Suzan-Lori Parks Spotlights Overlapping Black Histories by Patricia L. Morin In her 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Suzan-Lori Parks creates a fantasy shared by two brothers, reflecting their confrontation with American racial conflict. She mingles the Civil War with conflicts today. It’s shocking in “Topdog/Underdog” how slavery blends so perfectly with our waves of brutality…
Matthew Ozawa Modernizes Beethoven’s Ode to Justice by Jennifer Ann Charron Beethoven, with help from friends like Matthew Ozawa and the cast, orchestra, and crew of SF Opera gave me two-plus hours of unadulterated joy. Ozawa’s new “Fidelio” updates Beethoven’s opera about triumph over tyranny—delivering a contemporary win over political injustice. Ozawa’s modern detention…
Millennial Notes Justin Huertas’ Fantasy Inspires His New Punk Pop Album by Tyler Jeffreys “Lizard Boy” is set to tour four continents next year and Justin Huertas’ “Terrible Ride” has nearly a million hits on Spotify. I’m excited to listen to the album, skipping only two songs. Rather than a soundtrack, music album composed…
Lauren Yee Pits U.S. vs. China in a “Friendship Game” by Patricia L. Morin Lauren Yee’s unique play “The Great Leap,” at The Stage in San Jose calls our attention to winning and losing, and the power of political expectations. Yee uses China’s and America’s basketball craze to portray the political and personal conflict…