AIN'T NO MO' at the Public is an in Your Face Satire about Race by Jordan E. Cooper

AIN'T NO MO' at the Public Theater is by playwright Jordan E. Cooper.  Cooper in his early 20s has thrice received the NAACP's Playwright Award.  The play is broken into several skits meant to be both hilarious & profound.  There's an incandescent brilliance to Cooper's ideas but many are rehashed tropes of discrimination, mass incarceration, rampant killing of black men and the fathering of multiple children with numerous baby mamas.  The conversation brought forth of race is carried on in an illuminating style with the offer of return airfare passage for blacks to the African continent; a return to the continent of their ancestors.  The boarding gate # 1619 at the airport refers to the year slaves were first brought as unwitting cargo to the US through Jamestown, VA.  The play questions what it would mean to deport all black Americans and with them exhume the rich heritage intertwined in our nation of music, comedy, literature, resiliency and the foundations which were built upon on the backs & blood of slaves.  Cooper disparages whites for their oppression of blacks and makes it clear blacks have never had it easy.  He also despairs over the unfulfilled promise for a brighter future beginning with the Presidency of Obama, a lighter black man.  Some of the satires paint a grotesque view of blacks appropriating outlandish white culture in a skit aimed at spoofing "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and the dinner set in an aristocratic black family left without their help who chose a one way passage back to Africa.  A former slave arises through the dining table to disrupt the genteel blacks and winds up being lynched by the wealthy black homeowners.  The most sombre skit is in the waiting room for abortions where the mirage of a black man riddled with bullet wounds pleads with his girlfriend not to abort his child.  The hands up imagery is very haunting and effective.  The segmented skits idle and then take off with fierce velocity.  The rapid fire conceits are served up fast & furious leaving me baffled & off-balanced.  Perhaps, that's Cooper's intent but it left me feeing apart from the conversation.  I would advise staying for the talk backs following the play.  The program note from Oskar Eustis  praises Cooper's extraordinary writing.  Eustis suggest saving the program.  "My bet is you'll want to prove you were here for many years to come."  I'll bet there's plenty more to come from this promising and talented playwright on the horizon.

MARCUS MILLER: ELECTRIC MILES at Jazz at Lincoln Center - A Concert for the Ages

Marucs Miller, the world renowned composer, producer, arranger and jazz bassist is the music director Electric Miles which performed to percussive standing ovations at Jazz at Lincoln Center Saturday evening.  Miller has multiple Grammys and Achievement awards.  He's written for & collaborated with numerous legendary jazz artists such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin.  Miller's ELECTRIC MILES was an homage to the legendary music of Miles Davis.  Miller first set the mood putting us back into the mid 70s with Afros, platform heals and the free jazz and fusion music of Davis.  Davis was embracing new polyrhythm and polytonal melodies and sounds hat were both subtle and penetrating.  Miles had a 5 year hiatus from 1975-80.  Working towards a comeback, Miles reached out to 21 year old Miller who brought together other young jazz musicians and became an influential composer, arranger and producer for Davis' career through the 80s.  The compositions performed last night came from the defining sounds of Davis' final era which included the Grammy winning albums "Tutu" (1982) and "Aura" (1989) which Miller helped co-write and arrange.  All the musicians on stage were phenomenal artists and given their solos in the spotlight.  Included in Miller's band was percussionist Mino Cinelu who along with Miller recorded with Davis in the 80s.  Russell Gunn, 2 time Grammy nominated trumpeter was amazing.  Miller had Gunn imitate the sounds of Davis' playing when Davis first began playing again and then the later richer fuller sounds of Davis.  Gunn's playing was another high note of the evening.  Miller talked about his composing for Davis and had the drummer Alex Baily demonstrate the beat he knew Miles liked and added the bass sounds played by lead guitarist Vernon Reid and himself and then added in the winds.  This peek into the composing process was phenomenal.  Alex Han on saxophone was sensational. Han rebased his debut album "Spirit" produced by Marcus Miller which received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.  The other musicians included Marquis Hill on trumpet who won the Thelonious Monk Institute o Jazz Competition ('14), Brett Williams on keyboards also featured on Miller's "Laid Back" album, Alex Baily on drums currently touring with Miller and Vernon Reid lead guitarist whose worked with Defunkt and Public Enemy.  Miller demonstrated how he knew when Miles liked what he was hearing.  Miles would rock up and down on his toes, slowly nodding his head.  The audience jumped to their feet throughout the performance with thunderous applause leaving no doubt to the extraordinary music performed by Marcus Miller and the members of his band.   Miller is a highly sought after artist whose released 10 critically acclaimed albums including his most recent Grammy nominated "Laid Black".  I will see out future performances and albums by the immensely talented Marcus Miller.

Juilliard Spring Dances 2019 In Memoriam Lawrence Rhodes at Peter Jay Sharp

The joyous Spring Dances 2019 paid homage to Lawrence Rhodes (b Amer 1939-2019) renown dancer, teacher and former head of Juilliard's Dance Dept.  Rhodes passed away this past Wednesday at age 80.  The program had 3 works Martha Graham's "The Rite of Spring,"(1984)  Bill T. Jones' D-Man in the Waters (Part 1) (1989) and Alejando Cerrudo's "Little mortal jump" (2012).  Cerrudo's piece was the first on the program and the most contemporary work (2012).  This work best highlighted the talented dancers' youthful exuberance and innovative techniques.  The program began with a young dancer running from the entrance of the auditorium down to the stage yelling "Wait, wait for me I'm coming" and swiftly climbing on stage.  The soundtrack included music by Philip Glass, Max Richter Alexandre Desplat and the rock group Beirut.  The score was a mixture of post minimalist compositions, contemporary classical and alternative popular style.  The set design was by its choreographer Cerrudo.  "Little mortal jump" made superlative use of staging, lighting, costuming and special effects that enhanced the mystical and contemporary dance aesthetic.  The dancers were electrifying.  The Juilliard Orchestra performed with the dancers for "D-Man in the Waters (Part 1) playing Mendelssohn and Stravinsky for "The Rite of Spring."  Graham ushered in a new language of movement and powerful expressionism that help popularize modern dance.  The solemn stylistic and pounding work appears as an exaggerated parody of modern dance.  Graham is quoted in the program "I've always felt that if you become an artist you are the Chosen One. It's a force that possess you, it's an exciting and wonderful life, but it's filled with terror, and there's no way, once you accept it, you can escape its sacrificial demands."  The Spring Dances gave the dancers the opportunity to demonstrate the historical lineage of dance, contemporary techniques on a professional level that was very exciting to embrace.  
The Juilliard community remembers Larry Rhodes-dancer, teacher and leader and Artist Director, Juilliard Dance (2002-17).

The Revival of Landford Wilson's "Burn This" Starring Adam Driver and Keri Russel is a Bust

Lanford Wilson (b. Amer 1937-2011) has received 3 Tony nominations and a Pulitzer ("Talley's Folly").  Among Wilson's many honors is being elected to the Theater Hall of Fame.  It's unfortunate the revival of Wilson's 1987 play "Burn This" is a disappointingly dull and uneven production.  Wilson involves themes of gay life; it's acceptance and homophobic conceptions in his works.  Set in 1987, during the AID's epidemic the impact of homosexual lifestyles may have been more inflammatory.  The play begins just after Robbie's funeral in upstate NY attended by one of his roommates, Anna (Keri Russel.)  Anna is an aspiring dancer/choreographer who lived and worked with Robbie.  When Larry (Brandon Uranowitz) the other gay roommate sharing the loft in lower Manhattan returns home, they commiserates over the death of their friend Robbie.   Anna's scorns Robbie's family for never having seen Robbie dance or seeing him as gay.  Anna's longtime debonair boyfriend Burton (David Furr) is a successful script writer.  Anna's passion for Burton and for her work in dance have been simmering on a back burner.  Pale (Adam Driver) Robbie's older brother enters into Anna & Larry's loft at 3AM weeks later awakening them & igniting Anna's sexual desires and artistic creativity.  But there's no credibility to the chemistry between Anna and Pale.  The draw of Driver & Russel drew me to the play but their pas de deus didn't flair.  Russel plays too demure & soft-spoken to Driver's looming boorish presence.  The overall acting was arid The only real sparks of energy in the play came from the funny, inextinguishable roommate Larry.  The 2 Act 4 character play didn't mess and was overly long.   Uranowitz added hilarity into a triangle love story that didn't muster romance from any angle.  Unfortunately, Uranowitz was the only reason to see this soddened, dated play.  Wilson flittered around the themes of homosexual lifestyles.  Perhaps Wilson was making the points that gays are delegated to 2nd class citizenship.  This revival of "Burn This" was a far reach from being epic, it was a calamity.

Jean-Michel Basquiat "Words are All We Have" The Inaugural Show at the Brant Fdtn in NYC

The highly anticipated opening of the Brant Fdtn. in New York City's East Village is inaugurated fittingly by the works of Jean-Michel Basquiat as this is the neighborhood from which Basquiat's prolific paintings sprung from the 1970s until his death in 1988.  The impressive newly renovated Brandt Fdtn. stands out as a polished & prestigious building in its neighborhood.  The century old building was original a Con Edison plant until it was owned by the sculptor & composer Walter De Maria from mid-1980s until his death in 2013.  The building has over 7,000' of exhibition space splayed over 4 floors.  The floors can be accessed by a staircase with floor to ceiling glass opening onto the galleries.  The 4 levels also have floor to ceiling window letting in plenty of natural light.  The top floor has a sun window in the ceiling containing water which offers an interesting aesthetic but will require constant cleaning.  The roof outdoor patio was not yet accessible.   The collection consists of 70 of Basquiat works including the untitled large skull painting sold at a Sotheby's auction in 2018 for more than $110 million.  The most important master works  from the Brant collection,  museums and private collection.  Many of these pieces have never been shown in NYC.  There's plenty of suggestive dichotomies found in "Words are All We Have".   Note the painting "Irony of a Negro Policeman" '81 and the diptych portraits of Warhol next to his self-portrait.  The works interpose images of wealth v. poverty, segregation v. integration.  Basquiat complex, street-art is imbedded with syntax and social commentary.  There are homage paintings to Basquiat's heroes   Muhammad Ali, Charlie Parker and Sugar Ray Robinson.  There is plenty to see and mull over in Basquiat's text and cryptic messages.  Basquiat use of syntax proves him to be a very poetic and conceptional artist.  Admission to the Brand Fdtn in NYC is free but reservations are required limiting the influx of guests which makes viewing the art more accessible and enjoyable.

"What the Constitution Means to Me" is an Earnest Debate on the Crucibles of our Constitution

 Heidi Schreck is the writer/performer of a semi-autobiographical account of her high school years spent in Constitutional debate competitions to earn cash prizes to pay for college tuition.  The debates' focus was on the connection between the document and how it pertained to her life.   This earnest production is a caldron of comedy that represents Heidi's personal history along with American history and past & current interpretations of our Constitution.   The set is a facsimile of an American Legion stage where a 15 year old Heidi participated & often won oratory debates.  Schreck lets us know she can only pretend to be herself at 15 without any physical facade to convince  us of her transformation.  However, she convinces us winningly with her earnest & energetic run-on soliloquies of sophisticated intellect with innocent jubilation.  Shreck's 40 something persona can't help but intervene into preambles of historic and current Supreme Court rulings incurring the "magical & mysterious" 9th Amendment enumerating certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others.  Schreck presents egregious failings of the Supreme Court as in the Dred Scott Case in 1857.  The Court ruled the Constitution did not include American citizenship and its privileges to blacks.  Other case in point is Jessica Gonzales v Castle Rock.  The Court ruled the police could not be sued for failing to enforce a restraining order which led to the murder of her 3 children by her estranged husband.  Repeatedly, we're reminded Native Americans have throughout history been denied their Constitutional rights.  Roe v Wade is another topical ruling segued from Schreck's own abortion.  These cases might argue for a sanctimonious desecration of our democracy.  This is up for debate literally.  Schreck is joined on stage by 17 year old Thursday Williams to argue for or against  maintaining the Constitution.  The stratum of knowledge & experience gleaned by Schreck over the years is pitted against a youthful & worthy opponent.  A judge is selected from the audience for a verdict which is an unworthy gimmick in an otherwise honest & intelligent production.  Schreck's ingratiating & informal performance enhances an exciting exchange of provocative ideas and information that make "What the Constitution Means to Me" a meaningful substantive show.

Jordan Peele's "Us" Doesn't Deserve the Fuss "Get Out" Got - The Horror is Hollow

Jordan Peele's 2nd feature "Us" is his follow-up film to his truly terrifying and topical debut "Get Out" which earned Peele an Oscar for original screenplay, and Oscar nominations for directing and for Best Picture.  "Us" is a horror genre set in Santa Cruz in 1986; the year millions of Americans held hands across the US in symbolic unity to fend off hunger.   Adelaide is at an amusement park with her parents.  Mom leaves her in Dad's supervision and she wanders off into a deserted "fun house" with the sign "Find Yourself" above its beckoning door.  Adelaide drops her perfect red candied apple in the sand just before entering.  The sugar coated apple signifies the loss of innocence and augurs bloody mayhem ahead.  The fun house quickly loses its charm for Adelaide as she feverishly tries to find her way out through the labyrinth of mirrors.  The doppelgänger reflections fade into a ghoulish living nightmare.  The parents take Adelaide for professional counseling following this traumatizing event.  "I just want my little girl back" cries Adelaide's mom.  The film jumps ahead as an adult, Adelaide Wilson (the talented Lupita Nyong'o in duel roles) with a husband, son and teenage daughter Zora (an exceptional Shahedi Wright Joseph).   The Wilson family is at their vacation home in Santa Cruz and Adelaide flashes back to her childhood trauma.  She pleads with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) to leave. Blocking their departure is a family standing & holding hands in their drive-way.  Adelaides immediately calls 911 and told the police will be there in 15 {eternal} minutes.  The awry look-alike family garbed in red institutional uniforms force their way in and all Hell breaks loose.  Peele tips his hat to other horror filmmakers like Hitchcock, King and a fruit loopy homage to himself.  Adelaide is shackled and help captive as her menacing twin in a harsh mechanical voice recounts their first momentous meeting that was more than just smoke & mirrors.  Each family member must contend with their mutant murderous look-alike.  The film delivers some authentic chills before transforming into a bloody blundering rampage of the body snatchers.  Elizabeth Moss is excellent as the brassy boozy neighbor with twin girls.  The entire Santa Cruz coast line is under siege. The Wilsons seem to the only people left standing except for those garbed in red uniforms holding hands from sea to shining sea.  The political commentary on the injustice of mass incarceration and gaping disparities in socio-economic class gets evangelized in a subterranean existence that drags the movie down rather than registering a provocative fright that gets under your skin.  Peel's 2nd effort "Us" is a slasher flick that does not reclaim the remnants of glory in "Get Out."

SEA WALL/A LIFE - 2 One Act Plays about the Circle of Life Stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge

SEA WALL/A LIFE at the Public Theater is a diptych play production starring British actor Tom Sturridge in SEA WALL and Oscar winner Jake Gyllenhaal in A LIFE.  Both One Act plays are long soliloquies delivered by Sturridge and Gyllenhaal in which parallels can be drawn.  SEA WALL written by Simon Stephens (b UK 1971) received the Tony for Best Play ("Curious Incident of the Dog.")  SEA WALL is a tauter constructed play with stronger impact.  The pathos turns the tide from a lovely reminiscent of a young family to its tragic ending.  Alex (Tony winning actor Sturridge) addresses the audience as if in an intimate ongoing conversation.  He speaks of his profound love for his wife Helen, her imposing former military-man father Arthur and their beloved daughter Lucy.  We're lulled into complacency by Alex's description of Lucy wrapping her grandfather around her finger.  Lucy is the apex of joy that funnels their loving familial bond.  Alex is a photographer and when he accidentally scatters a box of photos while climbing up a ladder, the harbinger for shattered lives is strewn.  There's unease at Alex's vicarious stance on the ledge of the raised platform while speaking.  Stephen's brilliantly written monologue & Sturridge's steadfast manner unfurls like a powerful wave one absently turns their back to. Alex is left with a hole through his heart wishing he were able to photo freeze life.  In the play A LIFE, Abe (Gyllenhaal) also uses the conceit of addressing a friendly audience.  At one point he thrashes through rows and this gimmick detered from the feeling of intimacy maintained in SEA WALL.  Abe's monologue is non-linear.  The timeline and overlaying of events become muddled and confusing.  Abe is overwhelmed when his wife tells him she's pregnant.  His anticipation of fatherhood is marred by the death of his own father.  There are 3 deaths Abe tells us; death of the body, the burial and the last time the name of the deceased is spoken aloud.   A LIFE examines fatherhood from Abe's perspectives as a son to his father and as a father to his newborn daughter Mary.  Payne's writing mixes levity to intwine the pain & joys that span a lifetime.  SEA WALL looks back onto the love Alex had for his daughter Lucy while A LIFE looks at the birth of Abe's love for his daughter Mary.  Theological themes questioning the existence of God are more blatant in SEA WALL than A LIFE.  The 2 One Acts together create a complex and intriguing production.  However, SEA WALL is the One Act that can stand alone.

The Play "Southern Promises" The Abuse of Power Depicted in Kara Walker's Artwork Brought to Life

"Southern Promises" by award winning playwright Thomas Bradshaw ("Thomas and Sally") is in production at The Flea Theater.  The poster for "Southern Promises" is a black silhouette by renowned artist Kara Walker whose works depict race, sexuality, violence and the dynamics of abusive power.  The poster portends a disturbing depiction of America's inhumane and perverse history of slavery.  Walker said, "The illusion is that most of my work is simply about past events, a point in history and nothing else." Bradshaw's play set in VA on a slave plantation graphically portrays innumerable cruelties and degradations of human beings obscenely justified on religious grounds and assumed white superiority not solely practiced during the slavery epoch.  The ticket taker/actor dressed in period costume tells everyone to enjoy the show.  This is not a show to be enjoyed.  It's a play that confronts us and ignites our consciousness causing us shame, indignation and immense pain for the plague of our nation's slavery history but for the perseverance of injustice and oppression regarding race and sexual abuse.  The cast's prologue informs us "we are all black" and our intent is to investigate slavery on our terms.'  They proclaim to embrace the entirety of their heritage of mixed blood and the entangling of the slave and the slave owner; the oppressor and the oppressed.  "Southern Promises" fulfills these promises in interesting, perverse and provocative manners.  Casting of characters do not abide racial expectations.  Plantation owner Isaiah (Darby Davis) tells his wife Elizabeth (Brittany Zaken) on his dying bed he wishes to emancipate his slaves posthumously.  Isaiah elicits her promise to fulfill his wishes.   Isaiah calls for his beloved slave Benjamin (Shakur Tolliver in a courageous performance) and reminisces their shared brotherhood as children.  Isaiah informs Benjamin of his plan to free him and all the slaves on the plantation.  Benjamin is saddened by the death of his "good master" and shares this news with his wife Charlotte (a tour-de-force Yvonne Pruitt).  Their joy is pre-mature. Elizabeth had no intention of releasing the slaves and uses Benjamin as her sex slave.  The sparse & clever scenic design show tables turned.   Positions of power turn and as foretold, the oppressed becomes the oppressor.  Kara Walker's daughter calls her mom's work "ugly art."  "Southern Promises" isn't concerned with presenting an enjoyable show.  It elicits strong emotions and reflections.  Nor is this a redemptive play but an ensnaring and overtly political work imbued with rage and the hope of breaking the cycle of racial hatred and persecution.

The Play "Good Friday" - Another Day of Gun Violence and Rape on Campus and this too Will Pass

The audience is asked to take a collective breath and forewarned there may be upsetting moments in today's performance.  This was an understatement.  The play clearly depicts scenes of a campus shooting, hostage situations and a graphic depiction of a co-ed being gang raped & video taped.  Kristina Rae Colon is a playwright, poet and actor.  Her play "Good Friday" is a gambit into immersive, intensive writing holds the audience hostage.  An esoteric feminist discussion about love using Ibsen's "Doll House" as a paradigm precedes a cataclysmic shooting on campus.  The bloody massacre happens outside the building where the women are holed up becomes disturbing real.  The shooter's violent melee moves inside and the women do their best to barricade themselves & call for help.  Still in the classroom is Sophia a fervent Christian, Ariel, a brass hard-ass bitch and their loquacious professor.  Moments beforehand, Kinzie, an innate leader left to help the love stricken ingenue Asha with the mess of an unexpected menses.  Kinzie is heard banging on the door to be let back in.  The women scramble to unlock the door and rebuild their blockade.  Now the fear in the room is palpable and the chaos & uncertainty disturbingly real.  The play succeeds constructuring the intensity of this life or death event.  However, a malady of bloody metaphors mar the credibility of the siege.  Sophia draws a crucifix above the door using her menstrual blood.  Another plea to open the door is met with uncertainty but they clamor to open the door to offer protection.  Their reluctant intuition was correct.  The shooter enters holding Asha and another female hostage, Natalie.  The tension continues to escalate in this scenario that's become too mundane in our news cycle.  There's an unexpected twist revealing the shooter and her Natalie as her accomplice. The full body disguise and mask are strewn aside, the automatic rifle put down and the female shooter, Emme reveals herself.  Emme in a fugue state justifies the murders of the male students outside because they had gang raped her while filming the sexual assault.  This is where the fault lies.  The manifesto against a culture of rape which goes unpunished doesn't align with sympathizing vigil anti-murders.  The crux of the play shifts from fatal attacks on campus to the crisis of unchallenged sexual assaults.  Colon is an intelligent writer but the messaging gets tangled.  The clever projection & sound design amplify shooting casualties, violence and rape on school campuses.  I commend the proffered support the cast offers in the lobby for victims of assault.  Sadly, these attacks have become all too common.  So too are the multitudes of victims of fatal shootings that continue to fade into the past until the next time.