Eliana Willis

More stories

  • 113 Shares129 Views

    in Theater

    York Theater Artistic Director Out After ‘Hurtful’ Diversity Comments

    James Morgan, who has been with the small New York theater company for 50 years, blamed the effects of a stroke for his behavior.The longtime leader of the York Theater Company, a small New York nonprofit known for its emphasis on musical theater, is acknowledging making “hurtful” comments about diversity that he says prompted his abrupt departure from the organization.James Morgan, who has served as producing artistic director of the York since 1979, and who has been with the company for 50 years, issued a letter on Monday saying that he had suffered a stroke in 2022, and attributed his behavior to that medical incident.“During a recent staff meeting, I responded to a colleague’s concerns about the diversity of our audiences in a way that was inappropriate and hurtful,” Morgan wrote in the letter. “The words came out — at a raised volume that has been one of the side effects of the stroke — differently than I intended them.”The York is a niche company, founded in 1969, that operates out of a church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. During fiscal 2023, it had an annual budget of $2.2 million, according to a filing with the Internal Revenue Service; Morgan was paid a salary of $95,000.On Friday at 5 p.m., the company issued a news release saying that Morgan had “resigned from his duties, effective immediately.” Jim Kierstead, the board’s president, raised the diversity issue in his statement in the news release, saying, “We will soon be announcing plans for a future filled with diversity, talent, and musical theater in order to continue our long legacy of supporting artists of all backgrounds.”It quickly became clear that Morgan’s departure had been preceded by the resignation of Gerry McIntyre, the theater’s associate artistic director.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares149 Views

    in Theater

    ‘American Idiot,’ Reborn in L.A. With American Sign Language

    Inside the Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles on a recent Wednesday, the air was saturated with stage fog and preshow jitters. The first performance of a revival of Green Day’s “American Idiot” was just hours away, and the choreographer Jennifer Weber had some final instructions for the cast members, who were wearing their costumes — combat boots, eyeliner, enough artfully ripped jeans to fill a Hot Topic — while they ran through dance movements onstage. Weber, microphone in hand, sang the song “Homecoming” as she demonstrated choreography:“What the hell’s your name?/What’s your pleasure, what is your pain?”An American Sign Language interpreter, Maria Cardoza, stood alongside the actors, signing Weber’s directions. At one point, Colin Analco, the show’s ASL choreographer, was slipped a small flashlight to illuminate Cardoza’s signing motions under the din of the fog and ambient lights. Weber kept singing, then started counting the beats:“‘Blew his brains out’ … one! … two! … three! …”Around the theater, about a dozen other conversations, some in spoken English and some in sign language, were happening among the cast and crew. Their show is the latest interpretation of a set of songs that have had many lives: After all, “American Idiot” is many things. It’s an album that monopolized alternative radio in 2004, but also a present-day staple of nostalgic streaming playlists. It’s a time capsule of Iraq War-era political disillusionment, and a distillation of timeless teenage angst. A musical adaptation of the album debuted in 2009, and made its way to Broadway in 2010. Now, this revival of that show is proving, with gusto, that “American Idiot” can be yet another thing: a near-scientific study of the innumerable ways to give somebody the finger.Landen Gonzales (signer, on the right) and Brady Fritz (singer, on the left) perform an excerpt from “Jesus of Suburbia.”Chad Unger for The New York TimesOr at least how many different ways the human body can be used to convey the emotions behind a raised middle finger. The production, which opened Oct. 9 and is running through Nov. 16, is a collaboration between the nonprofit Center Theater Group and Deaf West Theater, a Tony Award-winning company that stages plays and musicals that blend American Sign Language with spoken English.The cast includes both Deaf and hearing performers. Certain lead characters are played by two people at once — one Deaf actor who primarily communicates using sign language, and one hearing actor who sings and talks in spoken English. It’s a well-established method for producing work for audiences of Deaf and hearing people. Deaf West has specialized in it for decades. But as one might expect, “American Idiot,” a fast-paced, loud pop-punk musical filled with wordplay (“alien nation,” for instance) and four-letter words, presented the artists with some novel challenges.An idiosyncratic musicalBuilt around rock songs that were not written for the stage — among them “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and the title track — the “American Idiot” musical is almost entirely sung through, with little dialogue. Its book was written by Green Day’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, and the Broadway director Michael Mayer. Its story, about three teenage misfits named Johnny, Will and Tunny whose lives diverge, is primarily conveyed through the staging.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares199 Views

    in Television

    What’s on TV This Week: ‘The Wranglers’ and ‘Elsbeth’

    A CW documentary, inspired by the series “Yellowstone,” shows what real life in ranch country looks like. And “The Good Wife” spinoff is back for a second season.For those who still enjoy a cable subscription, here is a selection of cable and network TV shows, movies and specials that broadcast this week, Oct. 14-20 Details and times are subject to change.MondayTHE WRANGLERS 9 p.m. on the CW. This new documentary is like the reality show “Below Deck,” if it were on a dude ranch instead of a yacht. This show follows a group of cowboys and cowgirls who, by day, work at the Circle Bar Dude Ranch in Montana and then, of course, party by night. Inspired by the drama “Yellowstone,” this series aims to show what real life in ranch country looks like. You know what they say: Save a horse …TuesdayI’M NOT A MONSTER 9 p.m. on HBO. In 2018, Lois Riess started a journey that would leave her with the nickname “fugitive grandma.” Riess shot and killed her husband of 26 years in Minnesota, then fled to Florida, committing identity theft, robbery and murder again. This two-part documentary series is her first time speaking out from prison.WednesdaySCAMANDA 10 p.m. on ABC. The blogger Amanda Riley had been writing about her fight against Stage 3 blood cancer when an investigative reporter, Nancy Moscatiello, got a tip that Riley wasn’t telling the truth. Eventually Moscatiello uncovered that Riley had lied about her cancer diagnosis and accepted donations to cover medical expenses that didn’t exist. This new documentary series about Riley, who’s currently serving five years in prison, dives deeper in to the case, which was also covered in the podcast “Scamanda.”ThursdayNathan Lane and Carrie Preston in “Elsbeth.”Michael Parmelee/CBSELSBETH 10 p.m. on CBS. This spinoff of “The Good Wife,” revolving around the quirky attorney Elsbeth Tascioni, played by Carrie Preston, is back for a second season. This year, she continues to work with the N.Y.P.D. to help solve the crimes happening around the city. The season starts off with a murder in a theater, a ringing cellphone and an opera lover played by Nathan Lane — need I say more?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares129 Views

    in Television

    On ‘S.N.L.,’ Harris and Trump Take Their Contest to ‘Family Feud’

    It was also an especially music-filled evening, with Stevie Nicks as the musical guest and Ariana Grande, as host, breaking often into song.Although former President Donald J. Trump refused invitations for a second debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, “Saturday Night Live” came up with another setting where both presidential nominees might share the stage: the game show “Family Feud.”This weekend’s “S.N.L.” broadcast, hosted by Ariana Grande and featuring the musical guest Stevie Nicks, opened with what looked like a CNN report — but quickly threw to a special election edition of “Family Feud,” hosted by Steve Harvey (played by Kenan Thompson).Thompson first introduced the players on the Democratic team, led by Maya Rudolph in her recurring role as Harris. “My campaign has raised a billion dollars,” Rudolph noted.“How are you not winning by a landslide?” Thompson asked her.Rudolph laughed and then replied, “That’s a question I scream into my pillow every morning.”The rest of the Democratic team included Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan as Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota (“I am such a huge fan of your standup, Cedric,” he told Thompson) and Dana Carvey as President Biden.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares129 Views

    in Television

    Allan Blye, 87, Dies; ‘Smothers Brothers’ Writer and ‘Super Dave’ Creator

    In his wide-ranging career, he also helped write Elvis Presley’s comeback special and appeared on an early version of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”Allan Blye, a television comedy writer and producer who helped cement the Smothers Brothers’ reputation for irreverence in the late 1960s and later collaborated with Bob Einstein to create the hapless daredevil character Super Dave Osborne, died on Oct. 4 at his home in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 87.His wife, Rita Blye, confirmed the death. She said he had been in hospice care for Parkinson’s disease.Mr. Blye was a writer and singer on variety shows in Canada when he received a surprise call in 1967 from Tom Smothers asking him to join the writing staff of the series that he and his and his brother, Dick, would be hosting on CBS.“I couldn’t believe it was Tom Smothers,” Mr. Blye said in an interview with the Television Academy in 2019. “I thought it was Rich Little doing an impression of Tom Smothers.”Tom, left, and Dick Smothers on the set of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” in 1967. Mr. Blye helped establish the show’s outspoken tone. CBS, via Getty Images“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” was unlike any other variety show. The brothers were renowned as a comical folk-singing duo: Tom played the naïve, guitar-playing buffoon, and Dick, who played the double bass, was the wise straight man. They had creative control of the series, which emboldened them and their writers to be more outspoken as they addressed politics, the Vietnam War, religion and civil rights — and their forthrightness during a divisive era increasingly angered some viewers, CBS censors, some of the network’s affiliates and conservative groups.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 100 Shares149 Views

    in Television

    Lee Minho of ‘Pachinko’ Needs His Notes App

    “Whenever I get inspiration or feel something,” the “Pachinko” star said, “I go to my Notes app and write it down.”Four years ago, the actor and singer Lee Minho was yearning for a shift in his career. It was around this time that he received the script for Season 1 of “Pachinko,” the drama that follows four generations of a Korean immigrant family, based on the novel by Min Jin Lee.“I found it to be fateful, in a way,” Lee said. “When I first read the script, I felt that this was a story that would resonate with people of the present and the future, transcending time.”Lee, 37, is one of the most popular actors in South Korea, having broken out playing the lead role in the Korean TV series “Boys Over Flowers.” In “Pachinko,” created by Soo Hugh and now in its second season on Apple TV+, Lee plays Koh Hansu, a morally ambiguous broker at a local fish market who becomes involved in a thorny love affair with the show’s central character, Sunja (Minha Kim), and fathers her son, Noa (Park Jae-joon).Lee was drawn to the pathos of his character. “My heart was breaking for him, and I pitied him, too, because of his way of living and the methods he had to choose for his survival,” he said.In a video call from Seoul, Lee talked about the music he listened to while on set, his favorite video game and how he prepares for roles by writing. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.My Mother, Father and SisterI had an opportunity to think really deeply about the meaning of family by playing the role of Hansu. From Hansu’s perspective, the people who remind him of his being are Sunja and Noa. Just like that, the people who make me realize who I am are the people who are close to me.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares139 Views

    in Theater

    ‘Suffs,’ the Tony-Winning Broadway Musical, Will Close Jan. 5

    The musical, created by Shania Taub, announced that it will play its final performance on Jan. 5 and start a national tour next fall.“Suffs,” a new musical about the American women’s suffrage movement, has a lot going for it: Its producers include Hillary Rodham Clinton and Malala Yousafzai, it won Tony Awards for its score and its book, and its audiences seemed energized by how the show’s themes resonated with the candidacy of Kamala Harris.But the show has struggled to sell enough tickets to defray its running costs, and on Friday night the producers announced that it would close on Jan. 5. At the time of its closing, it will have had 24 previews and 301 regular performances. The show announced plans for a national tour, which will begin in Seattle’s in September 2025.The musical, which takes place in the early 20th century, depicts two generations of women eager to win the right to vote, but divided over how best to do that. Shaina Taub, a singer-songwriter, wrote the book and score and stars as Alice Paul, an influential suffragist. It was directed by Leigh Silverman.The show began previews on March 26 and opened on April 18 at the Music Box Theater. A pre-Broadway production at the Public Theater received reviews that were mixed; the reviews of the Broadway production were somewhat better. Writing in The New York Times, the chief theater critic Jesse Green called it “a good show and good for the world” but said “to be great, a musical (like a great movement) must grab you by the throat. ‘Suffs’ too often settles for holding up signs.”The show’s grosses have been middling — during the week that ended Oct. 6, it grossed $679,589, which is generally not sufficient to sustain a large-cast musical.“Suffs” is the sixth musical to announce closing dates since early May, following “Lempicka,” “The Heart of Rock and Roll,” “The Who’s Tommy,” “The Notebook” and “Water for Elephants.” Broadway is always a difficult industry, and most shows fail, but the odds of success are particularly long now because production costs have risen, audience size has fallen, and a high volume of shows are competing for attention.“Suffs,” with Jill Furman and Rachel Sussman as lead producers, was capitalized for $19 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That money has not been recouped. More

  • 150 Shares169 Views

    in Theater

    ‘Our Town,’ ‘McNeal’ and 4 More Shows Our Critics Are Talking About

    The fall season is underway, and our reviewers think these productions are worth knowing about, even if you’re not planning to see them.Critic’s PickIdentity politics, funny at last.Daniel Dae Kim as the playwright David Henry Hwang’s stand-in in a revival of the play “Yellow Face” at the Todd Haimes Theater in Manhattan.Sara Krulwich/The New York Times‘Yellow Face’David Henry Hwang’s 2007 satire, directed by Leigh Silverman, arrives on Broadway starring Daniel Dae Kim as an Asian American playwright who protests yellowface casting only to inadvertently, and hilariously, cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play.From Jesse Green’s review:A smart thing about “Yellow Face,” aside from the authorial self-defamation, is that as it gets more hopelessly tangled and thus funny it also gets more serious and thus damning. The questions of identity considered as cultural matters in the first half become personal and political in the second.Through Nov. 24 at the Todd Haimes Theater. Read the full review.Critic’s PickA brutal classic with an ideally shrewd Jim Parsons.Jim Parsons as the Stage Manager in “Our Town” at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in Manhattan.Sara Krulwich/The New York Times‘Our Town’Kenny Leon directs Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes and others in a revival of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic about two families whose ordinary life events, from birth to death, are consecrated by a kind of communal love.From Jesse Green’s review:In any good enough production, “Our Town” is titanic: beyond time and brutal. The revival that opened Thursday at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, the fifth on Broadway since the play’s 1938 debut, is more than good enough. To use this word in the only positive sense I can imagine, it’s unbearable: in its beauty, yes, but more so in its refusal to offer beauty as a cure when it is only, at best, a comfort.Through Jan. 19 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. Read the full review.Critic’s PickAlive with the sound of music.Laura Donnelly, far left. Clockwise from top left: Nicola Turner, Nancy Allsop, Sophia Ally and Lara McDonnell as her daughters in the play “The Hills of California.”Sara Krulwich/The New York Times‘The Hills of California’In Jez Butterworth’s dying-parent drama, directed by Sam Mendes, four sisters trained by their determined mother (Laura Donnelly) to sing close harmony reunite 20 years later as acrimonious adults.From Jesse Green’s review:We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More