Theatre
-
To Be Human Again
Sometimes the arts can entertain us. Disney has surely figured out that formula. But sometimes . . . the arts can open something up to us that we didn’t ever think we needed to see and learn.
- essays, Fifth Avenue Theatre, justice, Life Recovery Skills, musicals, musings, racism, reviews, reviews, Theatre, writing
Pride and Prejudice, Staged
Last week we went to see a production of the new musical AUSTEN’S PRIDE, the story of Jane Austen‘s creation of the world of Pemberley and Darcy and Lizzie and Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Wickham and … well, the entire world that lives between the covers of the book Pride and Prejudice. Precis: Miss Jane Austen has had a successful run with her book Sense and Sensibility, but her publisher wants a new work. Simultaneously, her intended fiancé decides to break with her. She’s been rejected a few times, and is living in genteel near-poverty. All she has now to her assets is an idea with no form or view.…
-
Carefully Taught, Thoroughly Educated
You’ve Got to Be Taught You’ve got to be taught To hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught From year to year, It’s got to be drummed In your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught. You’ve got to be taught to be afraid.Of people whose eyes are oddly made,And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,You’ve got to be carefully taught. You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,Before you are six or seven or eight,To hate all the people your relatives hate,You’ve got to be carefully taught!(RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN “SOUTH PACIFIC” – © 1958) I don’t know how much more obvious we have to…
-
A Review of BRIGHT STAR the Musical
This is a bluegrass musical set in the comfortable hills around Asheville, NC and outlying districts. In the 1920s in Hayes Creek, NC, a young girl, Alice, falls in love with Jimmy; in the 1940s, just after the war, Alice is in Asheville editing a southern journal, looking for new writers, Jimmy is still back home, and a young man appears with a gift for story-telling. The show switches seamlessly between the time periods until all is laid bare and forgiven. It’s an engaging arc, and based on a true story that became the inspiration for a 1900s folk song and a 2013 collaboration between Martin and Brickell. The cast…
-
#TheHateUGive – A Review
I saw The Hate U Give tonight, and I have thoughts… But first, let get some of the mechanicals out of the way. First of all, the casting was stellar. I would especially commend Yesi Ramirez for the work to find this team of players that blended in so effortlessly in their roles. In nearly every scene and interaction they were superb. I do not know enough of what the director George Tillman Jr. or the writer Angie Thomas (novel) and Audrey Wells (screenplay) were looking for exactly with the white actors for “Hailey” and “Chris,” but I winced at their portrayals. They felt accurate and yet–oh my god. The…
-
Review: A Civil War Christmas
We saw #Taproot Theatre’s production of “A Civil War Christmas” last night, and I have to say, I wanted to like this more, but could not. This was not due to the sets, the lighting, the staging, the choreography, the sound, the music, costumes, or the actors—all which were competent and professional. It was the book that was weak, and all the best efforts of the cast to bring the story to life did not work. To be clear, this is not a bad production or even a bad play. It is just a weak book with an enthusiasm for story not matched by a skill for storytelling. We open…
-
“Moonlight”– the Rough Draft
When I watch a movie or attend a play or listen to music or read a book, I am usually present as the observer who analyzes my experience, always starting from “me” to say to myself “The author/creator is saying this and I either agree or disagree.” I remove myself one step from being in the moment. Sometimes, when I am experiencing a very good presentation I find myself “in the moment,” where I lose the sense of time and even self-awareness. “Moonlight,” the movie directed by Barry Jenkins, and written by Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, is neither of those. It is not a presentation where I was…
-
A Review of "Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism"
So this book is several things. One, it is a book of theology of the kingdom of the Messiah. Dr. Hart lays out the plans of God through Jesus Christ in instituting his kingdom, which is topsy-turvy: it is not power-based, it is not authority-based, it is not self-based. It is, instead, based upon love and community, honesty and commitment, risk and sacrifice and the great great reward of connection with Jesus. For that alone, you should read this book. It is also a book about America, plainly stated, as it was, and is, and perhaps may not always be. It is a book about how we Christians have acquired…
