Fetch whatever it takes to see True Colors Theatre Company’ s phenomenal production of “Fetch Clay, Make Man.” Not only is the production brilliant, so is the writing. Just when you think you know these characters, a whole other side of them appears.
Based on the true story of Muhammed Ali’s professional relationship with Stepin Fetchit (Brad Raymond), the black actor known for playing his “lazy man” roles in the late 1920s, Muhammed Ali (Rob Demery) is preparing to fight Sonny Liston for the second time. It’s 1965, and Ali and his wife, Sonji (Danielle Deadwyler), who have recently become Muslims, are besieged by his Muslim handlers, his “brothers.”
This may be the best theatrical production of the year. The entire cast is splendid. Demery and Raymond practically embody their characters. From the moment Raymond opens the show with his first line, you know that character as you’ve seen him before. Watching Demery is like watching Ali in person, with similar mannerisms and speech. Broadway could do no better, and if this show isn’t headed to Broadway soon, it should be.
Written by Will Power, directed by Eric Little, “Fetch Clay, Make Man” runs through Nov. 22 at True Colors Theatre Company.
Cast
Amari Cheatom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brother Rashi
Brian Kurlander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .William Fox
This is not your mom’s “Cinderella” or even your grandma’s. It has humor but is not nearly as heartfelt as the TV version starring Lesley Ann Warren. This newer production, which hails from Broadway and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, presents a newer more kitschy version of the story. The kindness of Cinderella (Kaitlyn Davidson) extends to everyone in the land, including an older peasant woman known for being crazy. Prince Topher (Andy Huntington Jones) is a young man still trying to find his own power and way in life. There’s a kinder step-sister and one who is more raunchy than the TV versions of the show. The big, bouncy colorful costumes bring life to a story that I found to be boring but my friend found to be enjoyable. Adults around me were laughing at lines tand situations hat I thought to be trite and corny. The dances at the Prince’s ball were lovely, and the prince and Cinderella have charming voices. The lyrics of some of the original songs have been changed and other lesser-known songs by Rogers & Hammerstein have been added. The costume changes are somewhat miraculous as Cinderella changes from rags to a beautiful white ball gown in a second, the horses and carriage sparkle like jewels.
Directed by Mark Brokaw, music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Douglas Carter Beane based partly on Hammerstein’s 1957 book, “Cinderella” runs through Nov. 8 at the Fox Theatre.
Cast
Marie . . . . . . . . Liz McCartney
Madame . . . . . . . .Blair Ross
Jean-Michel . . . . . . . . David Andino
Gabrielle . . . . . . . . Kimberly Faure
Charlotte . . . . . . . . Aymee Garcia
Sebastian . . . . . . . . Blake Hammond
Lord Pinkleton . . . . . . . . Chauncey Packer
Raccoon, Ensemble . . . . . . . . Chip Abbott
Ensemble . . . . . . . . Adrian Baidoo
Ensemble . . . . . . . . Summer Broyhill
Ensemble . . . . . . . . Audrey Cardwell
Ensemble . . . . . . . . Cody Davis
Ensemble . . . . . . . . Rachel Fairbanks
Ensemble . . . . . . . .Alexanddra Frohlinger
Swing . . . . . . . .Jordana Grolnick
Swing . . . . . . . .Laura Irion
Swing . . . . . . . . Eric Anthony Johnson
Swing . . . . . . . . Ben Lanham
Ensemble . . . . . . . .Lauren Lukacek
Ensemble . . . . . . . .Sean Seymour
Ensemble . . . . . . . .Lauren Sprague
Ensemble . . . . . . . .Paige Williams
Neal A. Ghant and Bethany Anne Lind
“Informed Consent” at Horizon Theatre is a well-acted production of an interesting play. Although similar to “Proof” and “Doubt,” in that the question of who is right and who is wrong is left open to each individual to decide, the premise is different, as it revolves around Native Americans and a power-hungry researcher who just wants to do good.
Jillian (Bethany Anne Lind) is a genetic anthropologist on a mission to discover migrating patterns of people and ethnic groups, and to prove that all mankind comes from one source, so that there really is no such thing as “race.” Recently diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, Jillian is caught up in another type of race, a race against time to do her work and prove her theory. When she obtains permission to do one health test, she conducts other genetic tests as well, destroying the whole story one group of peoples has been handing down for centuries. The play is based on the true story of a Native American tribe that sued a university when it conducted tests that the tribe had not approved.
It’s a dramatic show with a wonderful cast. Her husband, Graham (Neal A. Ghant), loves and reprimands Jillian with passion, and Dean Hagan (Tonia Jackson) is a force to reckon with when the university where Jillian works is threatened with a lawsuit.
Written by Deborah Zoe Laufer, directed by Lisa Adler, “Informed Consent” runs through Nov. 8 at Horizon Theatre Company.
Cast:
Arella . . . . Diany Rodriguez
Ken . . . . . . Carey Curtis Smith
Emily Kuroda, Ruibo Qian, and Jon Norman Schneider; Photo: Greg Mooney
Since seeing the world premiere of “Tiger Style” last week, every Asian I see I want to say, “You have to go see ‘Tiger Style’ at The Alliance Theatre. Even if you’re not Asian, you should still go see it.
Mike Lew, who won the Kendeda National Graduate Playwright Award-winning play “Bike America,” which debuted in 2013 on the Hertz Stage at the Alliance Theatre, is at it again with another smartly written play. This time, it’s on the main stage.
Jennifer (Ruibo Qian) and Albert (Jon Norman Schneider) are first-generation American siblings whose Chinese parents reared them to excel in everything. They graduated early from Ivy League schools and performed together as kids as a duo at a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall, yet these 20-somethings still struggle with becoming well-adjusted socialized adults.
Jennifer, a medical doctor, is depressed over the man who left her, a stereo installer who lived in her home and off of her income. Arthur, a superior computer software programmer, goes unrecognized for his work as his less capable cohort gets promoted. Down on their luck, the two decide their problems are the fault of their parents, and set about changing their lives.
The first act starts out funny with parodies of Asian Americans but soon begins to resembles a television sitcom. However, laughs reign when the unhappy siblings refuse to be “dickless Asians” and confront their parents with the problems their strict upbringing has caused them. When the siblings journey to China to better understand their upbringing, absurdity ensues and the laughs follow.
There is so much that is smart about this play– commentary on politics, adulthood and unhappiness–but there was one part that felt so wrong. I couldn’t suspend belief and buy into Albert tossing his money and passport as I saw no impetus to make him do that. It seemed like a weak choice for keeping the siblings in China.
Nonetheless, Lew has created characters and scenarios that are enjoyable to watch. Many of the characters are played by the same actors. Mom (Emily Kuroda) is hilarious as the matchmaker, and Dad (Francis Jue) is a standout as the old Chinese man waiting at the bus stop and the Chinese general. “Russ The Buss” (Bobby Labartino) is fantastically funny as the international customs agent. Lew is clearly an outstanding talent and brings to my mind Neil Simon.
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, “Tiger Style” runs through Oct. 18 at the Alliance Theatre.
Jazz pianist Joe Alterman sounds super fine to me. He has led groups at venues in New York City, including the Blue Note Jazz Club, the Iridium, and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
In a recent interview with Brian Lehrer on WNYC, Nat Hentoff said, “The last piece I did for them [The Wall Street Journal] – I’m so glad I had a chance to do it – is about a 24 year old pianist and composer named Joe Alterman, who is really the personification of the past of jazz – he’s really deep into that – the present of jazz – he has his own voice – and that leads him into the future of jazz, and he’s so important in terms of the validity of jazz…[Joe Alterman & one of his mentors, tenor saxophonist Houston Person] make recordings that – to use the phrase that Duke Ellington really had a chance to use – are ‘beyond category’ because they’re timeless.”
Born and raised in Atlanta, Alterman moved to New York in the fall of 2007 to study music at New York University, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music. While there, studied with the greats, including Don Friedman, Joe Lovano and John Scofield.
Alterman will perform two jazz concerts this Sunday, one at 5 p.m. and and one at 7 p.m. at the MJCCA’s Morris & Rae Frank Theatre (5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody). Alterman has performed at venues around the world, including the Blue Note Jazz Club in Milan, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Ticket Prices: MJCCA Members $17, Community: $22. For information, visit www.atlantajcc.org/boxoffice, or call 678.812.4002.
Robert Lee Hindsman. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.
Yes, you will give a f*ck about this play and the characters. An excellent cast and an excellent play, adapted from Chekov’s “The Seagull,” “Stupid F*cking Bird” peels back the covers of life and clearly states how disappointing it is. Men and women chasing each others’ tails, not getting what you really want in life, and settling for what’s there. Fantastic singing by Rhyn Saver and wonderful acting by Lane Carlock.
Directed by Freddie Ashley, “Stupid F*cking Bird” runs through Oct. 11 at Actor’s Express.
Cast
Lane Carlock . . . . . . Emma
Evan Cleaver . . . . . . Trig
Matt Felton . . . . . . Dev
Stephanie Friedman . . . . . . Nina
Theo Harness . . . . . . Sorn
Robert Lee Hindsman . . . . . . Con
Rhyn Saver . . . . . . Mash
Scott Warren, Ann Marie Gideon, Daniel Triandiflou, Terry Guest, Tess Malis Kincaid, Neal Ghant, and Jeremy Proulx. Photo: Greg Mooney
Well, I was going to post this review today, but now I see that the show closed today. I just saw it last week. What can I say? I was busy with work. Nonetheless here is the review, late.
Whether or not you’ve seen the 1975 Academy Award-winning film “Once Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or the original Broadway play, which ran from 1963 to 1964, you’ve got to see it at the Alliance Theatre.
The patients of the psychiatric hospital may be no more crazy, and certainly not as cruel, as the doctor and nurse running the establishment. Mac Murphy may have escaped prison by coming to this mental institution, but he didn’t get the bargain he had hoped for.
The original film won five Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Actress in a lead role. The talent is no less at the Alliance with Andrew Benator, who could not have been better from the instant he took the stage as the slightly effeminate heterosexual and president of the “inmates,” and Tess Malis Kincaid as the heartless Nurse Ratched.
Directed by Susan Booth, play by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” closed today. I am a boob for being late with this!
Essential Theatre presented the world premiere of The 2015 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Wiiner, Joshu Mikel’s “Lillian Likes It.”
The play, which ran from July 31 and closed this past Sunday, holds a compact mirror up to mid-millennials living in a virtual world. Perhaps more attractive to a college-age or young adult audience, “Lillian Likes It” features five young actors connecting with others via electronic devices.
In sum, Lillian, engaged to Ernie, learns that co-worker Larry Pickler, who has just died, loved her. So enamored with the virtual world, Lillian conducts an online love affair with him via the virtual Larry she creates.
Reality eventually wins the day as one hopes it does with everyone who lives through the myriad of devices that connect them to the virtual world.
Cast: Alyssa Caputo – Lillian
Tyler Hayes – Ernie
Antonia LaChé – Babs/Gatekeeper/EE
Ben Silver – Larry and Ed Pickler
Christine Vozniak – Lynne
Pat Young – Knife
Director: Shannon Eubanks
Move it on over this week for New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Weiner who will talk about her new novel, “Who Do You Love,” a story about what happens when the one you love is the one who got away.
Weiner’s books have spent over five years on the New York Times bestseller list with over 11 million copies in print in 36 countries. She is the author of the novels Good in Bed (2001); In Her Shoes (2002), which was turned into a major motion picture starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine; Little Earthquakes (2004); Goodnight Nobody (2005); the short story collection The Guy Not Taken (2006); Certain Girls (2008); Best Friends Forever (2009); Fly Away Home (2010); Then Came You (2011); The Next Best Thing (2012); All Fall Down (2014) and Who Do You Love (August 2015).
A graduate of Princeton University and a former newspaper reporter, Weiner is a Contributing Opinion Writer for The New York Times Op-Ed and Sunday Review. Her recent contributions – “Mean Girls in the Retirement Home” and “Another Thing to Hate About Ourselves” – rose to the top of the “most emailed” lists and have been picked up by newspapers and media outlets across the world.
Weiner speaks this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus Jewish Community Center Atlanta.
Cast of Memphis
Whether or not you’ve seen the Tony Award-winning show “Memphis” on Broadway or the national touring company, it’s worth seeing it at Aurora Theatre.
It stars two stellar performers: Travis Smith and Naima Carter Russell. Smith plays Huey Calhoun, a white male who popularizes black music throughout Memphis in the late 1950s and falls in love with Felicia Farrell (Russell), an outstanding black singer.
Smith and Russell, are reason alone to see the show, which I liked more than the national touring company. Other notable performers include Kathleen O’Hara, an ensemble member; Megan McFarland, who plays Henry Calhoun’s mother; and the band.
Directed by Tom Key, Musical Direction by Ann-Carol Pence, choreography by Waverly Lucas, “Memphis” runs at Aurora Theatre through Aug. 30 at Aurora Theatre.
Cast:
Delray Jones . . . . . . Cecil Washington Jr.
Bobby . . . . . . Eric Moore
Gator . . . . . . Eugene H. Russell IV
Ensemble . . . . . . William S. Mrphey
Mr. Simmons/Flight Captain . . . . . . Matt Lewis
Clara/Teenager/Ensemble . . . . . . Rose Alexander
White Mother/Ensemble/Mama/Dance Captain . . . . . . Caroline Arapoglou
Perry Como/Ensemble . . . . . . Greg Bosworth
Black DJ/Ensemble/Bobby . . . . . . Skyler Brown
Someday Backup Singer/Ensemble . . . . . . Tina Fears
Ethel/Beale Street Singer/Ensemble/Felicia . . . . . . Judith Franklin
Be Black Trio/Ensemble . . . . . . Edward McCreary
Buck Wiley/Marin Holton/Ensemble/Huey . . . . . . Robby Owenby
Be Black Trio/Ensemble/Delray . . . . . . . Brian Walker
