August Wilson Brings Ma Rainey to Life in Jim Crow America by Barry Thornton August Wilson’s 1920s Jazz Age play opens with a mic check in a small recording studio in Chicago, as Irvin and Mel, two white men, are arguing about recording Ma Rainey, famed Mother of the Blues. “I can handle her,…
Susi Damilano Movingly Reminds Us—Nazis Turn Out the Lights by Barry Thornton S.F. Playhouse’s bright new “Cabaret” puts us smack into the Kit Kat Klub in 30s Berlin, with a great band onstage. Director Susi Damilano gives us a superbly talented cast with amazing standout Cate Hayman as Sally Bowles, the nightclub’s singer. Set…
Barry Thornton is a writer and activist. He came to understand we needed an actual revolution while he was part of the battle against the Vietnam War, and thinks this is more true now than ever. He is on the staff of Revolution Books in Berkeley, and since Trump took office, he has worked…