Don’t miss this opportunity to introduce your kids to the excitement and wonder of live theater at this enchanting new show!

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Events at Bridge Street Theatre are supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by Public Funds from the Greene County Legislature through the Cultural Fund administered in Greene County by the Greene County Council on the Arts.

Performance Calendar:

Concrete Temple Theatre’s PACKRAT Created by Renee Philippi & Carlo Adinolfi Written & Directed by Renee Philippi Designed by Carlo Adinolfi Original Music by Lewis Flinn Friday November 22 @ 7:30pm Saturday November 23 @ 7:30pm Sunday November 24 @ 2:00pm Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage 44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY

Tickets: Advance tickets available at http://packrat.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006 General Admission $20, $10 for students and children ages 21 and under

BIOS: CONCRETE TEMPLE THEATRE is a multi-disciplinary company, committed to the creation of compelling new theatrical works, incorporating drama, dance, puppetry, music and the visual arts. Since 2004, the company has created devised visual theatre that challenges the traditional relationship between design and text. Through touring original works and presenting workshops in NYC, nationally and internationally, we strive to bring myth and ritual back to the center of dialogue, by presenting works and workshops that address real issues within communities (grief, family relationships, environmental stewardship). We have presented our work for NYC audiences at venues like Ohio Theatre, HERE, and Barrow Street Theatre and have been artist-in-residence in NYC at The Flea Theater, Dixon Place, Mabou Mines, St. Ann’s Warehouse and chashama. Concrete Temple has toured work nationally at venues like: The Yard, Bard Summerscape, Detroit Institute of Arts, Pontine Theatre, Dairy Center for the Arts, Amphibian Stage Productions and internationally: London, Sri Lanka, India, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Scotland, South Korea and Costa Rica. www.ConcreteTempleTheatre.com

CARLO ADINOLFI (Puppets/Scenic Designer/Puppeteer) has worked in the theatre for 32 years and is fluent in Italian. Along with Renee Philippi, Carlo is Artistic Director of CTT.  He was born in Italy and received a BSc in Mathematics, Warwick University. Carlo is a Dancer, Designer, Actor and TD and CTT’s Set Designer and TD. Most recently, he has been performing solo as Geppetto in GEPPETTO, touring nationally and internationally, most recently London (January 2018), Korea (January 2017). Carlo designed and built the set and puppets for GEPPETTO. Carlo has taught set design at Simon’s Rock and at Sarah Lawrence College and Stagecraft at Community Roots Middle School. He is a recipient of the Bel Geddes Design Enhancement for his design of THE BELLAGIO FOUNTAIN HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE ME CRY, an Independent Artists Challenge Award, Henson Foundation Grants, an EST/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science Commission, and a Berkshire Taconic Foundation Commission. The Scotsman (UK) said Carlo Adinolfi exudes “strength, grace, and agility” on the stage, The Independent (UK) praised him as a “beguiling and versatile entertainer,” and Daily Mail (UK) cheered his “astonishing artistry,” calling him a “skillful actor/choreographer.” As designer NY Theatre Review said: “Adinolfi’s design is thrilling;” One Magazine wrote: “The most inventive, wondrous sets in NYC are being created by Concrete Temple Theatre…their work is extraordinary.” Carlo has been resident artist: The Yard, Flea Theatre, Flint Institute of Arts, Hudson Opera House.

LAURA ANDERSON BARBATA (Costume Designer) was born in Mexico City, works in Brooklyn and Mexico City. Since 1992 she has worked primarily in the social realm, and has initiated projects in the Amazon of Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Norway and the USA. Among them is her ongoing project The Repatriation of Julia Pastrana, 2004. She is also known for her project Transcommunality(ongoing since 2001), with traditional stilt dancers: The Brooklyn Jumbies fromNew York, West Africa and the Caribbean, and los Zancudos de Zaachila, from Oaxaca, Mexico.  This project has been presented at various museums, public schools and avenues, among them The Museum of Modern Art New York; TheModern Museum Fort Worth Texas; Museo Textil de Oaxaca, México; Museo de la Ciudad de México; BRIC, New York and Rutgers University, among others.  http://www.lauraandersonbarbata.com/

LEWIS FLINN (Composer) has worked as a theatre professional for the past 25 years. He is the composer and lyricist of the Broadway musical Lysistrata Jones (with a book by Douglas Carter Beane) that also ran at The Dallas Theater Center and Off-Broadway with the Transport Group.  Other current projects with Beane include Hood (Dallas Theater Center, Best Musical 0f Dallas 2017) and the upcoming To Wong Foo.  Other musicals include Like Love (NYMF) and The Winner (Lyric Stage, Dallas).  Flinn has composed scores and songs for over 50 Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional productions including TONY nominated The Little Dog Laughed, Charles Busch’s Die Mommie Die, The Divine Sister, The Tribute Artist (Drama Desk Nom for Best Music) and The Third Story.  Other theaters include Playwright’s Horizons, MCC, South Coast Rep, The Geffen Playhouse, The Cleveland Play House, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Lincoln Center Theater, 2nd Stage Theater, and the Drama Dept.  He has been a guest artist at Cornell, Dartmouth, The Boston Conservatory, The Royal Academy London and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  He composed the themes and music for the TV shows Power of 10 and Million Dollar Password as well as scores for dozens of national commercials.  He is a graduate of Princeton University and lives in New York with husband, Douglas Carter Beane, and their children, Cooper and Gaby, and dogs, Lucky and Albert.

ERIC NIGHTENGALE (Dramaturg/Lights & Sound Designer) has worked as a theatre professional for the past 29 years, serving as Artistic Director of 78th Street Theatre Lab in NYC, 1995-2008, directing over 50 productions and overseeing the development of countless others. Other New York directing credits include: Circle Repertory Theatre, The Acting Company, Circle in the Square, The River Ensemble, Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE, and Classic Stage Company. Eric has served as Artistic Director for Anchorage Theatre, Louisville, Zone 9 Productions, Indianapolis and Actors Repertory Theatre, Chicago. Chicago directing credits include: Victory Gardens Theatre, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago Dramatists Workshop, Broadway Arts Center and Second City. He has served as Associate Artistic Director for the Developing Artists Series at the Drama League of NY and developed work at New Harmony Project and Last Frontier Theatre Conference. He has guest directed at universities including Indiana University, Brooklyn College, Towsen University, Evansville University and St. Johns University, among others. Radio drama credits include work broadcast nationally over NPR affiliate stations, and in the UK over BBC channel 4. He has worked as a teaching artist for the Lincoln Center Institute, Theatre Development Fund. His work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has resulted in three Fringe First awards, eight published scripts, four adaptations for BBC radio, a Best Ensemble award, and a London transfer. Recent work includes, The Frog Singer, an electro-luminescent-wire puppet play, and The Natasha Plays, currently performing in Bratislava, Slovakia and Varna, Bulgaria.

RENEE PHILIPPI (Writer/Director), Co-Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre: for over 25 years, Renee has been writing and directing in NYC and has toured work nationally at venues like: The Yard, Bard Summerscape, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Detroit Institute of Arts, Pontine Theatre, Dairy Center for the Arts, Amphibian Stage Productions and internationally: Sri Lanka, India, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Scotland, Germany, South Korea and Costa Rica. Renee has created 13 original works in the past 15 years. Her newest work “The Waitress and The Robber” will premiere at the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, South Korea, October 2019. Renee is a member of Spiderwoman Theatre, Women’s Project Directors Forum, Lincoln Center’s Directors Lab, New Georges, LPTW and has been Artist-in-Residence with Mabou Mines, Playwrights Center Minneapolis, Directors Company, Nantucket Historical Association, The Flea, The Yard, Dixon Place, and Directing Fellow, Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her work has been described as: “Thought-provoking and emotional” “Explores what it truly means to be human.” (TheatreScene.net), “Drama, as it should be, with fine writing and flawless direction.” (Talkin’ Broadway) “…A world that is vast and sprawling, spanning continents and cultures” (Off Off Online).

PUPPETEERS BIOS: Carlo Adinolfi: http://concretetempletheatre.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Carlo-Bio_website_rev2015.pdf

Sabrina DeWeerdt: n/a

Margaret Gayford: https://www.maggiegayford.com/about

Jenny Hann: https://www.jennyhann.com/puppetry

Kayla Prestel: http://www.kaylaprestel.com/

Alanna Strong: https://www.alannastrong.com/

PACKRAT is supported in part by: The Jim Henson Foundation, The Hellen Plummer Foundation, Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Lake Placid, NY, The Access Theater Residency Program, Emerging Artists Theatre, Dixon Place Puppet BloK, as well as The Nancy Quinn Fund, a program of the A.R.T./New York and subsidized studio space provided by the A.R.T./New York Creative Space Grant, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Concrete Temple Theatre Brings “Packrat” to Bridge Street Theatre The magical Concrete Temple Theatre returns to Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre this coming weekend, November 22-24, for a three-performance run of PACKRAT, a new multi-media puppet extravaganza that contemplates humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

[newyorktheater]

Most everybody knows that Medea kills her children to take revenge on their two-timing father Jason. But “Mojada,” playwright Luis Alfaro’s modern-day adaptation at the Public Theater, zeroes in on a little-noted fact about the character – that, in following Jason, she became a foreigner in a foreign land. In Euripides’ telling in his play “Medea” 2,500 years ago, Medea is a “barbarian” princess and enchantress from the faraway kingdom of Colchis in exile in the Greek city-state of Corinth. In Alfaro’s retelling in “Mojada,” Medea is a gifted dressmaker from Zamora, Mexico who has become an undocumented immigrant in Corona, Queens.

“Mojada” is sometimes clever in the ways in which it transposes the specifics of Euripides’ story and characters; sometimes the contemporary parallels feel forced.   But the main strength of “Mojada” is in presenting the details of the experience of the 21stcentury Latinx exile in scrupulous and credible detail — often harrowing, sometimes amusing.  By telling this story as an adaptation of an Ancient Greek tragedy, the everyday and oft-ignored traumas of the undocumented are invested with the aura of significance that they deserve.

Alfaro establishes this aura in the very first moments of the play, when Medea (Sabina Zúñiga Varel) engages in a somber Nahuatl ritual in the backyard of the old house in Corona in which she lives, grasping a large banana leaf in each hand as if they were wings, and slowly waving them up and down, as she utters an invocation in the Aztec language.  This ties the Mexican Medea, like the Medea of Euripides, to ancient ritual and myth . This is also the first of the suggestions throughout the play that Medea is like a bird – specifically a guaco. Jason (Alex Hernandez) affectionately calls her my guaco, and they greet each other playfully with the sound that the gauco makes – “gwa, gwa, gwa.” Indeed, Medea explains later that this is how the two met;  during a storm, Jason was drawn to the song of the bird, because he figured it was perched in a dry place, and discovered that it was not a bird at all making the sounds, but Medea imitating the bird.

What we’re not told explicitly in the play itself is what kind of bird the guaco is, and learning about it offers a glimpse into the subtle aspects of Alfaro’s artistry.  Certain indigenous peoples of Mexico see the bird as a healer, and, like Medea, imitate its sound.  Medea in “Mojada” is viewed as a healer.

Called a laughing falcon in English, the bird is a largely sedentary bird, preferring to perch for long periods of time than to fly. The Medea of “Mojada” is certainly sedentary; she doesn’t leave the house, not even to take her young child Acan (Benjamin Luis McCracken)  to and from school.  For that she relies on her servant Tita (Socorro Santiago) who has been with the family since before Medea was born, and has served  as a kind of surrogate mother ever since Medea’s real mother died.

  But the guaca is also a predator, pouncing on its prey, which includes poisonous snakes.

Alfaro has created a character that is as close as a human can be to a poisonous snake. Pilar (Ada Maris), a long-ago immigrant from Cuba, is a ruthless real estate developer, who owns the house where Medea and her family live. Jason also works for her in construction, and he wants to get ahead by making the boss lady happy.

It’s obvious that Alfaro’s character of Pilar corresponds to Euripides’ character Glauce, a princess that the Jason of the Greek play wants to marry because of the advantages bestowed by royalty.  But, unlike Glauce, Pilar is an evil schemer, who has designs on Jason that include not just marrying him, but evicting and banishing Medea, and taking her child – using the threat of calling ICE to get her way.  Alfaro has turned Pilar into such an unremitting villain that she seems less like a character from Greek tragedy than from an action movie – one so dastardly and obnoxious that we are meant to cheer their inevitable violent comeuppance by the hero.   What’s potentially lost in this change is some of the built-in complication in Medea’s character – or more precisely, the complication of our reaction to that character.

    If there are some stumbles that make “Mojada” a less perfect realization of “Medea” than Alfaro’s “Oedipus El Rey” was of “Oedipus Rex” two years ago, it is in its own right both enlightening and entertaining, and plugged into the world around us.

Alfaro even makes an effort, largely successful, to make the production New York centric, changing it from the original setting of Pilsen, a Latino neighborhood in Chicago, where the play premiered in 2013 at director Chay Yew’s Victory Garden Theater. Yew’s direction brings out the humor in the production, in the observations of the difference between U.S. and Latin American culture and especially from the characters Luisa and Tita. Luisa (Vanessa Aspillaga) , a Puerto Rican who owns a churro cart, and wants to be called Lulu, is warm and funny as she befriends the new immigrant family. Tita’s blunt tongue is often amusing, especially in her sparring with Jason. But even the humor has an edge, the funny characters have their own sad tales to tell: Luisa had a house in Puerto Rico that was destroyed by the hurricane.

In two long monologues, Medea matter-of-factly tells the tale of how and why they left Mexico and traveled to New York. It is a tale of particular horror, involving assault and death, the stuff of dystopian nightmares, but existing right now. In the light of recent news events, it is bracing to hear Medea told to go home. She recounts one encounter: “A man is yelling at us. He wears a flag for a shirt. I don’t understand his words, but hate is the language we hear…We have come too far. It means nothing. Nothing, none of this man’s voice enters. If only he knew what it took to get this far.”

Mojada. Left to right: Benjamin Luis McCracken, Alex Hernandez, Sabina Zúñiga Varela, and Socorro Santiago i

Benjamin Luis McCracken, Socorro Santiago, and Sabina Zúñiga Varela

Alex Hernandez, Socorro Santiago, and Sabina Zúñiga Varela

Benjamin Luis McCracken, Alex Hernandez, Sabina Zúñiga Varela, and Socorro Santiago

Sabina Zúñiga Varela and Vanessa Aspillaga

Sabina Zúñiga Varela as Medea, Ada Maris as the evil Pilar, and Alex Hernandez as Jason

Alex Hernandez and Sabina Zúñiga Varela

Socorro Santiago and Vanessa Aspillaga

Alex Hernandez and Sabina Zúñiga Varela

Mojada

at the Public Theater Written by Luis Alfaro Directed by Chay Yew Scenic Design Arnulfo Maldonado Costume Design Haydee Zelideth Lighting Design David Weiner Sound Design Mikhail Fiksel Hair Style Consultant & Wig Designer Earon Chew Nealey Projection Design Stephan Mazurek Fight and Intimacy Director UnkleDave’s Fight-House Cast: Vanessa Aspillaga as Luisa, Alex Hernandez as Jason, Ada Maris as Pilar, Benjamin Luis McCracken as Acan,Socorro Santiago as Tita, and Sabina Zúñiga Varel as Medea Running time: one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission Tickets: $60 to $150 “Mojada” is on stage through August 11, 2019

Mojada Review: The Medea Story as Tragedy of the Undocumented Immigrant Most everybody knows that Medea kills her children to take revenge on their two-timing father Jason. But “Mojada,” playwright Luis Alfaro’s modern-day adaptation at the Public Theater, zeroes in on a little-noted fact about the character – that, in following Jason, she became a foreigner in a foreign land.

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Review: Hooded, of Being Black for Dummies (First Floor Theater)

Review: Hooded, of Being Black for Dummies (First Floor Theater)

Lauren Emily Whalen | October 28, 2018 | 0 Comments

     Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies 

Written by Tearrance Arvelle Chilsholm The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee (map) thru Nov 17  |  tix: $20-$25  |  more info         Check for half-price tickets         

        Darkly comic and socially relevant

        First Floor Theater presents      Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies

Review by Lauren Emily Whalen

Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies opens with a black police officer (Brian Nelson Jr.) informing the audience, “this story is not important.” He then gestures to two laugh lights above the stage and sternly instructs patrons to laugh when instructed, and only then. Throughout Hooded’s 90-minute run time, the cop gestures at the laugh lights with his night stick and a menacing glare. The ensuing laughter isn’t comfortable. It’s not supposed to be. First Floor Theater’s Chicago premiere of Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm’s play is many things: hilarious, sobering and mo

st of all, uncomfortable – especially for the white people (including myself) sitting in the audience. And that’s a good thing.

After the cop’s stern house speech, Hooded cuts to two young black men in a jail cell. For Tru (Jalen Gilbert), it’s just another day of, in his words, “being while black.” For Marquis (Jayson Lee), however, it’s a different story: his very first arrest for trespassing in a graveyard. The teen’s two white friends got away, leaving him trembling in his private school blazer and tie. Tru is shocked by Marquis’ naivete and privilege and subsequently writes a detailed how-to notebook on “Being Black for Dummies.” As Marquis and Tru form a tentative bond, Nietzsche meets Shakur and life is never the same.

If the raucous laughter around me was any indication, the audience members of color felt very seen by the playwright. In sharp contrast, white audience members suck in their breath as Marquis’ well-meaning adoptive mother makes gross assumptions about Tru’s mother without hearing any details first. And when Marquis’ lily-white crush Clementine (Caroline Hendricks) whines about not being able to use the N word (yes, that word). However, as a young black man brought up in a privileged white world, Marquis makes plenty of assumptions about Tru himself.

Chisholm skillfully weaves together a host of stereotypes and misunderstandings in a way that’s laugh-out-loud funny but also deeply tragic. Though a subplot about Marquis’ best friend Hunter (Casey Morris) isn’t quite as developed as it could be, the rest of Hooded’s script is a wild journey, incorporating elements of Greek mythology and The Wizard of Oz as Marquis’ story devolves, sadly, as anyone who doesn’t live in a cave imagines it would. The tragedy of Hooded lies in its predictability, and Chisholm lets the plot and characterization unfold in a manner that’s borderline genius.

Mikael Burke’s direction is flawless from beginning to end: from the close quarters of the jail cell (and live security cam footage thanks to Sid Branca’s projection design) to an explosive ending featuring a devastating mural courtesy of set designer Sotirios Livaditis. Burke’s staging accurately reflects the mundanity of Marquis’ cloistered existence and the claustrophobia of youth, especially black youth. Both lead actors are perfectly cast: Lee has the wide-eyed cluelessness of a teen who doesn’t even know he’s rejecting his true self, and Gilbert’s intense charisma is as beautiful a fit here as it was in last summer’s Mies Julie at Victory Gardens. Hooded is a must-see for everyone living in modern society, where black lives don’t matter as they should and, as Tru points out to Marquis, making plans beyond tomorrow is a fool’s errand.

   Rating: ★★★½   

Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies continues through November 17th at The Den Theatre, , 1331 N. Milwaukee (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays 7:30pm, Sundays 3pm.  Tickets are $25 (students w/ ID: $20), and are available online through Vendini.com (check for availability of half-price tickets). More information at FirstFloorTheater.com.  (Running time: 90 minutes without intermission)

Photos by WHO IS SHE Photography

   artists

cast

Andrew Cutler (Fielder, Dionysus), Jalen Gilbert (Tru), Caroline Hendricks (Clementine), Jayson Lee (Marquis), Casey Morris (Hunter, Headmaster Burns), Brian Nelson Jr. (Officer Borzoi, Apollo), Lauren Pizzi Montgomery (Prairie, Debra), Maggie Scrantom (Meadow), Matthew Lolar-Johnson, Jesse Massaro, Gracie Meier, James Mercers (understudies)

behind the scenes

Mikael Burke (director), Sotirios Livaditis (scenic design), Eric Watkins (lighting design), Grover Hollway (sound design), Owé Preye Engobor (costume design), Jennifer Warnau (properties design), Sid Branca (projection design), Kayla Menz (stage management), Rachel Flesher (violence and intimacy choreography), Alicia Gaines (projection typography), Cole von Glahn (production management), Bobby Huggins (technical director), Eileen Rozycki (charge artist), Shelbi Arndt (master electrician), Catherine Miller (casting director), WHO IS SHE Photography (photos)

18-1056

Tags: 18-1056, Alicia Gaines, Andrew Cutler, Bobby Huggins, Brian Nelson Jr., Caroline Hendricks, Casey Morris, Catherine Miller, Chicago Theater, Cole von Glahn, Eileen Rozycki, Eric Watkins, First Floor Theater, Gracie Meier, Grover Hollway, Jalen Gilbert, James Mercer, Jayson Lee, Jennifer Warnau, Jesse Massaro, Kayla Menz, Lauren Emily Whalen, Lauren Pizzi Montgomery, Maggie Scrantom, Matthew Lolar-Johnson, Mikael Burke, Owé Preye Engobor, post, Rachel Flesher, Shelbi Arndt, Sid Branca, Sotirios Livaditis, Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, The Den Theatre, WHO IS SHE Photography

Category: 2018 Reviews, Den Theatre, First Floor Theater, Lauren Emily Whalen

Source: http://chicagotheaterbeat.com/2018/10/28/hooded-or-being-black-for-dummies-review-first-floor-theater/

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