Dael Orlandersmith Weaves an Epic on Jazz, Harlem, Hope by Barry David Horwitz “Stoop Stories” could be called “The New York Odyssey” because playwright/poet Dael Orlandersmith has created a tapestry of encounters that bring to life real New Yorkers: a Holocaust survivor, a youthful poet, a Puerto Rican ‘cool’ kid, and an oldster seeking…
Millennial Notes Shakespeare Kicks Off New Season of Fantastic Live Theater by Jordan Freed Watching “The Winter’s Tale” at Cal Shakes feels like witnessing two prodigious trapeze artists pull off a miraculous balancing act. At every moment, I’m nervous things are about to go terribly wrong, but watching the performance succeed like a high…
Jon Tracy Celebrates Lady Zen’s Magical Memories by Philippa Kelly The central Mexican city of Guanajuato has a strange history of unearthing the dead. It’s home to a “mummy museum” that houses bodies interred during a cholera outbreak in 1833. When a burial tax was imposed in around 1900, those who couldn’t afford to pay…
Millennial Notes Lynne Alvarez Asks Youth to Fight Colorism & Privilege by Evelyn Arevalo In “Esperanza Rising” at Teatro Visión, playwright Lynne Alvarez shows how racism comes from early training—and how we even use that racist brainwashing against ourselves. Esperanza, a spoiled Mexican “princess” can only see the world from her privileged point of…