Tag: History

What To Watch Now

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On Netflix:

Broadchurch – Veteran Brit powerhouse actresses (Charlotte Rampling; Marianne Jean Baptiste) join the strong ensemble cast as dueling barristers (lawyers) in S2 of the crime drama set in the quiet, beautiful, close-knit town. It’s time for the trial, BUT there is still suspense. We learn more re: another crime from the past of DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant). I’ve seen the first 3 eps so far.

Orange is the New Black – This show continues to grow (new guards and inmates come in, incl. a young/hijabi/black/Muslim woman and a celeb akin to Martha Stewart, played by Blair Brown). How will Sophia deal w/ being in isolation?  What will Piper do next now that she has the rep of being a badass?  Will Crazy Eyes ever find real love?  The jail is overcrowded now, w/ a large pop. of  Latinas bused in.  I have only seen 3 eps- need to get back into it soon!  

In Theaters:

Finding Dory – My mom (big fan of Finding Nemo) & I saw this yesterday afternoon (TOO hot to be out)- we LOVED it! The short film (Piper) was SO cute/well-made/touching!  The octopus, Hank (Ed Oneill) was my fave; it was esp. cool how he blended into the environment around him (like a chameleon).  Gorgeous Brits Idris Elba & Dominic West play two seals. Veteran comedy actors (Eugene Levy & Diane Keaton) voice Dory’s kind/encouraging parents.

Free State of Jones – The McConaughssaince  continues w/ this (based on a true story) historical drama set during the Civil War. But I must admit that the first 5 mins are tough to watch (bloody/gory/realistic); the diverse audience I saw it w/ gasped and cringed at some scenes. There is absolutely NOTHING glam re: war, and boy does this film show us that! The pitch-perfect Matthew is joined by luminous Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle) and Mahershala Ali (who MANY will know from House of Cards on Netflix). In his role as Moses, an escaped field slave separated from his wife and young son, Ali gets to show us a LOT more of his talent. Even in the quiet moments, he is a strong screen presence.

No man outta tell another man what he’s gotta live for or what he’s gotta die for!  –Newton Knight declares to his small band of followers- runaway Confederate soldiers, poor white farmers (including widows w/ children), & runaway slaves

I can’t believe that history like this is NOT taught in schools!  I’m SO glad that I got to see it for free at a pre-screening. Unlike what Col. Robert Gould Shaw (played by Matthew Broderick in Glory) said in one his letters to his mother (“I do not know these men, their jokes, their songs”)- Knight can relate to the blacks around him. He lived in the swamps w/ them, foraged for food/fished w/ the men, etc.  Check this film out if you can!

On TV:

The Night Of – This is an HBO limited series starring British-Pakistani actor, Riz Ahmed, and veteran actor, John Turturro (who had to take over after the death of James Gandolfini). The story centers on a Pakistani-American college kid from Queens, Nas Khan, who is questioned, then arrested, for the murder of a young woman he picked up in his father’s cab one night while on the way to a party.  The original story comes from across the pond (England), where the accused suspect was played by boyish/waifish Ben Whishaw; that story was focused on class from what I’ve heard.  This version doesn’t shy away from the fact that the suspect is a Muslim male, or the inherent suspicions that come w/ that in post-9/11 era. 


Recent Hits: TV, Film, & Theater

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All the Way (now showing on HBO)

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Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad; Malcolm in the Middle) TOTALLY transformed himself into LBJ- vocally and physically!  It was also a treat to see Melissa Leo (who plays Lady Bird) after a LONG time; I’ve been a fan of hers since her days on Homicide: Life on the Street.  I saw the play (Arena stage production) about 2 mos. ago; the film is V true to that, though there are changes made (as you can do more w/ cinema).  Anthony Mackie (who has NOT aged by much) has a meaty role as MLK, Jr.  Wingnuts (fans of The West Wing) will be happy to see Bradley Whitford (who portrays liberal Democratic senator- Hubert Humphrey).    

 

The Man Who Knew Infinity (now in select theaters)

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I went to go to a free screening about 3 wks ago; I had no expectations.  Well, I really liked it- and NOT just b/c of Jeremy Irons, the music, or cinematography!  Toby Jones (who often plays baddies) is just SO sweet/delightful as G. H. Hardy’s (Irons’) BFF/fellow mathematician.  Jeremy Northam has a side role as charming philospher Bertrand Russell; it was a nice surprise to me.   This is in the time just before WWI- that conflict also affects the lives of the Oxford community.

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British-Indian actor, Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionnaire; The Newsroom), does a FINE job as S. Ramanujan, a devout Brahmin Hindu math whiz who went from Southern India to Oxford U. at the age of 26.  Patel, who is still in his 20s, has a penchant for wide-eyed/innocent/eager characters; it works well here.  Ramanujan left behind his strong-willed widowed mother and lovely new wife, Janaki (Indian-American actress Devika Bhise). It’s been a LONG time since I’ve seen a modern/Western young woman portray a traditional/demure Indian housewife in SUCH a convincing manner! 

 

The Taming of the Shrew (STC: MAY 17-JUNE 26)

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I just saw this last SAT (preview matinee) w/ a gal pal (who luckily got free tickets online)- it was FABULOUS!  This production, directed by Chinese-Indonesian Brit, Ed Sylvanus Iskander, has a beautiful/intricate set and songs (by Duncan Sheik) which are performed by characters (who were NOT given monologues in Shakespeare’s original play).  

Yes, ALL the actors are male, BUT diversity is built into the show!  Indian- American actor Maulik Pancholy (Weeds) plays Kate, Sri Lankan-American veteran actor Bernard White (Silicon Valley) plays Baptista and Dutch/Mexican-Brit, Peter Gadiot (Tut), plays Petruchio.  Chinese-American actor, Telly Leung, has the best singing voice in the cast; he recently appeared as one of the leads in Allegiance (opposite George Takei). 

Get more info here!      

 

 

“Disgraced” (Arena Stage)

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Introduction

Ayad Akhtar has composed an exacting tale for our turbulent times.  His script demands that I bring forth the lyricism of a clarifying order from the chaos of cultural misunderstanding that is the woven fabric of this remarkable play, while being ever vigilant in spotlighting genuine insight into the complexity of perception in what it is to be Muslim and American.  –Timothy Douglas, director (Arena Stage)

As my regular readers know, I’ve written about this play before; I heard about it nearly 2 yrs ago, then read the play.  I had NEVER read anything like it before!  One of my NYC gal pals went to see it during its Broadway run in 2014 (wow, was I jealous of her then)!  On SUN, May 1st, I went to see the new production at Arena Stage (w/ one of my gal pals).   

Synopsis  

Amir Kapoor, a Pakistani-American, is a successful lawyer living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan w/ his beautiful/blonde artist wife (Emily). With the hope of becoming a partner at the firm around the corner, it seems like nothing can stop him. But when he hosts a dinner party for an African-American co-worker/friend (Jory) and her Jewish husband (Isaac), the conversation quickly turns to everything Amir has spent his  adult life trying to suppress (race, religion, etc.)  All these characters, as well as Abe/Hussein (Amir’s college-going nephew), are confronted with the struggle between culture and identity.  Below is a trailer for the show:

 

Review & Analysis

SPOILERS: Don’t read from this point if you don’t want to know details from Disgraced.

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Portrait of Juan de Pareja (1606-1670) by his master,  Diego Velazquez

After a waiter is incredibly rude to her husband (offstage), Emily (who has been focusing recently on Islamic art) decides to paint a portrait of Amir, inspired by the one of Juan de Pareja. (FYI: He was a Spanish painter of Moorish descent, born into slavery. He was a member of the household of painter Diego Velázquez who freed him in 1650.)  Amir doesn’t understand why she’s making such a big deal, but she comments:”He didn’t SEE you!” That waiter didn’t realize what a success Amir was- he just saw his brown skin.

The couple are interrupted by  the son of Amir’s older sister, Abe Jensen (who has recently changed his name from Hussein Malik); this is a source of humor for Amir.  The young man, who was born in Pakistan, has come to plead w/ his uncle re: representing an imam (“a harmless old man who didn’t do anything wrong.”)  This man is in FBI custody accused to raising funds for Hamas- Amir wants nothing to do w/ it (besides, there are two OTHER lawyers on the case).  When Amir pointedly comments that the imam is “not comfortable w/ Jewish lawyers,” Abe insists that’s not the issue (the imam liked Amir when they met before).  Emily says: “Just TALK to him!”  (She is the one who advocates for Abe, when Amir ignores his phone calls in the story.)  Amir’s  eventual decision to appear in court, beside the other lawyers, will have repercussions on his career. 

Emily excitedly shows her painting (reminiscent of tile work found in Andalucía from the Moorish period) to a curator from The Whitney, Isaac (who is married to Amir’s co-worker, Johri). This painting, white and blue w/ a hint of red, is hung on the mantle of the apartment’s living room (the sole set for this play). 

The crux of the action occurs a few months after during the dinner party.  Amir is already in a terrible mood (Emily doesn’t realize why) and drinking more than usual (Scotch) when the guests arrive earlier than expected.  Emily has made appetizers, fennel salad and pork tenderloin.  She wants to make a good impression b/c she wants to be in a new show which Isaac is putting on at his museum. 

WE are the new Jews!  -Amir explains to Johri

Jory and Amir drink and talk re: work- one of the partners (Mort) has been away for SOME time, traveling, and meditating.  There will soon be a new partner, BUT Amir doubts that it will be he or Jory.  Hey, why don’t they start their OWN firm!?  (We get a little background on how WASP lawyers didn’t want to deal w/ mergers and acquisitions in the past.) 

More drinking, more jokes- this humor here is biting, dark, controversial- perhaps even to the MOST open-minded viewer/reader.  (This was inspired by a dinner party that Akthar had back in 2006.)  Eventually, all hell breaks loose- these civilized folks are ALL revealed to be dysfunctional, duplicitous, and (no shocker) prejudiced!  But Amir is the tragic figure- he loses the MOST in the end. In my opinion, when he strikes Emily, he is NOT only hitting his wife (who is most close to him, yet cheated w/ Isaac), BUT also hitting back at the symbol of white/upper-class patriarchy (though she is female).  There is NO excuse for domestic violence, BUT it does happen (even among very cultured/intelligent couples). 

I was skeptical when I heard Nehal Joshi was going to play the lead. He just did not look old enough, first of all.  Secondly, I’d seen him last year as Sancho in Man of La Mancha (STC); he did a good job w/ the comedy, singing, and dancing. Lastly, the words that I’d read didn’t make much of an impact from ANY of the actors (aside from the actress who played Jory).  One young lady, who had ALSO read the play and attended the same night as I did, tweeted that she “hated it” (but liked the story). I wouldn’t go THAT far- these actors need to get more comfortable w/ the text and project that confidence onstage (in future).   

The audience was (as usual) quite elderly, liberal, and white (esp. in the orchestra section where we were sitting).  I spotted a few desis (South Asians) here and there, along w/ some African-Americans (mainly women).  The Q&A session after the play (w/ a local imam working on his Ph.D.) was fun and informative; he is associated w/ Georgetown University.  He came to the play w/ his four teen kids; they sat very quietly in the same row as me and my friend.  (This material isn’t geared to their age group, but the themes are relevant.)  I think this play is worth reading, BUT I can’t recommend this production.  No fear, there are MANY theaters (around the US) that will be putting on Disgraced this season.   

Related Links

Review: The Not So Unexpected Twist in Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced

Hanging in a Muslim Neighborhood

 

Othello (Shakeapeare Theater Company)

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Though an active and talented member of Venetian society who has started to assimilate, he is never fully accepted—and it makes him all the more susceptible to the machinations of Iago, the one person he feels that he can trust. 

…Iago’s hatred of Othello stems from his own jealousy.  He resents the fact that Othello promoted Cassio over him, believes that Othello slept with his wife and cringes at the idea that a foreigner—whom he considers inferior—has the success and recognition that he has been denied.  It is a personal vendetta, and he makes the audience complicit. 

-Katherine Peterlin (STC’s Young Professionals Consortium)

As my regular readers know, Othello is my favorite Shakespeare play.  The themes of this play are relevant today (as we heard in the video above).  I saw it back in 2011 at the Folger; you can read that review here.  I went to see this new adaptation, starring Pakistani-American actor Faran Tahir, at STC on SUN, FEB 28 (7:30PM); it was just 5 days after the play opened.  I had a seat in the 3rd row (rare for me); three 20s gals sitting behind me had free tickets (how lucky)!  Sitting beside me were a middle-aged couple who also enjoyed the show a lot; the husband made some comments that proved that his wife was the Shakespeare expert, but he enjoyed it, too.  As for the desis (South Asians) in the audience, I didn’t see more than a handful (including myself).         

Some of you may be thinking: Isn’t Othello supposed to be black (as in African-American)?  But remember that in The Bard’s time, “black” may have had a different meaning.  “Renaissance representations of the Moor were vague, varied, inconsistent, and contradictory,” as E. A. J. Honigmann, editor of The Arden Shakespeare, noted.  “The term Moor referred to darker-skinned people in general, used interchangeably with similarly ambiguous terms such as African, Somali, Ethiopian, Negro, Arab, Berber, and even Indian to designate a figure from Africa (or beyond). Various uses of the word black are insufficient evidence for any accurate racial classification; that could simply mean swarthy,” Honigmann concluded.

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Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, Moroccan ambassador to the court of Elizabeth I (some consider him as the model for Othello)

Original Line:  She gave me for my pains a world of… sighs.

Changed Line: She gave me for my pains a world of… kisses.

Above is one of the lines that was changed from the original (I noticed it right away); it’s more suited to the WWI setting of this play.  This is the kind of adaptation that grows on you, though I quickly noticed that the lighting was very well-done (from the 1st scene).  Iago (played by Jonno Roberts, a New Zealand native) is a very strong villain; he’s matter-of-fact, yet funny.  One of his tactics is to tightly embrace several of the individuals (Rodrigo, Othello, and Cassio) who he has ensnared in his web.  Since Roberts is tall, broad, and muscular (like a modern-day military man), this comes off as potentially scary.  I especially liked Iago and Othello’s scenes; the actors obviously have good chemistry and a great command of the text.  All the supporting actors did well, especially the two who played Desdemona and Emilia.

There were two moments in this play that I thought were particularly good.  One was Othello grabbing Iago, pulling him down, and choking him (when the villain first accused Desdemona of unfaithfulness).  The other scene was when Othello went into a fit of epilepsy, falling to the floor, and shaking for several seconds (everyone leaned forward in their seats).  I was sure that this play would get better w/ time; it has been extended through April 2.  Go check it out if you have a chance! 

Interviews featuring playwright Ayad Akthar

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Ayad discusses Disgraced (on Broadway), Aasif Mandvi, etc. w/ NYC theater critics.  This convo goes from the 2:00 min mark until 17:10.

This is a lengthy, yet V interesting vid!  Ayad is in convo w/ a Lebanese writer (Rabih Almeddine- never heard of him before) while Indian writer (Amitava Kumar) serves as moderator.  There is a smart/funny Q&A section w/ interesting points made by BOTH the audience & writers!    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyh5-o3Iw8c 

Aasif played Amir in Disgraced at Lincoln Center Theater.  Josh played Isaac on Broadway (opposite Hari Dhillon).  These guys are ALL friends- pretty cool! 

WARNING: This next 2 videos contain SPOILERS for Disgraced. 

Another long, yet very recent, interview (January 14, 2016)- it includes the meaning of the title, which is explained by Abe, the young nephew of Amir (who has “legitimate historical anger,” as Akthar comments in the vid). 

For 300 years, they’ve come to out part of the world, made- drawn new borders, taken our land, made us want to be like them, look like them, and marry their women.  They disgraced us.  They disgraced us.  Then they pretend they don’t understand the rage we’ve got.