The Times is right, Our Town is "Shattering!"

I am intent on seeing shows this summer despite running low on the funds! I have two weeks left in New York, and I plan on scouring the city for great deals on theatre. In my hunt, I discovered Our Town is currently playing at the Barrow Street Theatre Off-Broadway. Some quick research showed that it has garnered rave reviews. Adam Chanler-Berat loves it too, ha! Our Town is a play about the average everyday lives of people in a small New Hampshire town by revered playwright Thornton Wilder, and it's only $20 with a student ID!

I actually tried to get into God of Carnage first, since Sunday was it's last day before going on hiatus until September, but it just wasn't meant to be. So my friend Effi and I hightailed it to the West Village from Times Square. We get to the theatre, and we're the third and fourth persons in line after these two really great guys we met. We notice these girls slip in and start hanging out near the front of the line. Hmmm, that's odd. The box office opens to put our names on the waiting list, and what do you know, these bitches cut in front of us. I was so flabbergasted. Thank God, for those two great guys because they told the box office attendant right away that we had been waiting in line and deserved to go first. YAY! There are some good people in New York! We were the last people to get into the show off the rush list along with those great guys in front of us. All is right in the world.

Anyway, about the show. Shattering! That's what The New York Times said about it, and I concur 100%. This production is a bold and beautiful take on a classic. Cromer's minimalist vision eliminate distraction. Stripped is the best way to describe Cromer's Our Town. His inventive staging immerses the audience in the show. The actors weave through the audience. At times, the action was happening inches away from my face. There is a part in the play where the character of the Stage Manager (played by director Cromer) brings out a professor to answer questions about the town. Usually, actors are planted in the audience, but in this production the Stage Manager handed out cards to people in the audience. We really were immersed in the show. I could feel the Stage Manager staring right at me as he talked a few times. We weren't merely an audience, but a part of the show.


The acting was wonderful. Every person in the show knew who their character was and portrayed him or her well, whether they had one line or 100. It was wonderful to see actors that worked so well of one another as well. I loved how they were clothed in more modern circa 1990s even though the play takes place circa 1900, which was made obvious through mentions of industrialization. I think the costumes help make the play seem more current. As an audience member you don't look at the play as an homage to times gone by. You recognize that the same things happening back then are still happening now.

I walked away from this play feeling both heavy and light. It's such a powerful experience. My friend Effi was pretty much in shock. He could barely talk. It's a beautiful work of art that makes you fully appreciate life. The last time I walked away from something appreciating life this much was when I first watched Into the Wild. If you have the opportunity to see this, GO! You will not be disappointed.

Peace,
Kim

P.S. Whoo for plays that take place in New Hampshire!! 603 for life, baby :-D

Coffee black and egg white..

If you know what lyric my title is from, bonus points for you. I hope you all read my review of Next to Normal. Shame on you if you haven't! After seeing a really great show, I always get the sudden urge to perform again. It's like a drug, and all of a sudden all I can think about is being on stage. Well, after seeing Next to Normal, I kept visualizing myself playing Natalie. I think it's a great role, and I would love to play that part. Then, I was slapped back to reality. Natalie is white. The whole family is white. Even the other two characters not in the family are white. What's a black girl to do? Well, I can hope that someone decides to put on an all black production of Next to Normal or that someone decides to do the unthinkable, color-blind casting!

Color-blind casting tends to cause quite the controversy. Here's an angry letter to The New York Times about Phylicia Rashad's (yes, The Cosby Show mom and stage veteran) casting in August: Osage County. It has also been done to much acclaim. David Oyelowo was the first black actor to play an English king in a major Shakespeare production, and his performance won him the Ian Charleson Award. I've been on the fence about the issue in the past, but now I really feel like it should be done more often. I'm already suspending my disbelief when I sit down to watch a movie, play or musical. What's the harm in accepting, for the sake of art, that a black woman gave birth to white children?

As a writer, I'm going to try and make sure that I don't write characters with a race in mind unless it is imperative to the story. I think far too many writers do that. Grey's Anatomy, which boasts a very diverse cast, was created with nobody's race in mind. The actors were chosen on the basis of talent, which is the way it should be. Talented people shouldn't be sidelined from playing great roles because of their race. Some groups have taken action. East West Players is an Asian American theatre group in Los Angeles. George Takei of Star Trek fame starred in their performance of Equus a few years ago. Last year, an all African American production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof hit Broadway. I applaud these productions, but I'd love to see more productions with extremely diverse casts and complete color-blind casting.

On a lighter note, my good friend Mike Contino, author of the blog Making Things Happen, and I were discussing about color-blind casting, when he had the great idea of composing a list of shows that would be extremely awkward if casting was color-blind. I laughed out loud, and we created this list.

The Most Awkward Shows to Cast Color-Blind (in no specific order)

• The Color Purple - Oprah might get a little pissed if that ever happened.
• Fiddler on the Roof - Obviously, the roles in this show don't have to be played by Jewish people, but something tells me some Jewish people would be angry if they were played by people who didn't even look remotely Jewish.
• The Civil War - This needs no words.
• Anne Frank - Again, no words.
• Porgy and Bess - Considering the characterization of black people is pretty racist in this opera, it might be even more awkward if people of another race gave a crack at this show.
• FELA! - This hasn't even hit Broadway yet, but it's a show about Nigerian activist and musician Fela Kuti. Fela, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, is known for creating the musical genre Afrobeat. If other races were cast in this, then maybe people would realize that Africa is not solely comprised of black people. Then again, people might be too preoccupied by other races dressed in traditional African garb with paint on their bodies doing traditional African dances to care about my latter statement.
• Anything by August Wilson - Wilson's ten play play series is about the African American struggle in the 20th century. I guess that means when he wrote them he only envisioned black people playing the roles, but who are we to know that for sure?
• Parade - Seeing as they all suspect the black guy of murder because they're all racist, the show might not make sense with anyone other race in the part.
• Miss Saigon - A starring role for an Asian woman on Broadway. There is no way you can take that away from them.
• Hairspray - It might get a little tricky to pull this off during the segregated school dance scene.

I hope you all feel sufficiently awkward. Got any more that might be really awkward? Comment!

Peace,

Kim

Next to Amazing Brilliance!!

My busy schedule and empty wallet have prevented me from seeing lots of shows this summer, but I was fortunate enough to see Next to Normal with my mom a couple weeks ago. If this is the only show I see this summer that is completely fine with me. I was blown away by this honest and poignant depiction of a woman's battle with bipolar disorder as her family is falling apart at the seams.

The fact that a musical about depression is on Broadway is a testament to the fact that the musical as a genre is evolving. The fact that a musical about depression had me laughing out loud shows that the writers have a good grasp of how to mix pathos and comedy. The show is an emotional roller coaster ride set to a Tony Award winning rock score. I was laughing out loud one minute and near tears the next, and the whole time I was surrounded and enamored by amazing music that ranged from thoughtful folk songs to head-banging rock.

I thought all of the actors did a great job. Alice Ripley is brilliant as Diana Goodman, the woman battling bipolar disorder. Her unique voice helps bring life to the character. As an actress, she's so good at her craft. There were so many little things she did that were so in character even when she wasn't the focus of the scene that make her so engaging to watch. I was also very impressed by Jennifer Damiano who plays Ripley's neglected daughter, Natalie, a sarcastic and bitter teenage genius looking for a reprieve from the constant madness at home. It would have been really easy to play this role very angry, but Damiano added a lightness to the role that really opened the character up in my opinion. Adam Chanler-Berat plays Natalie's stoner boyfriend Henry with unassuming charm and likability. I am in love, and I think every girl deserves a Henry. I'm pretty sure he's gay though, so my fantasies will never be realized, sadness.

I thought the show was well written though there were times it got heavy handed, especially concerning the parallels with Diana and Natalie. On the flip side, I thought there were times in the show where subtlety was used perfectly. They did a good job of leaving certain factors up to the audience to interpret, which I loved because subtlety is almost never a bad thing in my book. The set was very cool and visually interesting. It is more conceptual, which works for this show because it allows certain areas to double as other places easily without slowing down the pace of the show. There are tons of lights on the set, which give the show a rock concert feel during the bigger flashier numbers. The band being on stage adds to that feeling.

I really feel that everyone should see this show. It's a new original music with contemporary themes like family, love, reliance on medicine, mental disorders, pharmaceutical abuse and isolation. It's funny because right before we went to see it, my mom and I were discussing pharmaceutical abuse and reliance on medicine in general. She's a pharmacist who often comes face to face with people swearing they need more medicine. Someone should tell them their profuse sweating and quickness to throw fits gives away their addiction. Anyway, I highly recommend this seeing this musical if you have the opportunity. If this is any hint on the future of the American musical, I am very excited to see what's in store.

Unfortunately the videos I wanted to add won't embed :-( Here's a link to them, and I'll try to embed them later.

COOL VIDEOS :-)

P.S. I am in with the promotion photographs taken by Evan Kafka. I find them so interesting. Here's a link to the photos. Check them out!

Aqueous by Mark Mawson

I really do appreciate Artist A Day, and I love that it's right on my iGoogle homepage. I haven't posted an art entry in a while, and not because I haven't seen cool art either. When I saw this one, I felt that I had to share. Mark Mawson is a photographer from Sydney, Australia. His work ranges from portraits and fashion to interiors and art. I am really drawn to his series Aqueous. I just find these pictures so incredibly beautiful.

He creates this effect by dropping paint into water. I love when artists have interesting processes that go into creating their art. I was reading about an artist that contains firework explosions on canvases. Maybe I will post her work on here some other time. If you guys have any artists that you think are cool, let me know. I love finding new art.

Peace,

Kim

That's a Wrap!!

Hello, followers and everyone out in the blogosphere. I'm sure you've been crying over my sporadic posts over the past couple weeks, but fret not! I am back. Filming just wrapped on Boy Wonder, the film I interned on. Now that my internship is over, my life has been returned, which means more time for blogging!!

I've got a hunch that inquiring minds want to know what exactly went down on my internship. Well, I interned in the camera department for three weeks and the sound department for one week. Lots of fun was had in both departments. I got to slate (saying the scene and take number number while holding that cool thing in front of the camera and shutting it before the director calls action) some scenes through camera, and I got to boom (holding that pole with the mic on it) through sound. I learned so much invaluable information, not only about camera, sound and film in general, but about life and myself. Pretty much everyone on set is a character. It's so great to work in a place with such fun and interesting people. I always want to surround myself with people like that in my life.

We wrapped filming last night or extremely early this morning to be more precise. The mimosas and beer started flowing, which I greatly appreciated. I also got a bottle of white wine, a sweatshirt, a tank top (from the costume dept) and $20! Now, if someone asks me if I made any money on my internship, I can say yes! I will always have good memories of my first time on set, and I hope it won't be the last time.

Peace,

Kim

Scumbag Politicians... What else is new?

I meant to post about this back when it happened, but I've been uber-busy lately, which is great. Unfortunately, being busy means it's hard to find time to post. Anyway, I've got some free time today, and posting is definitely a productive way to use that time.

I'm sure by now, everyone has heard about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. If you've been living under a rock, here's a brief recap:

Sanford goes missing for a few days. Nobody knows where he is. He comes back and says he was hiking The Appalachian Trail. He lied. He was actually in Argentina doing the dirty with his mistress.

Politicians and their mistresses will never be surprising news. What I find interesting is how his wife is handling this situation. Unlike the political wives before her, Jenny Sanford will not stand by her husband as he apologizes. Way to go girl! It always pained me so much to see these poor women standing by their husbands as they apologize for participating in prostitution rings, getting blow jobs that they actually didn't get (?) and cheating on said wife while she had cancer! Those women make me want to cry and barf at the same time. They have been degraded to statues whose only goal in life is to support their husbands careers. Their husbands have committed the wrongs, but these women end up the fools.

During election time, it was always tossed around that Hillary Clinton is an extremely strong woman. I don't necessarily view someone who stands by their cheating husband for the sake of political advancement as strong. More women should take a page out of Jenny Sanford's book. Unfortunately, I'm sure whenever the next political scandal comes out, the politician's wife will be standing there on the podium with her husband, a cold expression plastered on her face.

Check out this article CNN posted.

Peace,

Kim