Making Space for Women Artists and Remembering My Mother, Joan Sommers
No woman wants to be a “woman artist.” If you are a woman and an artist, you want to be judged on your work. Period. As Georgia O’Keefe said, “The men liked to put me down as the best woman painter. I think I’m one of the best painters.” Gender qualification in the art world […]
Petrol Station – Political Theater That Is Clarifying for the Soul
Sulayman Al Bassam’s Petrol Station, which will have its world premier at the Kennedy Center this Friday (followed by performances Saturday and Sunday only), is an extraordinary new play that arrives at our nation’s capitol with such uncanny timing it will make your head spin. The work is feverishly in-tune with both the unhinged state […]
Theater of Resistance in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene
In the days immediately following November’s shock election, pundits across the media landscape, responding to a rising chorus of “Not My President,” admonished Americans to give Trump a chance. We need Trump to succeed, they said, because we need our country to succeed. The political class was asking those of us who felt his hate, […]
Immigrants, Stereotypes and Casting: Talking with the Actors of Three Trembling Cities
Three Trembling Cities, a new ten-part web series on New York City immigrants, is now available on Amazon.com, Rikaroo.com, Brooklynondemand.com, Stareable.com and Vimeo. Click to read the previous story. One of the most rewarding aspects of producing Three Trembling Cities was the experience of casting. The ensemble nature of the series, created to reflect the face of today’s New York […]
Three Trembling Cities – The Immigrant Experience in New York
On the eve of the American Revolution’s final battle at Yorktown, as portrayed in the musical Hamilton, Lafayette and Hamilton cross paths and, in a brief exchange, these two freedom fighters share a private moment of mutual admiration. “Immigrants,” they shout in unison as they high-five each other, “we get the job done.” I had […]