This 10-part series examines the aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small North Carolina town. It was produced by the successful/critically-acclaimed husband-wife team of Gina Prince-Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, The Secret Life of Bees, Love & Basketball) and Reggie Rock Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, Notorious).Aside from the timely/controversial topic, the supporting cast could be a big draw (incl. Oscar winners Richard Dreyfuss and Helen Hunt, as well as Law and Order‘s Jill Hennessey). The leads are two black actors- film veteran Sanaa Lathan (who plays investigator Ashe Akino) and up-and-comer Stephan James (federal prosecutor Preston Terry). James hails from Canada and notably played the young John Lewis in Selma.
First Look: A Murder Myster (FOX)
Actors Sanaa Lathan and Mack Wilds on The View (ABC)
This movie centers on three brilliant African-American women (referred to as “human computers”) working at NASA in the 1960s. The three leads are Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae (who is also a singer). They are joined by Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Kristen Dunst, and Mahershala Ali (House of Cards; Luke Cage). Before Col. John Glenn (up-and-coming actor Glen Powell) went into space, Henson’s character (Katharine Johnson) had to “check the math” behind the mission. I learned that Johnson is still alive in small-town Virginia- wow! Check out the trailer below.
Lion
Critics have raved re: Dev Patel in this film, as well as the boy who plays Indian adoptee to Australia (Saroo Brierley) as a child. In case you’re NOT a big fan yet of the British-Indian actor, know that Patel is transformed for this role (hair, body, and accent). I’ll be seeing it next weekend.
See the trailer below; the cast includes Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, and David Wenham.
Singin’ in the Rain (in select theaters: SUN, 1/15 & WED, 1/18)
TCM and Fathom Events is co-presenting this musical at select theaters for two days ONLY. This movie premiered 65 years ago (1952) and stars Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds (who recently passed away at age 84), and Donald O’Conner. I heard about it on TCM, then checked online for details (see link below).
One of the most famed/respected dancers/choreographers of her time, Cyd Charisse, has a supporting role. Checking IMDB, I found that Rita Moreno is part of the ensemble (VERY cool). I’ve never seen this film before, but it’s available on YouTube for ONLY $2.99!
The Salesman (AFI Silver Theatre: SUN, 1/22 at 5:15PM)
This film is part of the 21st Annual Iranian American Film Festival which was previously held at the Freer Gallery (now undergoing renovations). It is directed by Asghar Farhadi (A Separation), who is NOT afraid to realistically tackle subjects which are still taboo in his native Iran. While A Separation was about impending divorce, this film deals w/ the assault of a young wife and her husband’s subsequent emotional turmoil and drive for revenge. I got my ticket already.
Follow the link below for tickets and see the trailer.
As You Like It: Folger Shakespeare Theatre(Pay-What-You-Will: TUES, 1/24 at 7:30PM)
This adaptation of The Bard’s comedy will run from JAN 24th – MAR 5th starring actors from Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. I’m interested in this b/c I’ve only seen one movie re: this play. I haven’t read the play (it’s rarely taught/studied in schools/universities).
Caroline, or Change: Round House Theatre (UPDATED: Pay-What-You-Can on THURS, 1/26 at 7:30PM & WED, 2/1 at 7:30PM)
This is a musical written (book and lyrics) by the renowned Tony Kushner; it contains aspects from his own life as a boy growing up in the South. The play centers on Caroline, an African-America maid for the Gellmans, a Jewish family in 1960s Louisiana. It combines different types of music: spirituals (gospel), blues, Motown, classical, and Jewish klezmer and folk.
Summer is here (time DOES fly in your 30s)! And after about a month of NOT eating so well and feeling lethargic, I’m trying to be healthier and cook more. I’m also starting a boot camp later in June (my 1st try- wish me luck). Here are a FEW recipes that I think anyone can make (and they look yummy, too)!
Alyssia Sheikh (Mind Over Munch) joins The Domestic Geek to share BLD (breakfast, lunch, & dinner) bowls. I esp. like the Mediterranean dinner bowl!
Here are three more bowls; I esp. like the lunch one. And the gals discover 3 DIFFERENT ways to pronounce “pecans” (LOL)!
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.
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!
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).
Some of you will recognize him from the first Iron Man movie and the J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot films.
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.
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!
Knightleyemma 