Podcasts about August Wilson

Episode 73 is the 2025 Page to Screen podcast where The Boston Sisters talk about 5 books related to historical drama series and films for summer reading.This year we highlight stories or provide a deeper dive into the films and series featured in the 4th podcast season (2024 - 2025). The authors of three 2025 summer reads were guests on the podcast.*​The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen* (2015) | Ep. 58​The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (1986) | Ep. 62​Shirley Chisholm In Her Own Words: Speeches and Writings by Zinga A. Fraser, PhD* (2024) | Ep. 59​Call The Midwife by Jennifer Worth (2002) | Ep. 70​Miss Austen by Gill Hornby* (2020) | Ep. 71-------TIMESTAMPS0:14 - Intro to Episode 731:17 - THE SYMPATHIZER/Viet Thanh Nguyen9:40 - The PIANO LESSON/August Wilson12:59 -SHIRLEY CHISHOLM IN HER OWN WORDS: SPEECHES AND WRITINGS/ Zinga A. Fraser, editor27:52 - Break28:30 CALL THE MIDWIFE/Jennifer Worth41:14 - MISS AUSTEN/Gill Hornby53:05 - Recap------SUBSCRIBE to HISTORICAL DRAMA WITH THE BOSTON SISTERS® on your favorite podcast platformENJOY past podcasts and bonus episodesSIGN UP for our mailing listSUPPORT this podcast  SHOP THE PODCAST on our affiliate bookstoreBuy us a Coffee! You can support by buying a coffee ☕ here — buymeacoffee.com/historicaldramasistersThank you for listening!

There's no parallel in American theater to August Wilson's American Century Cycle … 10 plays that together depict a century of change in one neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The Black Rep's production of the cycle's final play, “Radio Golf,” marks a milestone for the company and its artists.

In this episode, we dive back into the film Sinners, not just as a movie, but as a cultural reckoning. We're breaking down how the film tells a deeper story about Black American folklife, Blues culture, and the enduring legacy of Blues People. This time, we're not just exploring themes; we're getting into the characters, the plot, and the ways they reveal the real-life struggle between tradition and transformation.Rather than just reviewing the film, we're asking why Sinners matters. It's not just entertainment, it's a bold statement about what it means to be a Blues person in a world where survival, spirituality, and cultural memory are constantly tested. We'll explore how the film reflects critical ideas like Blues Ecology, Clyde Woods' Development Arrested, and the legacy of the Plantation Complex. We'll also look at how the film's portrayal of Black womanhood, feminism, and colorism challenges or reinforces cultural narratives.Big Bill Broonzy's legacy will be front and center as we examine how his words and music resonate with the film's themes. As Broonzy once said, “They don't like the idea of hearing the old original way it went because it's said to carry them back to the horse and buggy days, and slavery time, and they don't want to think about that.” Just like his music, Sinners forces us to confront the past and ask hard questions about what's been lost and what survives, and how Ryan Cooger brings to life this visual story of Blues People, Blues Folk Belief, and Blues Culture of the time!We'll also dig into the cultural intersections of the Mississippi Delta, how Irish, Chinese, Black, and Afro-Indigenous communities shaped the Blues tradition. And we'll make connections to other cultural works like August Wilson's plays, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Crossroads, exploring how each handles the intersection of performance, truth, and storytelling.To break it all down, I'm joined by Dr. Langston Collin Wilkins and Dr. Elisha Oliver, whose insights into Black folklore and cultural memory will help us unpack the film's deeper layers.This episode isn't just a conversation; it's a call to think critically about how Black life and Blues culture are represented and remembered. Tune in for a cultural reckoning where the Blues itself gets to testify.

The National Endowment for the Arts has withdrawn more than half a million dollars worth of grants that arts organizations all over Oregon were relying on. Portland Playhouse got a letter that said it would not get $25,000 meant for its production of August Wilson’s and Joe Turner’s "Come and Gone" that was to open the next day. Other organizations that saw their funding pulled include All Classical Portland, Oregon Children’s Theatre, NW Children’s Theatre, Passinart: A Theatre Company, and Profile Theatre. Portland Playhouse donors quickly made up the theatre’s lost $25,000 grant, but future federal funding is looking bleak to many Oregon arts organizations. Many of them met this week with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who vowed to do everything in her power to get federal funding restored. Claire Willett is a Portland-based playwright, artist and grant writer. She’s been following the NEA funding cuts for Oregon Arts Watch and joins us to share the latest developments.

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   Kate MacKay: John Cassavetes Directs Gena Rowlands Kate MacKay Kate MacKay, Associate Film Curator at Pacific Film Archive, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing the films of John Cassavetes directing his wife Gena Rowlands. Kate MacKay is the curator of a retrospective of the films in which John Cassavetes directs his wife, Gena Rowlands, at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives from May 2 through May 14, 2025. In this interview, she discusses Cassavetes as a pioneer of the American independent film, then goes into detail on the films shown in the restrospective, including A Woman Under The Influence, Faces, Gloria, Opening Night, and Minnie and Moskowitz. She also talks about putting together a retrospective, and the upcoming Pacific Film Archive schedule for summer, 2025. Complete Interview.   Susan Oxtoby: The Life and Career of Agnes Varda Susan Oxtoby. Photo: BAMPFA. Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), discusses the work of the great Belgian-French film maker Agnes Varda (1928-2019) with host Richard Wolinsky. The first major biography of Agnes Varda, A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnes Varda by Carrie Rickey, was published in 2024 and will come out in paperback on August 12, 2025. Agnes Varda began her career as a stills photographer and became a director with La Point Courte (1954), having seen very few films in her life. She went on to international fame with Cleo from 5 to 7 and Vagabond, but her late life films The Beaches of Agnes and Faces, Places established her as one of the most important directors of the modern era. All the films discussed in this interview (except the recent documentary Viva Varda!) are available to stream on the Criterion app, save for Faces, Places, which can be streamed on Kanopy. Cleo from 5 to 7 can also be streamed on Max Complete Interview.     Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Two Trains Running by August Wilson, April 15 -May 4, and The Comedy of Errors, April 22 – May 3 with The Acting Company, in repertory, Toni Rembe Theater. Aurora Theatre  Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage, April 26-May 25, 2025 Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, April 5 – May 11, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre, through April 27. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Mamma Mia! April 30 – May 11, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Six. April 22-27. See website for other events. Center Rep: The Unfair Advantage created and performed by Harry Milas, April 29 – May 11. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Writing Fragments Home by Jeffrey Lo, April 17 – May 4. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Come Thru: A Celebration of Black Artistry, Story Telling and Community, May 5-18, Magic Theatre, Fort Mason. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Cyrano by Edmund Rostand, April 10 – May 4. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. Reading: Muse of Fire by Lauren Gunderson, April 26, 1 pm/8 pm; Anne by Anne Kenner, May 19, 7:30 pm. Aztlan by Luis Alfaro, World Premiere, June 25 – July 13. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: See website for calendar. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Simple Mexican Pleasures by Eric Reyes Loo, April 18 – May 11. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project. Ironbound by Martyna Majok, May 2 – 18. Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Henry V by William Shakespeare, April 18 – May 11. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. Disney's Frozen Jr., May 16-25, Hoover Theater, San Jose. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: The Book of Will  by Lauren Gunderson, May 9 – June 8. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time based on the novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens. May 1-June 21. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.  The Day The Sky Turned Orange by Julius Ernesto, Sept 5 – Oct. 5, Z Space. San Jose Stage Company: The Underpants by Steve Martin, April 3 -27. Shotgun Players.  Yellowface by David Henry Hwang, May 10 – June 8. South Bay Musical Theatre:  Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, April 26 – May 18. LaVal's Subterranean Theatre. Theatre Rhino  Doodler by John Fisher, extended to May 2, at Safehouse Arts. Gumiho by Nina Ki, April 17 – May 11. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, April 2-27. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Crushing, live monologue show, Feb. 27-28. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post May 1, 2025: Pacific Film Archive. John Cassavetes Directs Gena Rowlands appeared first on KPFA.

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   The Making of the film “Bushman” Rob Nillson, Gail Schickele, Jon Shibata Film director Rob Nillson, Activist and Environmentalist Gail Schickele, and Film Archivist Jon Shibata in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, discussing the film “Bushman,” directed by David Schickele, recorded January 25, 2024 at Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Released in 1971 but filmed in 1968, the film “Bushman” is a masterpiece detailing the story of a Nigerian educator in San Francisco. The film vanished following its showing at various film festivals, and has now been digitized and restored, and can be viewed on the Kanopy and Hoopla, the free public library film apps. This discussion with Gail Schickele, wife of the late director David Schickele (1937-1999), his friend, colleague and collaborator director Rob Nillson, and BAMPFA film archivist John Shibata focuses first on “Bushman” and David Schickele, how the film came about and what happened during and after the filming, and later with the film's restoration, and a look at Rob Nillson's career as film-maker. Special thanks to AJ Fox and Susan Oxtoby of Pacific Film Archive. Inside photo: Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.   Previously Unaired excerpts: Richard Chamberlain (1934-2025) in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studio on a book tour for his memoir “Shattered Love,” June 10, 2003. In this segment, he discusses his work on “The Three Musketeers” films as well as other projects, and discusses his own self growth. Complete Interview,   Review of “Two Trains Running” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through May 4, 2025.     Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Two Trains Running by August Wilson, April 15 -May 4, and The Comedy of Errors, April 22 – May 3 with The Acting Company, in repertory, Toni Rembe Theater. Aurora Theatre  Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage, April 26-May 25, 2025 Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, April 5 – May 11, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre, through April 27. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Mamma Mia! April 30 – May 11, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Six. April 22-27. See website for other events. Center Rep: The Unfair Advantage created and performed by Harry Milas, April 29 – May 11. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Writing Fragments Home by Jeffrey Lo, April 17 – May 4. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Come Thru: A Celebration of Black Artistry, Story Telling and Community, May 5-18, Magic Theatre, Fort Mason. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Cyrano by Edmund Rostand, April 10 – May 4. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. Reading: Muse of Fire by Lauren Gunderson, April 26, 1 pm/8 pm; Anne by Anne Kenner, May 19, 7:30 pm. Aztlan by Luis Alfaro, World Premiere, June 25 – July 13. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: See website for calendar. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Simple Mexican Pleasures by Eric Reyes Loo, April 18 – May 11. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project. Ironbound by Martyna Majok, May 2 – 18. Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Henry V by William Shakespeare, April 18 – May 11. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. Disney's Frozen Jr., May 16-25, Hoover Theater, San Jose. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: The Book of Will  by Lauren Gunderson, May 9 – June 8. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time based on the novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens. May 1-June 21. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.  The Day The Sky Turned Orange by Julius Ernesto, Sept 5 – Oct. 5, Z Space. San Jose Stage Company: The Underpants by Steve Martin, April 3 -27. Shotgun Players.  Yellowface by David Henry Hwang, May 10 – June 8. South Bay Musical Theatre:  Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, April 26 – May 18. LaVal's Subterranean Theatre. Theatre Rhino  Doodler by John Fisher, extended to May 2, at Safehouse Arts. Gumiho by Nina Ki, April 17 – May 11. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, April 2-27. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Crushing, live monologue show, Feb. 27-28. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post April 24, 2025: The Making of the film “Bushman” appeared first on KPFA.

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Two Trains Running” by August Wilson, a production of The Acting Company, at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through May 4, 2025. The post Review: “Two Trains Running” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

For the hundredth episode (!!), Katie checks in with Lucille Lortel award winning actor (Chicken and Biscuits on Broadway, (pray), Nina), Aigner Mizzelle.

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   William Finn (1951-2025) and James Lapine William Finn, Richard Wolinsky and James Lapine Composer/lyricist William Finn, who died on April 7th, 2025 at the age of 73 and director/librettist James Lapine, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded March 20, 2019 at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco. William Finn is best known for writing the music and lyrics for two Broadway shows, Falsettos, which was the first gay-themed Broadway musical, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which has become a staple of community theatre companies around the world. He also wrote A New Brain, which dealt with his near death experience following brain surgery.  Falsettos was originally three one-act musicals which opened off-Broadway, In Trousers, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland and the latter two became Falsettos, which opened on Broadway in 1992, co-authored and directed by James Lapine, who'd also co-authored Falsettoland. James Lapine is best known for his work with Stephen Sondheim on Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. Falsettos was revived on Broadway in 2016 and came to San Francisco in spring of 2019. Richard Wolinsnky had a chance to sit down with both William Finn and James Lapine on March 20, 2019 in the lobby of the Golden Gate Theatre to discuss Falsettos, as well as take a brief look at each man's career.   Martin Amis (1949-2023): The Zone of Interest Martin Amis (1949-2023), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studio on a book tour for “The Zone of Interest,” October 29, 2014. The Zone of Interest focuses on the lives of people who ran the concentration camps, as they chose to avoid thinking about their crimes against humanity. A film adaptation received Oscar nominations a couple of years ago. Novelist and essayist Martin Amis died of cancer on May 19, 2023 at the age of 73, leaving behind such novels as The Rachel Papers, London Fields, The Information, and his last memoir-cum-novel, Inside Story. On October 29th, 2014, Richard Wolinsky conducted the last of five interviews with Martin Amis, about Amis's then most recent novel, The Zone of Interest.   Review of “Here There Are Blueberries” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre through May 11, 2025.   Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Eddie Izzard Hamlet, April 1-20 Strand. Two Trains Running by August Wilson, April 15 -May 4, and The Comedy of Errors, April 22 – May 3 with The Acting Company, in repertory, Toni Rembe Theater. Aurora Theatre  Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage, April 26-May 25, 2025 Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, April 5 – May 11, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre, through April 27. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Six, April 8-20, Curran; Mamma Mia! April 30 – May 11, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Six. April 22-27. See website for other events. Center Rep: The Roommate by Jen Silverman, March 30 – April 20. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Writing Fragments Home by Jeffrey Lo, April 17 – May 4. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Come Thru: A Celebration of Black Artistry, Story Telling and Community, May 5-18, Magic Theatre, Fort Mason. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Cyrano by Edmund Rostand, April 10 – May 4. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. the boiling by Sunui Chang  April 3 -20, 2025. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: See website for calendar. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Simple Mexican Pleasures by Eric Reyes Loo, April 18 – May 11. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project.  I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, March 21 – April 13, Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Henry V by William Shakespeare, April 18 – May 11. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. Disney's Frozen Jr., May 16-25, Hoover Theater, San Jose. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: The Book of Will  by Lauren Gunderson, May 9 – June 8. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. Fat Ham by James Ijames, March 20 – April 19. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows.  The Day The Sky Turned Orange by Julius Ernesto, Sept 5 – Oct. 5, Z Space. San Jose Stage Company: The Underpants by Steve Martin, April 3 -27. Shotgun Players.  Yellowface by David Henry Hwang, May 10 – June 8. South Bay Musical Theatre:  Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, April 26 – May 18. LaVal's Subterranean Theatre. Theatre Rhino  Gumiho by Nina Ki, April 17 – May 11. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, April 2-27. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Crushing, live monologue show, Feb. 27-28. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post April 17, 2025: William Finn & James Lapine: Masters of the Musical appeared first on KPFA.

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   David Thomson, Film Critic and Historian David Thomson, film critic and historian, discusses his book, “The Fatal Alliance: A Century of War on Film” with host Richard Wolinsky. Author of over forty books, most of which deal with film and film history, David Thomson here discusses how movies have influenced how our society sees and understands war. In the interview, he talks about how war films rarely focus on the reasons why individual wars are fought, the soldier mentality, the two World Wars on film, fascism and resistance on film, along with such films as Black Hawk Down, The Deer Hunter and A Man Escapes. Recorded a year ago, he also discusses fascism in the United States, and the nature of resistance. Special thanks to AJ Fox and Susan Oxtoby of Pacific Film Archive, where the interview was recorded. Photo of David Thomson: Richard Wolinsky. Complete Interview.   Review of “Eddie Izzard Hamlet” at ACT Strand Theatre through April 20, 2025.   Review of “The Heart Sellers” at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through April 27, 2025.   Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Eddie Izzard Hamlet, April 1-20 Strand. Two Trains Running by August Wilson, April 15 -May 4, and The Comedy of Errors, April 22 – May 3 with The Acting Company, in repertory, Toni Rembe Theater. Aurora Theatre  Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage, April 26-May 25, 2025 Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, April 5 – May 11, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company Julius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre, through April 27. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Six, April 8-20, Curran; Mamma Mia! April 30 – May 11, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Six. April 22-27. See website for other events. Center Rep: The Roommate by Jen Silverman, March 30 – April 20. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  The Last Goat by Gary Graves, June 28 – July 27. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Writing Fragments Home by Jeffrey Lo, April 17 – May 4. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Come Thru: A Celebration of Black Artistry, Story Telling and Community, May 5-18, Magic Theatre, Fort Mason. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Cyrano by Edmund Rostand, April 10 – May 4. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. the boiling by Sunui Chang  April 3 -20, 2025. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: See website for calendar. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Simple Mexican Pleasures by Eric Reyes Loo, April 18 – May 11. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project.  I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, March 21 – April 13, Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Henry V by William Shakespeare, April 18 – May 11. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, April 10-19. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: The Book of Will  by Lauren Gunderson, May 9 – June 8. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. Fat Ham by James Ijames, March 20 – April 19. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. San Jose Stage Company: The Underpants by Steve Martin, April 3 -27. Shotgun Players.  Art by Yazmina Reza, through April 12. South Bay Musical Theatre: Titanic, a concert presentation, April 12-13. Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, April 26 – May 18. LaVal's Subterranean Theatre. Theatre Rhino  Gumiho by Nina Ki, April 17 – May 11.Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, April 2-27. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Crushing, live monologue show, Feb. 27-28. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post David Thomson: A Century of War on Film appeared first on KPFA.

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   Richard Chamberlain (1934-2025) Richard Wolinsky and Richard Chamberlain outside the KPFA studios, June 10, 2003. Richard Chamberlain, who died on March 29, 2025 two days before his 91st birthday, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded June 10, 2003 while on tour for his memoir, Shattered Love. Richard Chamberlain achieved fame as the heart-throb star of the 1960s medical drama Doctor Kildare, and went on to a successful career as an actor in the TV miniseries The Thorn Birds and the original Shogun, as well as the Richard Lester Three Musketeers films and Peter Weir's The Last Wave, as well as other TV series and films. He also was on the Broadway stage in a revival of My Fair Lady, and toured with several shows. In 2003, he chose to come out of the closet in his memoir, Shattered Love, in which he discussed his years of self-loathing and his later spiritual awakening. The interview concludes with a discussion of the political scene in 2003, which bears a clear relationship with what is happening in Washington D.C. today.   Michael Moran, Co-Artistic Director, Oakland Theater Project Michael Socrates Moran, Executive and Co-Artistic Director of the Oakland Theater Project in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded via computer, March 26,2025. Michael Moran is one of the founders of Oakland Theater Project, formerly Ubuntu Theatre Project. He is also the director of “I Am My Own Wife” by Doug Wright, playing at Oakland Theater Project through April 13, 2025. In this interview he discusses the origins of the company, how it fared during the pandemic, and the upcoming season. Complete Interview   Review of “Fat Ham” at San Francisco Playhouse through April 19, 2025.   Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley.  Summers at John Hinkel Park: Cymbeline opens July 4; The Taming of the Shrew opens August 16. See website for readings and events. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).   See website for upcoming productions. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Afro-Solo Theatre Company.See website for calendar. American Conservatory Theatre Eddie Izzard Hamlet, April 1-20 Strand. Two Trains Running by August Wilson, April 15 -May 4, and The Comedy of Errors, April 22 – May 3 with The Acting Company, in repertory, Toni Rembe Theater. Aurora Theatre  Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage, April 26-May 25, 2025 Awesome Theatre Company. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Here There Are Blueberries by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, April 5 – May 11, Roda Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare CompanJulius Caesar, June 13-21, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley. y. See website for upcoming events and productions. Boxcar Theatre. The Illusionist with Kevin Blake, live at the Palace Theatre, through April 27. Brava Theatre Center: See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Six, April 8-20, Curran; Mamma Mia! April 30 – May 11, Orpheum. See website for complete listings for the Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theaters. Broadway San Jose:  Six. April 22-27. See website for other events. Center Rep: The Roommate by Jen Silverman, March 30 – April 20. Lesher Center. Central Stage. See website for upcoming productions, 5221 Central Avenue, Richmond Central Works  Push/Pull by Harry Davis, Extended to April 6, 2025. Cinnabar Theatre. Bright Star, June 13-29, Sonoma State. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre Fiddler on the Roof June 7 – 22. See website for other events. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  AZAD (The Rabbit and the Wolf) by Sona Tatoyan in collaboration with Jared Mezzocchi, April 11 – May 3. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Writing Fragments Home by Jeffrey Lo, April 17 – May 4. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Come Thru: A Celebration of Black Artistry, Story Telling and Community, May 5-18, Magic Theatre, Fort Mason. See website for specific workshops and events. Los Altos Stage Company. Cyrano by Edmund Rostand, April 10 – May 4. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. the boiling by Sunui Chang  April 3 -20, 2025. See website for additional events. Marin Shakespeare Company: See website for calendar. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Wild with Happy by Colman Domingo, March 7 – April 6. New Performance Traditions.  See website for upcoming schedule Oakland Theater Project.  I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, March 21 – April 13, Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  See website for event listings. Pear Theater. Henry V by William Shakespeare, April 18 – May 11. See website for staged readings and other events. Playful People Productions. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, April 10-19. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Next to Normal. May 30 – June 21. Ross Valley Players: Pet Lingerie, a new musical, March 21- April 6. See website for New Works Sunday night readings and other events. San Francisco Playhouse. Fat Ham by James Ijames, March 20 – April 19. SFBATCO.  See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. San Jose Stage Company: The Underpants by Steve Martin, April 3 -27. Shotgun Players.  Art by Yazmina Reza, through April 12. South Bay Musical Theatre: Titanic, a concert presentation, April 12-13. Brigadoon, May 17-June 7, Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, April 26 – May 18. LaVal's Subterranean Theatre. Theatre Rhino  Gumiho by Nina Ki, April 17 – May 11.Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The Heart-Sellers by Lloyd Suh, April 2-27. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2025 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Fort Mason Center. Events calendar. Crushing, live monologue show, Feb. 27-28. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Signs of Life? written and performed by Cheyenne Jackson, 2 performances February 14, Chan National Queer Arts Center. See schedule for upcoming SFGMC performances. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   .   . The post April 3, 2025: Richard Chamberlain – Michael Socrates Moran appeared first on KPFA.

"I DIED?!?!" We are here with Tony-nominated actor, L. Scott Caldwell. You Might Know Her From Insecure, Lost, The Fugitive, Bad Monkey, How to Get Away with Murder, Waiting to Exhale, The Net, Soweto Green and the Broadway production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone. L. Scott gave us all the scoop on acting opposite Crystal the Monkey in Bad Monkey, bringing her personal story to Rose's story on Lost, and working with August Wilson on the Broadway production of his 1988 play Joe Turner's Come and Gone. All that, plus being killed off as Molly's mom on Insecure (she forgot!), working with Uta Hagen and the Negro Ensemble Company, and what she learned from Joe Pantoliano on the set of The Fugitive. L. Scott was a total dream and we hope you love it as much as we did!  Patreon: www.patreon.com/youmightknowherfrom Follow us on social media: @youmightknowherfrom || @damianbellino || @rodemanne Discussed this episode: Rob Lowe as Stone Phillips and Shaggy Sarah Michelle Gellar as Posh Spice (Chris Kattan as Mel Be) and Debbi Matanopolous The Curious Case of Natalia Grace made into a mini-series with Ellen Pompeo called Good American Family Anne currently binging 2 seasons of Making a Murderer on Netflix  Parker Posey in The Staircase  True Crime Con featured Jon Benet Ramsey's father was the keynote speaker My Favorite Murder We tried to convince Jiggly Caliente to do Lorena Bobbit on Snatch Game Cult-y video Damian sent Anne on TikTok We are currently reading Sarah Schulman's books: People in Trouble, Stagestruck L Scott plays Jodi Turner Smith's grandmother in Bad Monkey Fear of cats: Ailurophobia Had a chemistry test with Crystal the monkey L Scott played Molly's mom, “CeeCee” on Insecure  Dies in A Million Little Pieces, The Gridiron Gang, Insecure Played Rose Nadler of Rose and Bernard on the phenomenon known as Lost Co-starred in big 90s movies like The Fugitive, Devil in a Blue Dress, The Net, Waiting to Exhale Aggie Rodgers was the costume designer for The Fugitive Richard Jordan dies while shooting of The Fugitive  and was replaced with Jeroen Krabbé Soweto Green written by Mfundi Vundla NEC: Negro Ensemble Company Was named “Nombula” = bringer of the rain Won a Tony for her role In Joe Turner's Come and Gone on Broadway  A Play of Giants at Yale Rep 1984  NEC members: Barbara Montgomery, Frances Foster, Michele Shay, Adolph Caesar, Graham Brown, Charles Brown, Samm-Art Williamson OG company: Hattie Winston, Judyann Elder, Rosalind Cash, Denise Nicholas,  Men: Norman Bush, Allie Woods, Robert Hooks,  NEC: The Room and it moved to Broadway the next year Uta Hagen promoted some movie called The Other on Mike Douglas show Got injured going toe to toe with Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder Has played a judge, lawyer or doctor more times than she can count Tom Petty music video for “Don't Come Around Here No More” and Genesis “Land of Confusion” video with giant Reagan puppets  

Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed Keith Clark about his books Navigating the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines: A Roadmap for Readers, The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry, and Black Manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines and August Wilson.  Clark is a Professor of English and African and African American Studies at George Mason University. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

The blues is more than just music—it's history, it's storytelling, and it's the soul of Black American life. In this compelling live broadcast, we explore Writing the Blues—the ways Black authors, poets, and filmmakers have infused their works with the rhythm, pain, resilience, and triumph of the blues.From Langston Hughes' poetic blues verses to Alice Walker's deeply emotional narratives, from August Wilson's stage masterpieces to period-piece films that use the blues as a backdrop, this discussion uncovers how Black storytelling in literature and cinema keeps the essence of the blues alive.Join us as we break down the themes of struggle, survival, love, and liberation found in both historical and contemporary works. We'll examine films like The Color Purple, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Ray, and Down in the Delta, alongside the written works of W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, and more.How does the blues shape Black narratives? How do these stories continue to evolve while honoring the legacy of the blues? Let's dive into these questions together in an insightful, thought-provoking, and culturally rich discussion.

Today we are honored to have Deva Anderson and Rachel Lautzenheiser, two renowned music supervisors, joining us to share their insights on the film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson. The two have worked together for more than a decade. Deva leads the music department at Tom Hanks and Gary Goeztman's Production Company, Playtone, where she has overseen music for all their productions for over 25 years, including the Oscar-nominated film Greyhound, Band of Brothers, and The Pacific. Rachel has played an integral part of the music department at Playtone as a rising Music Supervisor whose credits include Masters of the Air, Alaska Daily, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. Deva and Rachel also received two Guild of Music Supervisor nominations for Best Music Supervision in a TV Drama (Masters of the Air) and Best Music Supervision in a Mid-Level Budget Film (The Piano Lesson).

Veteran Shakespearean actor Geoffrey Barnes joins the Reduced Shakespeare Company to play Yorick and Ophelia's mother in the regional theatre premiere of The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel). The RSC's 11th stage show marks the company's seventh appearance at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, as well as MRT's 300th production, and Geoffrey discusses how his many years at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Oregon Shakespeare Festival – as well as his background in musical theatre and experience performing RSC scripts at CSC – serve him well in this comic prequel to Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Geoffrey reveals the value of a comedian not thinking he's funny; how he finds the rhythms and music of the language, whether it's Shakespeare, vaudeville, or August Wilson; and the importance of letting the music and the jokes serve the characters and the story. (Length 21:05) The post Meet Geoffrey Barnes appeared first on Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Bongani Bingwa speaks to director of the Joburg Theatre, James Ngcobo, about The Piano Lesson currently showing Mandela Theatre at Joburg Theatre. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textTwo senior citizens, both windowed, meet at a senior citizen event at a Holiday Innconference room. They engage in humorous banter and then discuss their former spouses, each deeply affected by their loss.Bernadette Armstrong directs Gary Lamb as Jesse and Camille Ameen as Sara.Curt Strickland is a  playwright who recently received a masters degree in playwriting from Lesley University's graduate program. Inspired by August Wilson, Curt is finishing up his 5th play in a ten play opus on American, each play set in a different decade. You can view other plays by Curt at the New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/68843/curt-strickland and view his political and cultural essays at curtsview.com, Curt is a landscape photographer, and a former owner at Great American Art, one of the largest commercial art corporations in the nation. Curt believes that Art should serve to heal, inspire, provoke, challenge and to offer hope – but most of all to connect, to remind us of our common humanity. Curt recently was awarded the William Faulkner Literary playwriting prize for his full length play, 1968, and Curt just published his book: Democracy Under Siege: (Essays on the Trump Years, 2017-2024).In 2020, Curt received a double lung transplant, an event that had profound effects on both his writing and his life. This experience is the basis of a new play he is developing entitled Double Lung.Support the showFounded by playwright and filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong, Open-Door Playhouse is a Theater Podcast- like the radio dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. The Playhouse launched on September 15, 2020. At the time, Open-Door Playhouse provided Playwrights, Actors and Directors a creative outlet during the shutdown. Since its inception. Open-Door Playhouse has presented Short and One-Act plays from Playwrights across the country and internationally. In 2021 Open-Door Playhouse received a Communicator Award for Content for the Play Custody and in 2023 the play What's Prison Like was nominated for a Webby Award in the Crime & Justice Category.Plays are produced by Bernadette Armstrong, Sound Engineer is David Peters, sound effects are provided by Audio Jungle, and music from Karaoke Version. All plays are recorded at The Oak House Studio in Altadena, CA. There's no paywall at the Open-Door Playhouse site, so you could listen to everything for free. Open-Door Playhouse is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and if you would like to support performances of works by new and emerging playwrights, your donation will be gratefully accepted. Your tax-deductible donations help keep our plays on the Podcast Stage. We strive to bring our listeners thoughtful and surprising one-act plays and ten-minute shorts that showcase insightful and new perspectives of the world we share with others. To listen or to donate (or both), go to https://opend...

Book Vs. Movie: The Piano LessonThe 1987 August Wilson Play Vs. the 2024 Netflix AdaptationAugust Wilson's *The Piano Lesson*, first staged in 1987 and winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1990, centers on siblings Berniece and Boy Willie as they clash over a family heirloom—the intricately carved piano symbolizing their ancestors' struggles. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, the play explores themes of heritage, trauma, and the tension between honoring the past and moving forward. The 2024 film adaptation, directed by Malcolm Washington and produced by Denzel Washington, stars John David Washington as Boy Willie, Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece, and Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker. This version promises a fresh retelling with a broader setting and enhanced visuals, including supernatural elements like Sutter's ghost. So, which version did we prefer? Have a listen to find out in this ep; the Margos discuss:August Wilson's life and work. The multiple changes between the play and the 2024 filmThe cast includes Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker,) John David Washington (Boy Willie,) Danielle Deadwyler (Berniece,) Ray Fisher (Lymon,) Corey Hawkins (Avery,) Michael Potts (Winning Boy,) Skylar Aleece Smith (Maretha,) Stephen James (Boy Charles,) Erykah Badu (Lucille,) and Malik J. Lai as Wili BoyClips Featured:“Oh Lord, Berta”The Paino Player (2024 trailer)“Berneice and Avery”“Berneice and Boy Willie”“1995 Oh Lord, Berta scene.”“Berneice and Lymon”The end sceneSoundtrack for The Piano Lesson (2024)Follow us on the socials!Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupInstagram: Book Versus Movie @bookversusmoviebookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D's Blog: Brooklynfitchick.comMargo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok Margo D's YouTube: @MargoDonohueMargo P's Instagram: @shesnachomama Margo P's Blog: coloniabook.comMargo P's YouTube Channel: @shesnachomamaOur logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine 

Book Vs. Movie: The Piano LessonThe 1987 August Wilson Play Vs. the 2024 Netflix AdaptationAugust Wilson's *The Piano Lesson*, first staged in 1987 and winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1990, centers on siblings Berniece and Boy Willie as they clash over a family heirloom—the intricately carved piano symbolizing their ancestors' struggles. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, the play explores themes of heritage, trauma, and the tension between honoring the past and moving forward. The 2024 film adaptation, directed by Malcolm Washington and produced by Denzel Washington, stars John David Washington as Boy Willie, Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece, and Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker. This version promises a fresh retelling with a broader setting and enhanced visuals, including supernatural elements like Sutter's ghost. So, which version did we prefer? Have a listen to find out in this ep; the Margos discuss:August Wilson's life and work. The multiple changes between the play and the 2024 filmThe cast includes Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker,) John David Washington (Boy Willie,) Danielle Deadwyler (Berniece,) Ray Fisher (Lymon,) Corey Hawkins (Avery,) Michael Potts (Winning Boy,) Skylar Aleece Smith (Maretha,) Stephen James (Boy Charles,) Erykah Badu (Lucille,) and Malik J. Lai as Wili BoyClips Featured:“Oh Lord, Berta”The Paino Player (2024 trailer)“Berneice and Avery”“Berneice and Boy Willie”“1995 Oh Lord, Berta scene.”“Berneice and Lymon”The end sceneSoundtrack for The Piano Lesson (2024)Follow us on the socials!Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupInstagram: Book Versus Movie @bookversusmoviebookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Margo D's Blog: Brooklynfitchick.comMargo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok Margo D's YouTube: @MargoDonohueMargo P's Instagram: @shesnachomama Margo P's Blog: coloniabook.comMargo P's YouTube Channel: @shesnachomamaOur logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine 

August Wilson considered Joe Turner's Come and Gone his masterpiece. Director Baron Kelly and cast members take us into the minds of some of the characters.

Jackson and Jacob discuss August Wilson's musical, volatile play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Listen in as they explore how Wilson masterfully links to characters, comparing and contrasting their interactions with an unjust world.  ------------------------------ Check out these other conversations on Ma Rainey's Black Bottom:  George C Wolfe discusses the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6qEaTW3L58 MoMA interviews the cast of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW_ZksDkQME Gavin Dillon Lawrence, the director of the APT production: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=485203414230728 Ron OJ Parson, director of the Writer's Theatre production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RgtThg3z74 ------------------------------ Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For as low as $1/month, you can help to ensure the No Script Podcast can continue.  https://www.patreon.com/noscriptpodcast  ----------------------------- We want to keep the conversation going! Have you read this play? Have you seen it? Comment and tell us your favorite themes, characters, plot points, etc. Did we get something wrong? Let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Find us on social media at:  Email: noscriptpodcast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/No-Script-The-Podcast-1675491925872541/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noscriptpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noscriptpodcast/ ------------------------------ Thanks so much for listening! We'll see you next week.

JOIN TSL WORKSHOPS: https://tslworkshops.circle.so It's no secret that plays and movies are entirely different mediums, and even a play as celebrated as The Piano Lesson by late American master August Wilson demanded a cinematic treatment. From the start, co-writer and director Malcom Washington came in with a very specific take on the material, and was incredibly grateful when Oscar-nominated MUDBOUND co-writer Virgil Williams came on board to help nurture (and focus) that take on the page. In today's conversation, you'll hear the two of them wrote together in the desert, creating a routinized approach to the material, while still leaving space for discovery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Lee Hawkins investigates how a secret nighttime business deal unlocked the gates of a Minnesota suburb for dozens of Black families seeking better housing, schools, and safer neighborhoods. His own family included.TranscriptIntroLEE HAWKINS: This is the house that I grew up in and you know we're standing here on a sidewalk looking over the house but back when I lived here there was no sidewalk, and the house was white everything was white on white. And I mean white, you know, white in the greenest grass.My parents moved my two sisters and me in 1975, when I was just four years old. Maplewood, a suburb of 25,000 people at the time, was more than 90% white.As I rode my bike through the woods and trails. I had questions: How and why did these Black families manage to settle here, surrounded by restrictions designed to keep them out?The answer, began with the couple who lived in the big house behind ours… James and Frances Hughes.You're listening to Unlocking The Gates, Episode 1.My name is Lee Hawkins. I'm a journalist and the author of the book I AM NOBODY'S SLAVE: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free.I investigated 400 years of my Black family's history — how enslavement and Jim Crow apartheid in my father's home state of Alabama, the Great Migration to St. Paul, and our later move to the suburbs shaped us.My producer Kelly and I returned to my childhood neighborhood. When we pulled up to my old house—a colonial-style rambler—we met a middle-aged Black woman. She was visiting her mother who lived in the brick home once owned by our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Hutton.LEE HAWKINS: How you doing? It hasn't changed that much. People keep it up pretty well, huh?It feels good to be back because it's been more than 30 years since my parents sold this house and moved. Living here wasn't easy. We had to navigate both the opportunities this neighborhood offered and the ways it tried to make us feel we didn't fully belong.My family moved to Maplewood nearly 30 years after the first Black families arrived. And while we had the N-word and mild incidents for those first families, nearly every step forward was met with resistance. Yet they stayed and thrived. And because of them, so did we.LEE HAWKINS: You know, all up and down this street, there were Black families. Most of them — Mr. Riser, Mr. Davis, Mr. White—all of us can trace our property back to Mr. Hughes at the transaction that Mr. Hughes did.I was friends with all of their kids—or their grandkids. And, at the time, I didn't realize that we, were leading and living, in real-time, one of the biggest paradigm shifts in the American economy and culture. We are the post-civil rights generation—what I call The Integration Generation.Mark Haynes was like a big brother to me, a friend who was Five or six years older. When he was a teenager, he took some bass guitar lessons from my dad and even ended up later playing bass for Janet Jackson when she was produced by Minnesota's own Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.Since his family moved to Maplewood several years before mine, I called him to see what he remembered.MARK HAYNES: "It's a pretty tight-knit group of people,"Mark explained how the community came together and socialized, often –MARK HAYNES: "they—every week, I think—they would meet, actually. I was young—maybe five or six.LEE HAWKINS: And what do you remember about it? I asked. What kind of feeling did it give you?MARK HAYNES: It was like family, you know, all of them are like, uh, aunts and uncles to me, cousins. It just felt like they were having a lot of fun. I think there was an investment club too."Herman Lewis was another neighbor, some years older than Mark—an older teenager when I was a kid. But I remember him and his brother, Richard. We all played basketball, and during the off-season, we'd play with my dad and his friends at John Glenn, where I'd eventually attend middle school. Herman talked to me about what it meant to him.HERMAN LEWIS: We had friends of ours and our cousins would come all the way from Saint Paul just to play basketball on a Friday night. It was a way to keep kids off the street, and your dad was very instrumental trying to make sure kids stayed off the street. And on a Friday night, you get in there at five, six o'clock, and you play till 9, 10 o'clock, four hours of basketball. On any kid, all you're going to do is go home, eat whatever was left to eat. And if there's nothing left to eat, you pour yourself a bowl of cereal and you watch TV for about 15 to 25-30, minutes, and you're sleeping there, right in front of the TV, right?LEE HAWKINS: But that was a community within the community,HERMAN LEWIS: Definitely a community within the community. It's so surprising to go from one side of the city to the next, and then all of a sudden there's this abundance of black folks in a predominantly white area.Joe Richburg, another family friend, said he experienced our community within a community as well.LEE HAWKINS: You told me that when you were working for Pillsbury, you worked, you reported to Herman Cain, right? We're already working there, right? Herman Cain, who was once the Republican front runner for President of the United States. He was from who, who was from the south, but lived in Minnesota, right? Because he had been recruited here. I know he was at Pillsbury, and he was at godfathers pizza, mm hmm, before. And he actually sang for a time with the sounds of blackness, which a lot of people would realize, which is a famous group here, known all over the world. But what was interesting is you said that Herman Cain was your boss, yeah, when he came to Minnesota, he asked you a question, yeah. What was that question?Joe Richburg: Well, he asked me again, from the south, he asked me, Joe, where can I live? And I didn't really understand the significance of that question, but clearly he had a sense of belonging in that black people had to be in certain geographic, geographies in the south, and I didn't have that. I didn't realize that was where he was coming from.Before Maplewood, my family lived in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood—a thriving Black community filled with Black-owned businesses and cultural icons like photojournalist Gordon Parks, playwright August Wilson, and journalist Carl T. Rowan.Like so many other Black communities across the country, Rondo was destroyed to make way for a highway. it was a forced removal.Out of that devastation came Black flight. Unlike white flight, which was driven by fear of integration, Black flight was about seeking better opportunities: better funded schools and neighborhoods, and a chance at higher property values.Everything I've learned about James and Frances Hughes comes from newspaper reports and interviews with members of their family.Mr. Hughes, a chemist and printer at Brown and Bigelow, and Frances, a librarian at Gillette Hospital, decided it was time to leave St. Paul. They doubled down on their intentions when they heard a prominent real estate broker associate Blacks with “the ghetto.” According to Frances Hughes, he told the group;FRANCES HUGHES (ACTOR): “You're living in the ghetto, and you will stay there.”She adds:FRANCES HUGHES (ACTOR): “I've been mad ever since. It was such a bigoted thing to say. We weren't about to stand for that—and in the end, we didn't.”The Hughes began searching for land but quickly realized just how difficult it could be. Most white residents in the Gladstone area, just outside St. Paul, had informal agreements not to sell to Black families. Still, James and Frances kept pushing.They found a white farmer, willing to sell them 10 acres of land for $8,000.And according to an interview with Frances, that purchase wasn't just a milestone for the Hughes family—it set the stage for something remarkable. In 1957, James Hughes began advertising the plots in the Twin Cities Black newspapers and gradually started selling lots from the land to other Black families. The Hughes's never refused to sell to whites—but according to an interview with Frances, economic justice was their goal.FRANCES HUGHES (ACTOR): “Housing for Blacks was extremely limited after the freeway went through and took so many homes. We wanted to sell to Blacks only because they had so few opportunities.”By the 1960s, the neighborhood had grown into a thriving Black suburban community. The residents here were deeply involved in civic life. They attended city council meetings, started Maplewood's first human rights commission, and formed a neighborhood club to support one another.And over time, the area became known for its beautiful homes and meticulously kept lawns, earning both admiration and ridicule—with some calling it “The Golden Ghetto.”Frances said:FRANCES HUGHES (ACTOR): “It was lovely. It was a showplace. Even people who resented our being there in the beginning came over to show off this beautiful area in Maplewood.”And as I pieced the story together, I realized it would be meaningful to connect with some of the elders who would remember those early daysANN-MARIE ROGERS: In the 50s, Mr. Hughes decided he was going to let go of the farming. And it coincided with the with 94 going through the RONDO community and displacing, right, you know, those people. So, at that time, I imagine Mr. Hughes had the surveyors come out and, you know, divided up into, you know, individual living blocks.That is Mrs. Ann-Marie Rogers, the mother of Uzziel and Thomas Rogers, who I spent a lot of time with as a kid. I shared what I'd uncovered in the archives, hoping she could help bring those early experiences to life.ANN-MARIE ROGERS: So, everyone played in our yard, the front yard, the yard light that was where they played softball, baseball, because the yard light was the home plate, and the backyard across the back was where they played football.Throughout this project, we found similar stories of strength, including one from Jeson Johnson, a childhood friend with another Minnesota musical connection. His aunt, Cynthia Johnson, was the lead singer of Lipps Inc., whose hit song “Funkytown” became a defining anthem of its time when many of us were just kids. We were proud of her, but I now know the bigger star was his grandmother.JESON JOHNSON: She was actually one of the first black chemists at 3M. So what she told me is that they had told her that, well, you have to have so much money down by tomorrow for you to get this house. It was really, really fast that she had to have the money. But my grandmother was she was really smart, and her father was really smart, so he had her have savings bonds. So what she told him was, if you have it in writing, then I'll do my best to come up with the money. I don't know if I'll be able to. She was able to show up that day with all her savings bonds and everything, and have the money to get it. And they were so mad, yes, that when she had got the house, they were so mad that, but they nothing that they could do legally because she had it on paper, right, right? And then that kind of started out in generation out there. It was the NAACP that kind of helped further that, just because she was chemist, they got her in the 3M, and all their programs started there.Decades later, as my friends and I played, I had no concept of any of the struggles, sacrifices and steps forward made by the pioneers who came before us. I checked in with my friend, Marcel Duke.LEE HAWKINS: did they tell you that mister Hughes was the guy that started, that started it?MARCEL DUKE: It probably never was conveyed that way, right to us kids, right? I'm sure back then, it was looked as an opportunity, yes, to get out of the city. Mm, hmm, and and where people that look like us live. And obviously that's the backstory of Mister Hughes, yeah, ultimately, we went out there because he made it known in the city, inner city, that we could move out there and be a community out there.Marcel is about four years older, I figured he may have clearer memories of Mr. Hughes than I do.MARCEL DUKE: I used to cut mister Hughes grass. I was like, like the little hustler in the neighborhood. I wanted to cut because I wanted money to go to spend on candy.Mr. Hughes' significance transcends the extra cash he put in the pockets of neighborhood kids. His granddaughter, Carolyn Hughes-Smith, told us more his multigenerational vision for Black American wealth building. But before he became a historical figure, he was just...grandpa.CAROLYN HUGHES-SMITH: the things that I really remember about him. He could whistle like I not whistle, but he could sing like a bird, you know, always just chirping. That's how we know he was around. He was more of a, like a farmer.He didn't talk much with his grandchildren about how he and Frances had unlocked the gates for Blacks. But she was aware of some of the difficulty he faced in completing that transaction that forever changed Maplewood.HUGHES-SMITH: I just heard that they did not, you know, want to sell to the blacks. And they, you know, it was not a place for the blacks to be living. And so, what I heard later, of course, was that my grandpa was able to find someone that actually sold the land to him out there and it, you know, and that's where it all started, reallyThat someone was a white man named Frank Taurek. He and his wife, Marie, owned the farm that Mr. Hughes and Frances had set their sights on. But the purchase was anything but straightforward. They had to make the deal through “night dealing.” Frances explains in a 1970s interview.FRANCES HUGHES (ACTOR): "It was just after the war. There was a tremendous shortage of housing, and a great deal of new development was going on to try to fix that. But, my dear, Negroes couldn't even buy a lot in these developments. They didn't need deed restrictions to turn us away. They just refused to sell."She describes the weekend visit she and her husband made to put in an offer on the land. By Monday morning, a St. Paul real estate company had stepped in, offering the Taurek's $1,000 more to keep Blacks out.FRANCES HUGHES (ACTOR): "But he was a man of his word, which gives you faith in human nature. The average white person has no idea of how precarious life in these United States is for anybody Black at any level. So often it was a matter of happenstance that we got any land here. The farmer could have very easily accepted the $1,000 and told us no, and there would have been nothing we could have done."What led Frank Taurek to defy norms and his neighbors, to sell the land to a Black family?DAVIDA TAUREK: I'm already moved to tears again, just hearing about it, [but and] hearing you talk about the impact of my, you know, my lineage there. It seems so powerful.This perspective comes from his great-granddaughter, Davida Taurek, a California-based psychotherapist. When I tracked her down, she was astonished to hear the long-buried story of how her white great grandparents sold their land to a Black family, unwittingly setting into motion a cascade of economic opportunities for generations to come.DAVIDA TAUREK: When I received your email, it was quite shocking and kind of like my reality did a little kind of sense of, wait, what? Like that somehow I, I could be in this weird way part of this amazing story of making a difference. You know, like you said, that there's generational wealth that's now passed down that just didn't really exist.I've seen plenty of data about what happens to property values in predominantly white neighborhoods when a Black family moves in. The perception of a negative impact has fueled housing discrimination in this country for decades, you may have heard the phrase: “There goes the neighborhood.” It's meant to be a sneer—a condemnation of how one Black family might “open the door” for others to follow. In this case, that's exactly what the Taurek's facilitated.As Carolyn Hughes- Smith sees it, the power of that ripple effect had a direct impact on her life, both as a youngster, but later as well.CAROLYN HUGHES-SMITH: We were just fortunate that my grandfather gave us that land. Otherwise, I don't, I don't know if we would have ever been able to move out thereHer parents faced some tough times –CAROLYN HUGHES-SMITH: making house payments, keeping food in the house, and that type. We were low income then, and my dad struggled, and eventually went back to school, became an electrician. And we, you know, were a little better off, but that happened after we moved out to Maplewood, but we were struggling.But they persevered and made it through –CAROLYN HUGHES-SMITH: after I grow got older and teen and that, I mean, I look back and say, Wow, my grandfather did all of this out hereOn the Taurek side of the transaction, the wow factor is even more striking. As I dug deeper into his story, it wasn't clear that he Frank Taurek was driven by any commitment to civil rights.Davida never met her great grandfather but explains what she knows about him.DAVIDA TAUREK: What I had heard about him was through my aunt that, that they were, you know, pretty sweet, but didn't speak English very well so there wasn't much communication but when they were younger being farmers his son my grandfather Richard ran away I think when he was like 14 years old. his dad was not very a good dad you know on a number of levels. There's a little bit of an interesting thing of like where Frank's dedication to his own integrity or what that kind of path was for him to stay true to this deal and make it happen versus what it meant to be a dad and be present and kind to his boy.Carolyn Hughes-Smith still reflects on the courage of her family—for the ripple effect it had on generational progress.CAROLYN HUGHES-SMITH: Would the struggle be the same? Probably not. But what makes me like I said, What makes me happy is our family was a big part of opening up places to live in the white community.LEE HAWKINS: Next time on Unlocking The GatesCAROLYN HUGHES-SMITH: The one thing that I really, really remember, and it stays in my head, is cross burning. It was a cross burning. And I don't remember exactly was it on my grandfather's property?OUTRO THEME MUSIC/CREDITS.You've been listening to Unlocking the Gates: How the North led Housing Discrimination in America. A special series by APM Studios AND Marketplace APM with research support from the Alicia Patterson Foundation and Mapping Prejudice.Hosted and created by me, Lee Hawkins. Produced by Marcel Malekebu and Senior Producer, Meredith Garretson-Morbey. Our Sound Engineer is Gary O'Keefe.Kelly Silvera is Executive Producer.

In celebration of Black History Month in February, MPR News is highlighting Black history throughout the state. From a fur trader believed to be one of the first African descendants in territory that is now Minnesota, to streets and parks renamed in 2024 after Black community leaders, these sites span the state and the centuries. Click to explore Black history sites throughout the stateSouthern Minnesotagibbs divGibbs Elementary School, RochesterGibbs Elementary School in Rochester is named after George W. Gibbs Jr., the first known Black person to set foot in Antarctica.Gibbs was serving in the U.S. Navy when he sailed to the continent as a member of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third expedition.In January 1940, after almost 40 days at sea on the U.S.S. Bear, he was the first person to step off the ship.Gibbs moved to Rochester and became a civil rights activist and small business owner. He spent almost 20 years working at IBM, co-founded the Rochester Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, and founded an employment agency he operated until 1999.— Alex Haddon, radio reporter interndiv rushfordUnderground RailroadAlthough not much is known about Minnesota's role in the Underground Railroad due to its secrecy, the Rushford Area Historical Society believes the city was part of the network to help enslaved people to freedom. The area was home to abolitionists at the time and is about 16 miles from the Mississippi River, an escape route north to Canada. Secret rooms have been discovered in at least three homes in Rushford, which are all currently private residences. One home was built in 1859 for abolitionists George and Harriet Stevens and is thought to be a safe house in the 1860s. In a different house, a secret room was found downstairs after the flood of 2007. It's an 18-room, two-story house built in 1861 for Roswell and George Valentine. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.A third home was built in 1867 for Miles Carpenter, an early Rushford banker, and is also thought to be a safe house. The Rushford Area Historical Society also believes limestone caves were used to hide people escaping to freedom. — Lisa Ryan, editorCentral Minnesotadiv msrMinnesota Spokesman-Recorder, MinneapolisAs the oldest Black-owned newspaper and one of the longest standing family-owned newspapers in the country, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder is a point of pride in the Twin Cities. The paper was started in August 1934 by civil rights activist Cecil E. Newman with a split publication: the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder. In its first issue, Newman made a prediction and promise to readers, writing, “We feel sure St. Paul and Minneapolis will have real champions of the Race.” Today, Newman's granddaughter Tracey Williams-Dillard serves as the CEO and publisher for MSR and continues the paper that has been a trusted news source in the Black community for almost a century. As a weekly paper, MSR has tackled topics like local Ku Klux Klan activities, Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement, Minneapolis' first Black woman mayor, and George Floyd's murder. In 2015, its building at 3744 4th Ave. in Minneapolis became a state historic landmark.— Kyra Miles, early education reporterdiv penumbraPenumbra Theatre, St. PaulFounded in 1976, Penumbra Theatre was created by Lou Bellamy. Over the years, Penumbra has had the distinction of being the only Black professional theater in Minnesota. The name Penumbra means “half-light” or “partial eclipse.” It was founded using a Comprehensive Employment Training Act grant from the federal government. Its first production, Steve Carter's “Eden,” explored diversity of ethnicities within the African American community. In a 1977 interview with MPR News, Bellamy described the theater as being inadvertently political, with its focus on giving Black actors opportunities to perform at the professional level.  “The roles that you generally see — and it's because of the people who choose the shows — are waiters, butlers, things that if not debilitating, at least are not allowing them to show the extent of their capability,” Bellamy said.Penumbra has had a number of company members that are recognizable, both locally and nationally. Perhaps its most famous alumnus is playwright August Wilson, who developed some of his earliest plays at Penumbra. In a 2023 interview, Bellamy noted that the character Levee in “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom” was influenced by his brother Terry's portrayal in early readings. In 2021, under the direction of Lou's daughter Sarah Bellamy, the theater received a $5 million grant to build on its work in racial equality. — Jacob Aloi, arts reporter and newscasterdiv leeArthur and Edith Lee House, Minneapolis In June 1931, Arthur and Edith Lee, a Black couple, purchased the modest craftsman-style home in Minneapolis' Field neighborhood and moved into the predominantly white neighborhood with their young daughter, Mary.Several years earlier, property owners in the area signed a contract with the neighborhood association to not sell or rent their homes to anyone who wasn't white.When the Lees moved in, community members tried to force them out.Their home became the site of an urban riot in July 1931, when an angry mob of 4,000 white people gathered in their yard and spilled out onto the street, demanding the family leave the neighborhood.A U.S. postal worker, World War I veteran and NAACP member, Arthur Lee said he had a “right to establish a home” in the neighborhood of his choosing.Many individuals and organizations came to the family's defense, including local and national chapters of the NAACP and the prominent civil rights attorney, Lena Olive Smith. (see Lena O. Smith House below)The Lees stayed in their home until the fall of 1933. According to the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, the family slept in the basement because of safety concerns, and their daughter Mary was escorted to kindergarten by the police.The Arthur and Edith Lee House became a designated historic property in Minneapolis in 2014.The Lee protests remain some of the largest and most widely publicized race-related demonstrations in Minnesota's history. The city of Minneapolis' local historic landmark designation similarly finds the Arthur and Edith Lee House to be associated “with broad patterns of social history, particularly in regard to African American history in Minneapolis, race relations and historical trends of housing discrimination.”— Erica Zurek, senior health reporterdiv floydGeorge Floyd Square, Minneapolis On May 25, 2020, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd outside of a convenience store at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue on the south side of Minneapolis. The community transformed the intersection into a memorial and protest site. It's also become a point of contention over how to remember Floyd's murder and the protest movement that started here. Local protesters maintain that the site should be community-led, until the city meets a list of demands for justice. For a year after Floyd's murder, protesters kept the streets closed to traffic; city workers took down the barricades in 2021. Now, the city is locked in an ongoing debate over the square's future. City officials say the streets are overdue for reconstruction. They're pushing for a plan to rebuild the intersection, supported by some local residents and businesses on the block. But local activists, who still maintain the ongoing protest, say it's too soon for the city to take a role in the street design. Instead, they say they want the city to invest in neighborhood services, like housing and substance abuse programs.— Estelle Timar-Wilcox, general assignment reporterdiv hiawathaHiawatha Golf Course, MinneapolisAt a time when African American golfers were barred from participating in white-only tournaments and golf courses, the Hiawatha Golf Course became a popular gathering spot for Black golfers.The course opened in 1934 in south Minneapolis, and was the spot, a few years later, where African American golfer James “Jimmie” Slemmons created what's now the Upper Midwest Bronze Amateur Memorial — a tournament that welcomed Black golfers.Despite being a popular course for African Americans, the Hiawatha Golf Course clubhouse barred non-white golfers from entering. That is until 1952, when that rule ended, largely because of the efforts of golf legend and trailblazer Solomon Hughes Sr.“Hughes was an excellent golfer, recognized nationwide, yet still could not golf at white golf courses, which is why Hiawatha golf course is so important to us,” said Greg McMoore, a long-time south Minneapolis resident and historian.Although once only allowed to play with the United Golfer's Association, a league formed by Black golfers, Hughes was among the first Black golfers to tee off in a PGA event at the 1952 St. Paul Open.In 2022, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board officially named the clubhouse the Solomon Hughes Clubhouse. The golf course was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.— Cari Spencer, reporterdiv smithLena O. Smith House, MinneapolisCivil rights leader and trailblazing attorney Lena O. Smith lived in this Minneapolis home on 3905 Fifth Ave. S. While working in real estate, Smith witnessed up close the discriminatory practices that excluded Black families from certain neighborhoods of the city. She took that experience to law school and in 1921 became the first Black woman to practice law in the state of Minnesota.As an attorney, Smith took on several high-profile cases fighting segregation and defending the rights of Black residents of Minneapolis. She worked to desegregate spaces in the city including the Pantages Theatre and protected a Black family from a campaign to oust them from their home in a mostly white neighborhood of south Minneapolis. (see Arthur and Edith Lee House, above)Smith founded the Minneapolis Urban League and led the local chapter of the NAACP as its first woman president. She worked inside and outside of the courtroom to advance civil rights until her death in 1966. Her home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. — Alanna Elder, producerdiv spiral‘Spiral for Justice' memorial, St. PaulOn the south lawn of the State Capitol grounds is the ‘Spiral for Justice' memorial for Roy Wilkins.Wilkins, who grew up in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood, was a civil rights leader. He worked in various roles at the NAACP from 1931 to1977, leading the organization for 22 years.The memorial has 46 elements that are positioned in a spiral, getting higher and higher as they extend out from the middle and out beyond two walls that surround the main parts of the sculpture. Each element represents a year of his work at the NAACP, and the elements breaking through the wall represent progress breaking through barriers of racial inequality. The memorial, designed by sculptor Curtis Patterson, was dedicated in 1995.— Peter Cox, reporter div wigingtonClarence Wigington, St. PaulThe Highland Park Water Tower was designed by Clarence “Cap” Wigington, the first African American municipal architect in the United States.Wigington designed or supervised the creation of over 130 buildings throughout his decades-long career, with most located in St. Paul and designed during his tenure at the city architect's office between 1915 and 1949.He designed a number of city projects including fire stations and park buildings, as well as ice palaces for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. (He also designed my old stomping grounds, Chelsea Heights Elementary School, and an addition to my alma mater Murray Middle School.)Some of his other landmark structures include the Harriet Island Pavilion (since renamed after him), Roy Wilkins auditorium and the Holman Field Administration building at the St. Paul Downtown Airport.The Highland Park Water Tower, built in 1928, is one of three Wigington structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The others are the Harriet Island Pavilion and the Holman Field Administration building.— Feven Gerezgiher, reporter and producerNorthern Minnesotadiv gomerStatue of Tuskegee Airman Joe Gomer, DuluthA statue in the Duluth International Airport terminal honors a Minnesotan who was a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.Joe Gomer was among the country's first Black fighter pilots, flying 68 combat missions in Europe. He and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen were tasked with protecting bombers from German fighters. The unit's success helped the push to end segregation in the U.S. military.Gomer stayed in the military after the war and later worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Minnesota. He lived in Duluth for 50 years and stayed active into his 90s. The Duluth News Tribune reported that Gomer shared the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and talked about the importance of education with school groups.Veterans' groups in Duluth worked to raise money for the statue to honor Gomer's service to his country; it was dedicated at the airport in 2012, on Gomer's 92nd birthday. Gomer died the following year at age 93; he was Minnesota's last living Tuskegee Airman.— Andrew Krueger, editordiv mosleyHattie Mosley, HibbingIn 1905, 23-year-old Hattie Mosley moved from Decatur, Ill., to the up-and-coming mining town of Hibbing, Minn. Twelve years prior, the town was established by a German miner. At the time, 50 percent of Hibbing residents were born in a foreign country. Yet Mosley, a Black woman, remained a minority, as it was still uncommon for Black people to live in northern Minnesota as long-term residents. This is according to history expert Aaron Brown, who was featured in an Almanac interview with Twin Cities Public Television about the resident. Mosley came to Hibbing as a widow, and did not have any children. She spent the next 30 years as a single woman caring for the mining town as its residents faced the Spanish Flu, the effects of World War I and other daily ailments. She often volunteered in poor immigrant communities and checked in on the sick, using her homemade cough syrup and homemade remedies to nurse most of the town back to health.She was known to help with the worst cases other medical professionals wouldn't dare to touch, including the most severe quarantined cases of the Spanish Flu. Because of this, she is described as a heroine and often called the Florence Nightingale of Hibbing, according to Brown.She died in 1938 and is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery. The beloved nurse and midwife's obituary said her greatest joy in life was helping those who could not afford care. “Her acts of charity, so freely given, numbered a legion and among the poor her death will be keenly felt,” read her obituary in the Hibbing Daily Tribune.Mosley was elected to the Hibbing Historical Society's Hall of Service and Achievement a decade ago.— Sam Stroozas, digital producerdiv st markSt. Mark AME, DuluthSt. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church is in the Central Hillside area of Duluth. The church was built in 1900 and was added to the National Register in 1991. W. E. B. DuBois spoke at St. Mark in 1921 before a gathering of the Duluth chapter of the NAACP, which had recently been founded after the lynching of three Black men in downtown Duluth. DuBois founded the national organization in 1909.— Regina Medina, reporterdiv bonga pembinaFort Pembina, near present-day Pembina, N.D.Pierre Bonga and his family are well known in Minnesota's early Black history, before it was even a state. His son George Bonga was one of the first Black people born in what later became the state of Minnesota, according to MNopedia. George was born in the Northwest Territory around 1802, near present-day Duluth. His mother was Ojibwe, as were the two women he married in his lifetime. George was a guide and translator for negotiations with the Ojibwe for Territorial Governor Lewis Cass. While the Bonga family has connections to many locations in present-day Minnesota and the Great Lakes region, they spent time in Fort Pembina, according to the University of North Dakota. Pierre Bonga was also a trapper and interpreter. He primarily worked near the Red River, as well as near Lake Superior. He died in 1831, in what is now Minnesota. — Lisa Ryan, editorClick here.

In part two of our conversation about A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, The Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) talk with award winning poet, literary activist and author E. Ethelbert Miller about bringing Bob Dylan's writing into the classroom, and the artist as a witness to history. A COMPLETE UKNOWN is the recent Academy Award-nominated biopic about musician, songwriter Bob Dylan, based on the book by Elijah Wald “Dylan Goes Electric: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, And The Night That Split The Sixties.” Directed by James Mangold, who co wrote the screenplay with Jay Cox, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, is set against the backdrop of a time of dramatic social, cultural and political change (1961-1965) as a vibrant music scene is happening in New York City. Nineteen-year-old Bob Dylan, portrayed by Timothée Chalamet, arrives in New York from Minnesota with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.  Episode 65 is part 2 of a 2-part conversation about A COMPLETE UNKNOWN with E. Ethelbert Miller. Go to this link for Episode 64 (part 1). https://open.spotify.com/episode/3uEnTCokzxIzx0CDWuYeuI?si=0a633d46a8ea4727 SPOILER ALERT - There is some detailed discussion about key moments in the film TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Podcast open, synopsis and historical timeline for the film A COMPLETE UNKNOWN 02:54 - E. Ethelbert Miller's introduction + Spoiler alert 4:39 - The Role of Artists in Social and Political Movements 10:35 - Teaching Memoir Writing with Bob Dylan's Memoir 16:00 - The Impact of Historical Events on Artists and Writers 19:16 - The importance of artists absorbing collective hurt and providing resilience through their work (mentions: Woody Guthrie, Ma Rainey, August Wilson) 19:38 - The Importance of Understanding Historical Context 23:12 - Artists shaping legacies - Ossie Davis's Eulogy for Malcolm X 44:32 - Final Thoughts and Book Recommendations Enjoy our PLAYLIST for this podcast, "⁠Bob Dylan: Known and Unknown,⁠" on Spotify. Help us shape future podcasts. We've created a short survey to learn more about what you enjoy most about “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters” and what you'd like to see more of in the future. Final date for the survey is February 20, 2025 —----- Keep the Historical Drama momentum going.... SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform ⁠LISTEN⁠ to past past podcasts and bonus episodes ⁠SIGN UP⁠ for our mailing list SUPPORT this podcast ⁠ SHOP THE PODCAST⁠ on our affiliate bookstore Buy us a Coffee! You can support the podcast by buying a coffee ☕ here — ⁠buymeacoffee.com/historicaldramasisters⁠ Thank you for listening!

Emmy Award Winning Talk Show Host, Actress & Stand Up Comedian Sheryl Underwood. The Acting Company's Cast of the Rubicon Theatre's production of August Wilson play "Two Trains Running" - Brian D. Coats "Halloway" - Michael A. Sheppard "Memphis" - DeAnna Supplee "Risa"

Looking for something to watch? Host Kim Singleton discusses a few of her favorites of 2024.REASONABLE DOUBTA Hulu series starring Emayatzy Coreanaldi and McKinley FreemanDAUGHTERSA documentary about girls who participate in a father/daughter dance with their incarcerated fathers.Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, it can be streamed on NetflixTHE PIANO LESSONBased on the August Wilson play, this film centers around a family trying to decide what to do with a family heirloompiano. It stars an ensemble cast: John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, CoreyHawkins, Micheal Potts and Skylar Aleece Smith.MUFASA: THE LION KINGThis film is the pre/sequel to the original Lion King. It was directed by the Academy-Award Winning Barry Jenkins.Thank you for listening and consider yourself Blacklit!Connect with Consider It Blacklit on Social Media:IG @Consider_It_BlacklitThreads @Consider_It_BlacklitFacebook @ConsiderItBlacklitTik Tok @ss2kmedia

“Whatever you do well, it contributes” - Michael Potts on what he does well, from Shakespeare to August Wilson, and how playing the long game got him where he is today. (With fond remembrances of Chadwick Boseman). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enjoy this bonus episode from The Piano Lesson: The Official Podcast. When director and co-writer Malcolm Washington decided to adapt August Wilson's The Piano Lesson for film, he knew he couldn't just drop a camera in the play. It needed to stand on its own. In this episode, we dive deep into Malcolm's creative process, along with the rest of the cast, to find out how they approached the making of this film. You can find all three episodes of The Piano Lesson: The Official Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

In order to fully understand The Piano Lesson, you have to understand the source. In this episode, Jazmine helps us understand the genius of August Wilson, his love of Pittsburgh and the Black people who live and lived there, and the role Wilson's work has come to play as a rite of passage for the venerable Black actors of our time. Watch The Piano Lesson now on Netflix. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.   The Piano Lesson: The Official Podcast is produced by Netflix and Pineapple Street Studios.

This week, Malcolm and John David Washington talk about collaborating on a new August Wilson adaptation and screenwriter Justin Kurtizkes discusses his breakout year. 

This week on The Treatment, Elvis welcomes actor John David Washington who’s starring in the film adaptation of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson, directed by his brother, Malcolm Washington. Then, director Marco Perego stops by to talk about Dovecote, his short film about a women’s prison in Italy, starring Zoe Saldaña. And on The Treat, filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer talks about a book on grammar that helped him become a director.

Rocky Carroll joins Mase & Sue to discuss 17 seasons of the hit

Danielle Deadwyler stars in the Netflix adaptation of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about her journey from the Atlanta theater scene to the big screen, her three masters degrees, and playing Mamie Till, mother of Emmett, in the 2022 movie Till. Also, our book critic Maureen Corrigan shares her top 10 books of 2024. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to review the film adaptation of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" directed by Malcolm Washington. The film follows the lives of the Charles family as they deal with themes of family legacy and more, in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano. Notions of weighing one's own family history and legacy against sacrificing it to help push forward in meaningful ways is at the core of the story, the hosts discuss their own perspectives in how to balance staying rooted in Black history without remaining stuck there and striving for progress personally and in a larger societal sense. The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, and Skylar Aleece Smith.

A new film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson play The Piano Lesson is now on Netflix. It's about a brother and sister battling over what to do with a family heirloom piano. Denzel Washington and his daughter Katia served as producers, and his sons John David and Malcolm starred in and directed it. The brothers talk about bringing the play to the screen. Also, we hear from Selena Gomez about the Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez. Gomez plays the wife of a brutal drug cartel leader who decides to undergo gender-affirmation surgery. Film critic Justin Chang reviews blockbusters Wicked and Gladiator II.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week on Black on Black Cinema, the crew returns to discuss The Piano Lesson, a powerful literary classics adaptation from acclaimed playwright August Wilson. The film, which earned both a Pulitzer Prize and Drama Desk Award, explores deep themes of communication and family business legacy through the story of the Charles family's conflict over their cherished piano heirloom. The talented cast brings Wilson's masterful dialogue and complex characters to life in this profound examination of family heritage and the weight of ancestral possessions. The film is co-written and directed by Malcolm Washington, starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Corey Hawkins. The random topic this week is all about Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef is rekindled again as Drake decides to file two lawsuits alleging that UMG and Spotify conspired to fake the streams of the hit song "Not Like Us."

“The Piano Lesson” star John David Washington joins Richard and David live at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York to discuss collaborating with his brother (director Malcolm Washington), his performance of the original August Wilson play on stage, and how his professional football career informs his acting.  

On this episode, we'll turn things over to one of our sister shows “The Piano Lesson: The Official Podcast.” Host Jazmine Hughes looks at the making of the The Piano Lesson, talks to actors, and discusses August Wilson's plays about the Black American experience in the 20th century. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched The Piano Lesson yet, make sure to add it to your watch list before listening.  You can listen to “The Piano Lesson: The Official Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to your podcasts. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts.

For this week's third podcast review, I am joined by Sara Clements, Josh Parham & Dan Bayer to review and discuss "The Piano Lesson," starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith & Corey Hawkins. Directed by Malcolm Washington, the Netflix film is the latest adaptation of world-renowned playwright August Wilson's work from the stage to the screen. What did we think of it? Tune in as we discuss the performances, themes, direction, awards season chances, and more in our SPOILER-FILLED review. Thank you for listening, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson is about a conflict in a Black family over whether to keep an exquisite heirloom piano — or to sell it to buy the land their family was enslaved on. Denzel Washington's son Malcolm directed the new film adaptation for Netflix, and his brother John David stars as Boy Willie. Tonya Mosley talks with the brothers about collaborating as a family on the project.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You may not see Denzel Washington in the new Netflix film adaptation of the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson, but his influence as producer – and parent – is unmistakable. Denzel's son Malcolm Washington is the director, and his son John David Washington plays one of the leads alongside Danielle Deadwyler and Samuel L. Jackson. It's a story about family, legacy and community. And the hauntings both literal and figurative make a big impression.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The actor chats with Rebecca about her connection to August Wilson, carving her own path, and what exactly cicadas and Hollywood have in common. Plus, she reveals more about herself while playing Proust Questionnaire Roulette.

Sean is joined by Juliet Litman to discuss another highly anticipated 2024 release in Jon M. Chu's ‘Wicked.' They unpack their very mixed feelings (1:07), hypothesize why this movie is such a big hit (41:30), and forecast its Oscar chances by asking whether it could really win Best Picture (50:37). Then, they both rank their top five favorite musicals from the 21st century (58:58). Finally, Sean is joined by writer and director Malcolm Washington to discuss his new film, ‘The Piano Lesson.' They talk about coming from a Hollywood family, what he hoped to attempt when given the chance to make this film, and turning August Wilson's stage play into a bold cinematic experience (1:26:57). Host: Sean Fennessey Guest: Juliet Litman and Malcolm Washington Audio Producer: Sasha Ashall Video Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Week In Culture Episode 425: Legacy (The Piano Lesson review). This week Ant and J. Johnson break down Malcolm Washington's feature film adaptation of August Wilson's #ThePianoLesson. The guys talk preserving a legacy vs creating one, family traumas haunting you and more. Stream the latest podcast now! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thisweekinculture/support

We've already reviewed the two big movies of the week -- "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" -- so we turned to a couple of new movies streaming on Netflix on the latest episode of Breakfast All Day. The first is "Spellbound," an animated, musical fairy tale starring Rachel Zegler as a teenage princess trying to save her parents, the king and queen, who've been turned into monsters. It's colorful and vibrant but unoriginal, and the songs from the legendary composer Alan Menken are just so-so. Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow and Nathan Lane are among the star-studded supporting cast. A better choice on Netflix is "The Piano Lesson," based on the Pulitzer prize-winning August Wilson play. John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins and Ray Fisher star in this story about an African-American family debating what to do with a piano that's an important heirloom. And in our movie news livestream, we discussed the week's major releases, Sebastian Stan, Jussie Smollett, and our dear friend Amy Nicholson being named the LA Times' new film critic. So well deserved! We won't be going live the Friday after Thanksgiving, but check back with us at our YouTube channel at Noon Pacific time on Dec. 6. Next week is our 500th episode, and we're excited to celebrate! Have a delicious and restful Thanksgiving, and we'll see you back here soon.  Our friends at Coffee Bros. have an incredible Black Friday deal going: Take 25% off orders of at least $100, 20% off orders of at least $50, and 15% off orders of under $50. They have lots of great gift box varieties, and their Holiday Blend is always a favorite this time of year: https://coffeebros.sjv.io/EKRRd9    (Some links are affiliate links which means if you purchase something, we may receive a small commission.)

We are looking at the 2024 Netflix adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson play, The Piano Lesson, directed by Malcolm Washington, starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Samuel L. Jackson. Plus we take a music-movie quiz written by Steven Ray Morris. Emmy-winning film and television producer, Shelby Stone, joins us.What's Good:Drea - Celebrity Look Alike CompetitionsShelby - Not Snowing or Freezing on the East Coast/Her petsAlonso - A Season for Soft Foods (A can of Campbells' Cream of Chicken Soup)ITIDIC:1. Several high-profile filmmakers pull their films out of Poland's Camerimage Film Festival following a Misogynist op-ed written by the festival's founder and head Marek Żydowicz.- https://deadline.com/2024/11/coralie-fargeat-the-substance-camerimage-marek-zydowicz-women-cinematographers-1236178278/- https://www.thewrap.com/camerimage-festival-jury-we-wholeheartedly-support-gender-inclusivity/- https://deadline.com/2024/11/steve-mcqueen-blitz-camerimage-film-festival-2024-marek-zydowicz-female-cinematographers-1236174179/2. Anna Kendrick Felt ‘Gross' Making Money Off ‘Woman of the Hour,' Donated All Her Pay to Anti-Violence Charities: ‘Felt Like the Least I Could Do'3. Pop-Loving Beauty Brand E.l.f. Cosmetics Launches Production ArmChristmas Movie Minute:Festival of TreesTis the Season to be IrishChristmas with the SinghsJingle Bell RunConfessions of a Christmas LetterHot FrostyStaff Picks:Drea - FlowShelby - NightbitchAlonso - Carnage for ChristmasPlugs!Have Yourself A Movie Little ChristmasI'll Be Home For Christmas Movies Follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, or InstagramWithDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeIfy NwadiweProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Danielle Deadwyler, who first grabbed the spotlight for her performance as Emmett Till's mother in the film “Till,” stars in a new film called “The Piano Lesson”—one of August Wilson's Century Cycle plays about Black life in Pittsburgh. Denzel Washington has committed to adapting and producing all ten of Wilson's Century Cycle plays; “The Piano Lesson” is directed by his son Malcolm, and his other son John David co-stars. Deadwyler plays Berniece, a widow who has kept the family piano after her migration north to Pittsburgh; her brother, who remained in Mississippi, wants to sell it to buy a plot of land. Themes of inheritance and history are central to the siblings' conflict. “Histories are passed as we keep doing things together . . . through struggle, through joy, through lovemaking, through challenge,” Deadwyler explained to the New Yorker's Doreen St. Félix. “The Piano Lesson” is playing in select theatres, and will be available on Netflix starting November 22nd.

This week on The Treatment, Elvis welcomes first time feature filmmaker Malcolm Washington. His directorial debut is The Piano Lesson, adapted from the August Wilson play. Then, film critic Glenn Kenny stops by to talk about his new book The World is Yours: The Story of Scarface. And for The Treat, Curb Your Enthusiasm  star Susie Essman talks about the person who has inspired her most.