Category: Theater

For DC Area Theater Fans

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Othello (Sidney Harman Hall: FEB 23-MAR 27)

This is my favorite Shakespeare tragedy; I love it even MORE than Hamlet!  In this production Othello will be played by a Pakistani-American actor- Faran Tahir. VERY exciting…  I’m going to be seeing it SUN, FEB 28 (7:30PM).

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Some of you will recognize him from the first Iron Man movie and the J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot films.

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Link to 2014 podcast interview with Faran Tahir

Link to play website

Use promo code OTHELLO20 for 20% off price.

Disgraced (Arena Stage: APR 22-MAY 29)

I’m VERY excited to go see this play; one of my gal pals and I got tickets as part of a package!  Actor-turned novelist and playwright, Ayad Akthar (who I blogged about before) won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for this play, which was also his first. 

This play is being produced in 40 different theaters in the 2015-2016 season- WOW!  In some ways, it looks to be a simple domestic play, as it has only one set and five actors.  The play is set in the Upper West Side Manhattan apartment of South Asian American corporate lawyer, Amir, and his artist wife, Emily.  They hold a small dinner party w/ Amir’s work friend Johri, an African-American woman, and her secular Jewish husband, Isaac.  As the night goes on, more and more alcohol is consumed, the conversation gets  heated- the mood of the play turns serious.  Amir, who seems to have totally separated himself from his Pakistani and Muslim identities, is revealed as a complex and troubled man.

I read this play less than 2 years ago, after seeing clips about the Lincoln Center production (which starred The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi).  One of my acquaintances saw it when it premiered on Broadway; Hari Dhillon (an Indian-American of Sikh heritage) played the lead role. The PBS Newshour piece (see video below) features Dhillon and How I Met Your Mother actor Josh Radnor (who played Isaac). 

Akthar said that he wrote this play “for the global Muslim audience” (many of whom will never see it, given restrictions on freedom of speech) and the “typical (mostly white) theatergoing audience here in the U.S.”  Something important to keep in mind- the major influences for Disgraced were Othello and Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller. 

Link to play website

The Who & The What (Round House Theatre – Bethesda: MAY 25 -JUNE 16)

“The Who & the What” (the title of Zarina’s novel)… explores intergenerational and interfaith conflicts with fluid eloquence and intelligence. Mr. Akhtar writes dialogue that, while often funny and always natural, crackles with ideas and continually reveals undercurrents of tension that ratchet up the emotional stakes.  -Charles Isherwood (NYT) re: 2014 Lincoln Center production

I read this play soon after Disgraced.  It focuses on an upper-class Pakistani-American family in Atlanta, which includes the father, a widower and religious Muslim- Afzal (who runs successful donut shops) and his two daughters- complicated and intellectual Zarina and the more simple and beautiful Mahwish.  Since his younger daughter is almost done w/ grad school and unofficially engaged to her  (father-approved, Pakistani-American) beau, Afzal is eager to find a husband for Zarina, who is around 30 at the start of the story.  (It may remind you a bit of The Taming of the Shrew.)  Like MANY people, Afzal turns to an online platform for Muslim singles; he meets a smart and caring man who is a white convert.  Eli, who grew up in Detroit with liberal parents and many Muslim friends, is the imam of a small and humble masjid.  Zarina decides to give Eli a chance, but her main focus is a book on the life and times of Prophet Muhammad.  The topic of this book is VERY controversial- it could jeopardize her closest relationships!

Link to play website

PWYC: WED, MAY 25 (7:30 PM) & SAT, MAY 28 (2 PM)

Related Videos

Ayad Akthar’s TED Talk

 

 

 

Guards at the Taj by Rajiv Joseph

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Rajiv_Joseph

I first learned about playwright Rajiv Joseph (pictured above) from a brief theater piece on PBS.  Though only in his early 40s, he has achieved much in his brief career, including being a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize.

Theater Review Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

Yes, that is comic genius Robin Williams (above w/ castmates)- he appeared a few years back as the tiger in Joseph’s critically-acclaimed play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.

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Mr. Joseph dramatizes a dark myth about its building that stands as a grim allegory of the supreme divide between the powerful and the powerless in 17th-century India and, perhaps by extension, many places today.

Babur’s lively imagination drives the conversation, as he fantasizes about elaborate flying machines and wonders about the provenance of the stars. “I think God wants us to learn more and more things,” he says.

-Charles Isherwood (NYT Review: June 11, 2015)

This play can be seen from FEB 1-28 at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in DC. It consists of only 2 characters, Humayun and Babur, lowly imperial guards in the city of Agra, India (referred to then as Hindustan).  Their duty it is to stand in front of the building site of the Taj Mahal, facing away from it.  Babur has the energy of an overgrown kid.  He arrives late and keeps breaking the silence that the guards are supposed to maintain, to the disapproval of Humayun. Obeying the rules is something Humayun takes seriously. There are severe punishments for various levels of civil disobedience.

I saw an existential allegory about the struggle of incompatible universal impulses within human nature.  –Comment from NYT reader

We will probably never know what was done to the artisans who built the Taj, but we do know, like those who slaved for years to build the Pyramids, the Taj artists have remained invisible.  –Comment from another NYT reader

The Taj is a memorial tomb for Shah Jahan’s favorite wife, has been hidden by a wall during its  16 years of construction. The guards, longtime friends (who call each others “bhai,” meaning brother) are awaiting dawn, when the tomb will be unveiled to the public.

Into the Woods (NOW PLAYING)

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NOTE: This is a SPOILER-FREE review.

The Witch (Meryl Streep) wishes to reverse a curse to restore her beauty.
The Witch (Meryl Streep) wishes to reverse a curse to restore her beauty.

Anything can happen in the woods…

I saw this movie musical last weekend with my parents; they are both big fans of Meryl Streep.  We didn’t know what to expect, since we hadn’t seen the play or read up on many details.  I just thought it was a reimagining of several fairy tales with songs.  It was directed by Rob Marshall (who has an unexpected hit with Chicago).

The Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) wish for a child.
The Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) wish for a child.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that Emily Blunt was a key role- she plays The Baker’s Wife.  The Baker is played by a likeable Everyman type, James Corden, who is from the theater world.  These actors had good chemistry together and made a quite believable couple.  They were the center of the story. 

The Wolf is played by Johnny Depp.
The Wolf is played by Johnny Depp.

Stay a child while you can be a child.

The Wolf (Johnny Depp in a small role) has a song about the deliciousness of Little Red Riding Hood and Granny; this bordered on controversy because of the lyrics.  The song was changed from the original version (which was heard by playgoers).

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Cinderella’s stepmother is played by Christine Baranski (center).

Fans of The Good Wife will get a kick out of seeing Broadway vet Christine Baranski and Tammy Blanchard (who had a recurring roles on the courtroom drama series).  I got a kick out of their outlandish hairstyles and clothes.  And the trying on the shoe part- well. you’ll see! 

Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) is indecisive about The Prince.
Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) is indecisive about The Prince.
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Cinderella’s prince is played by Chris Pine (right).

Careful the path they take, wishes come true, not free.

Anna Kendrick seemed to be miscast as Cinderella; she even admitted that she thought she’d be cast as Red.  The two princes have a hilarious duet along a waterfall (Agony)!  Chris Pine, who actually looks good with a bit of a beard (unlike many men), said he did a Captain Kirk (William Shatner) impression at one point in the number.  (I’m sure the Trekkies out there will notice it.)  Pine did a good job with the material, I was surprised to see! 

Aside from Streep, Blunt, and Corden, young Daniel Huttlestone does a good job.  You may remember him from the latest Les Miserables film, where he also sang.  Tracey Ullman provided some bits of comedy as Jack’s irritable/critical mother.   

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Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) with his cow and mother (Tracey Ullman).

One reviewer (IMDB) commented: “I think that the later half of the movie, after the ‘happily ever after’ scene, was not given the same attention as the first half of the movie.  It felt like someone stepped in at the last moment and said: Hey, movies shouldn’t be allowed to have a happy fairy tale ending anymore. Let’s add some grim to it.”  In response, a theatergoer said: “The stage show has a two act structure that works a lot better. The first act is the fairy tale happy ever after. The second, which takes place roughly a year later, is what happens when you get your wish but are still unsatisfied and want for more. The second act is really a metaphor for greed and looking a gift horse in the mouth.”  If you want more analysis of the film, check out this podcast ep!

National Theatre Live: “The Tempest” starring Roger Allam (Game of Thrones)

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Viserys (Harry Lloyd) laughs w/ Illyrio (Roger Allam) on HBO’s “Game of Thrones”

Recently, my mom (a fellow fan of Shakespeare) and I saw a filmed version of The Tempest (from the remade Globe Theatre) at Landmark Bethesda Row.  The role of Prospero was played by Roger Allam, who some of you know as Illyrio Mopatis from HBO’s Game of Thrones.  Illyrio is a wealthy and powerful Magister in Pentos; he is a dealer in spices, gemstones, dragonbone, etc.  For a time, he served as custodian of the exiled Targaryen children and seeks to return them to the Iron Throne.  Illyrio also arranged the marriage between the Dothraki leader, Khal Drogo, and the teenaged Danerys Targaryen.

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I’ve seen Prospero played as a benign schoolmaster, colonial overlord and Faustian necromancer.  But Roger Allam brings something new to the party by suggesting that Prospero is first and foremost a father: what we see, in this riveting performance of Shakespeare’s usurped protagonist, is a man torn between possessive concern for his adored Miranda and recognition that she is an agent of reconciliation with his enemies.  -Michael Billington (The Guardian)

The Tempest, in essence, is a small story-  the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero, and his teen daughter, Miranda, are living on a secluded island peopled by magical spirits (including Ariel) and the son of a “witch” (Caliban).  Propero carries a wand and wears a cloak when he’s performing magic in this version of the play.    

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 Magic is created through simple means, such as a shower of petals descending from the sky or Stephen Warbeck’s music emanating from every corner of the building. Herrin sometimes slows the pace to maximise the laughs, but he gets good performances from Jessie Buckley and Joshua James as the enraptured lovers, Colin Morgan as a nimble Ariel and James Garnon as a Caliban who burps and spits in the groundlings’ faces.  -Michael Billington (The Guardian)

This play contains some of The Bard’s most-quoted lines, including “Oh, what brave new world with such people in it!”  Miranda exclaims this when she first sees the men from Milan up close.  Until then, she’d only seen her betrothed- Ferdinand, who’s used for comedy in this production (youthful earnestness with wide eyes).  Ariel is not feminized, as is often done- he’s handsome, limber (does some acrobatics), and slyly funny.