Review: SWEAT Explores Brutal Realities of Working the Line With Blinders On
It has often been said that the work-a-day world is made up of blood, sweat and tears. Perhaps that is most true for blue collar workers who find themselves laboring with their hands, especially in factories where those on the line are required to stand for hours on end doing repetitive work with little hope of any real recognition or promotion into management. Such is the case of the characters in Center Theatre Group's production of SWEAT, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lynn Nottage, now at the Mark Taper Forum through October 7, 2018.
Photo Flash: In Rehearsal with CTG's SWEAT
Rehearsals have begun for Center Theatre Group's production of "Sweat" by Lynn Nottage. The 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning play will be presented at the Mark Taper Forum August 29 through October 7, 2018. Directed by Lisa Peterson, the opening of "Sweat" is set for September 5.
Cast Announced For SWEAT At Mark Taper Forum
Center Theatre Group has announced the cast for "Sweat" by Lynn Nottage. The 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning play will be presented at the Mark Taper Forum August 29 through October 7, 2018. Directed by Lisa Peterson, the opening of "Sweat" is set for September 5.
BWW Reviews: Portland Stage Cries the Blues in MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
'Blues are a way of understanding,' Ma Rainey tells her band in the second act of August Wilson's 1984 play set in a 1920s recording studio in Jim Crow era Chicago. And, indeed, Wilson uses music as a means of making sense of the African-American experience in a world scarred by racism and violence.
The Portland Stage's new production, which opens its 2013-2014 season, is a tautly directed, intensely acted interpretation of Wilson's meditation on what it is like to be black in a white man's world. The play, which uses the a quasi-musical blues structure of long, seemingly improvised solos interspersed with short rhythmic exchanges of dialogue, builds slowly and tensely to its chilling climax. Along the way, it penetrates the recesses of the musicians' hearts, their troubled pasts and their tenuous presents. And it examines the high cost of 'making it' in white America, where, for all their artistic talent and success, these determined entertainers remain faceless and invisible. Delivering Wilson's prose with an engaging blend of humor and pathos, the Portland Stage Company's cast scales the poetic heights of the playwright's genius.
BWW Reviews: Geffen Playhouse Plays Host to Vera Stark
Toward the end of the second act of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage's By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, a character shouts, "It's not what's said, it's what's not said!" This could be a tagline to describe the show, which is light and funny in its first act, and far more serious in the second, when film is utilized to tell more of the life of Vera Stark and dark questions are raised and not always answered.
Photo Flash: Sanaa Lathan and More in Geffen Playhouse's BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK
Stage and screen star Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin in the Sun, Contagion) returns to the title role in Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark for its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. Lathan, who originated the character of Vera Stark in the critically acclaimed New York run, will once again take the stage as the 1930's era maid turned movie star, reunited with original cast member Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer) reprising her role as fellow aspiring African American actress Lottie. Get a first look at the stars onstage below!
STAGE TUBE: Phylicia Rashad on Directing A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Ebony Theatre's production of Lorraine Hansberry's American classic 'A Raisin in the Sun,' playing at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre, opened last night with performances continuing through February 19, 2012. Cast members include (in alphabetical order) Kenya Alexander, Keith Arthur Bolden, Brandon David Brown, Kevin T. Carroll, Jason Dirden, Deidrie Henry, Amad Jackson, Scott Mosenson, Kem Saunders, Kim Staunton and Ellis E. Williams. In the video below, go behind the scenes of opening night!
Photo Flash: A RAISIN IN THE SUN Opens at CTG/Kirk Douglas Theatre
Ebony Theatre's production of Lorraine Hansberry's American classic 'A Raisin in the Sun,' playing at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre, opened last night with performances continuing through February 19, 2012. Check out photos from the show's opening night below!
A RAISIN IN THE SUN Opens at CTG
Previews begin next Thursday, January 19, for the Ebony Repertory Theatre production of Lorraine Hansberry's American classic "A Raisin in the Sun," playing at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre.