Lydia R. Diamond Refocuses US on Poverty & Racism by Patricia L. Morin & Barry David Horwitz In Lydia R. Diamond’s audio-drama of Toni Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970), disembodied voices tell the tragic story of an outcast little Black girl. That girl, rejected and despised, lives in backwoods Lorain, Ohio, Morrison’s…
Lasiter & Barnaba Light the Ring of Fire by Robert M. Gardner The first words of Johnny Cash’s last recorded song, “I hurt myself today,” still haunt me. Like other songs in “My Name is … Johnny Cash,” it reveals new truths about the storied career of The Man in Black. The bio-musical demonstrates…
Anthony Clarvoe Unveils A Chess Mom’s Competitive Urges by Barry David Horwitz Sharp, biting dialogue between a desperate mom and her Chess champion daughter reminds me of corporate skullduggery. Each side attempts to undermine the other, while pretending to serve a higher cause. The age of cutthroat competition has come down to the family…
Harrison David Rivers Depicts a Writer’s Return Home by Patricia L. Morin Forty-year-old writer Jesse Howard (H. Adam Harris) wants to unpack all the important experiences that led him to where he is today. Taking refuge in his childhood home, Jesse hears his mother saying again: “You want to have a happy plate, don’t…