#Especially with that one part where we help Robin in the Grand Theatre and

[eternity-death]

Someone on twt pointed out that Sunday’s wing might be clipped or he might be missing a wing entirely…

post

2nd post

What if I die

[zukalations]

88th Class Ties

This round-robin style talk with all the 92nd class members was published in the May 2017 issue of GRAPH, as part of a series on the more senior classes (those who have been in the company 10 years of more).

In case the tags don’t cooperate, the participants are: Kouzuki Ruu, Asaka Manato, Kagetsu Miyako, Sahana Mako, Kurenai Yuzuru, Hoshou Dai, Yugiri Rai

Kozuki Ruu, Kagetsu Miyako, and Sahana Mako are the only participants still current at time of posting, and Sahana will retire at the conclusion of Snow Troupe’s 2020 show Once Upon A Time In America.

88th Class Ties

Start!

Moon Troupe, Kozuki Ruu

“Alright, I’ll start this off~! Oh, I got Maa-kun (Asaka)!”

Asaka Manato is…

Calm and collected, yet flexible Ever since we were Lower Students she’s been calm and collected, and I’ve never seen her mess up, or seen her cry. But, when we all would get together to goof around, she’d join in, that kind of feeling. In any case, she’s really clever. Also, although she’s the younger one, she has an older-brotherly feeling of ‘Everything will be okay!’, and she’s a really reliable person.

A big eater Although her appearance hasn’t changed at all up to now, I seem to have an image of her eating a lot more in the past… I remember that she wouldn’t be affected by whatever went on around her at all and just steadily kept eating at her own pace… (laughs).

So fast at remembering choreography! Ever since she was a lower student she’s been able to memorize the choreography so quickly! It was the same way in things like Takarazuka Special, and recently when I asked her ‘So how do you learn the choreography?’ she told me ‘I don’t know, I just kind of look at the choreographer and my body moves’, so I wasn’t able to comprehend it at all (laughs). I think she comes by it naturally!

Cosmos Troupe, Asaka Manato

“Ahaha! (laughs) Did I say that about the choreography? I’m terrible, aren’t I! As for being a big eater, I must have been going through my growth spurt back then~ Also, saying I’m clever is going too far! But, Ruu-chan (Kouzuki), thank you!”

Kagetsu Miyako is…

Unchangingly a cute little creature She’s always been just like a little squirrel. Even as her seniority has increased that hasn’t changed at all, so no matter when I look at her I think ‘She’s so cute~’. As for her personality, she’s really laid-back but also has a bit of a mysterious side to her. I want to have a mysterious side, so I’m jealous of that part (laughs).

Sleeps with her eyes open When we were in TMS, she would really sleep a lot. But she wouldn’t close her eyes properly when she slept, so you could never tell if she was asleep or not (laughs). Nacchan (Kagetsu), do you still sleep with your eyes open~?

Suddenly turned into a great actress She’s such a great performer! What an actress! I was so moved by her in Grand Hotel, and her role of the grandmother in Spring Snow was so powerful! I was thinking ‘and that’s Nacchan…?’ I was able to talk to her in the dressing room about performing the other day, and as a senior actress she has such an amazing way of thinking about things, and she has really sharp perception. I’m so happy that the little creature from TMS became able to have such deep conversations! (laughs)

“Nacchan is so cute 💖 ”

Moon Troupe, Kagetsu Miyako

“This is really info you could only get from a classmate (laughs). But...I know I still sleep with my eyes open (laughs). I’ve always had people tell me I’m like a little animal… Maybe it’s because when I get flustered I’ll be like ‘Wa~h!’? (laughs) Being able to talk with Maa-kun after so long, we were each able to learn from each others’ experiences, so that was interesting. Above all, I’m so happy that she became Top Star!

Sahana Mako is…

Able to see things in such an incisive way She’s always been like this, but she sees things in just slightly different ways from other people. Ever since we were in the music school, I picture Kyabii as looking at things from her own point of view and laughing (laughs). Of course it wasn’t in a bad way at all. As we’ve been in the company longer we’ve gotten so close, so as we’re talking about different things, often I’ll realize ‘Oh, she must have been looking at things this way!’ and being surprised. She’s so fun!

Such a skilled actor I love Kyabii’s acting. Perhaps this is related to her unique way of looking at things, but when we were doing the Culture Festival, all she was doing was drinking something and scowling but she had a totally different atmosphere to everyone else. And now that she is bringing that to her current performances, so I really love that sense she has.

Feminine and kind I think she has an image as a really intelligent person, but she is also such a gentle and feminine person. I like that part of her too (laughs). She’s so considerate, like a really reliable older sister, and she’s also so kind, and always sees the good points in people. Basically I just love Kyabii (laughs).

Snow Troupe, Sahana Mako

“I think Natsuko (Kagetsu) is a really unique musumeyaku, so I’m really honored to hear this from her! As our seniority has increased we have gotten into the habit of talking about all kinds of things, and I wish I had something like Natsuko’s totally unique aspects that nobody else can replicate. But that spacey side of her is really healing too. We talk about anything and everything on or offstage, so our relationship has surpassed that of classmates.”

Kurenai Yuzuru is…

She has an odd way of looking at things When we were asked our reasons for deciding to try out for Takarazuka, she said “I want to paint the seats of the Grand Theatre red”. But...they’re red already.

Loves Takarazuka She’s a dyed-in-the-wool traditional Takarazuka fan. Back then [in TMS] she went and wrote in my performance notebook, where I would pour out my passion, that she loved Asazumi Kei-san. But, even though she said she really liked her, she wrote her nickname of Kayoko-san as ‘Kakoyo-san’.

Stoic in her own way Ever since she was a lower student, she would diligently practice the things she was struggling with. But since she was seeing her goal in a slightly different way to other people, it would have the opposite effect, she would end up running away with herself even further. As a result, to come all the way around she would put in even more steady work than anyone else.

Star Troupe, Kurenai Yuzuru

“Actually, at the beginning what I wanted to say was ‘I want to paint the seats scarlet [T/N: ‘kurenai’]’ but she came back at me ‘That means empty seats!’ (laughs). Running away with myself in the opposite direction… (laughs). That’s totally true! I never see what’s close to me. But, I think maybe it’s good that I’m that way (laughs). I’ve been good friends with Sahana Mako ever since we were in TMS. We would pretend we were in Masked Romanesque together and stuff (laughs).”

“Who will I get…”

Hoshou Dai is…

The top dummy of the 88th class! Our classmates always say that me and Dai-chan (Houshou) were about even in terms of being common-sense challenged, but they all say “If we had to choose, Dai-chan was the worst!” so just give up and admit it! (laughs) You’re number one!!

The calm before the storm... This was the day before a holiday, when we were Lower Students. One of the screws in her head must have come loose. She was goofing around on the train station platform, waving her hat around and cheering ‘Ya~y!’ Of course she was promptly spotted in that state by an upper student, and I’ll never forget watching her be scolded like nothing else (laughs).

More of an older sister type in TMS She was talented in Japanese Dance, so she would help you get your kimono on and look after you and such, but once we all entered the company her character totally changed. What’s with that? (laughs)

Snow Troupe, Hoshou Dai

“I don’t want to hear that from Kurenai Yuzuru! We’re equal, aren’t we? Equal! And then, that memory from TMS (laughs). That did happen, didn’t it! Why on earth did I do that, I wonder. Doing a rockette dance while twirling my hat around… Because of me, the commuter students all got horribly scolded...I’m really sorry about that!”

Yuugiri Rai is…

One of the 88th class band of goofballs Ever since we were lower students, Rai-chan (Yuugiri) and Kurenai and I would be the group goofing around (laughs). Although she has a diligent side too, she also has a lot of surprising aspects (laughs). The thing that left the biggest impression with me was when we were taking the entrance exam. During the ‘creative dance’ portion of the exam, she—she was in a volleyball club, you know—next to me she was doing a twirling serve receive (laughs).

So multi-talented! & she loves cute things! She’s so good at drawing, and really skilled at making things. When she was a junior actress she made slippers for a senior actress. She didn’t just put a simple picture on them, but she was so dedicated to making the design! That creative side of her is so cute, and it made me think she had a surprisingly feminine side to her too.

Her voice is the best!!! Ever since we were in TMS she’s had an amazing voice and such good singing skills! She did well in our classical voice class of course, but especially in popular music, her sense of rhythm was really impressive. “So that must be what it’s like to have natural talent~” I thought; it made me jealous.

Flower Troupe, Yuugiri Rai

“I did do that twirling recieve, didn’t I (laughs). Dai-chan, you see me from all different angles, don’t you. Even if you struggle at it, helping other people gives you energy, so I think picturing the other person’s happiness helped me do my best. I’ve always loved singing, so I listened to all different genres of music and learned them by ear. Daichan, do your best! I hope you will continue performing to the end with nothing to regret!!

Kouzuki Ruu is…

A star student! Ever since she was in TMS she had the top grades, and she’s the leader of all of us. Ruu-chan is so reliable, just having her there lets me feel comfortable! No matter what happens, she’ll calmly be able to handle it, and she gives off such a grown-up aura.

She’s just really nice I’ve never seen her being really grumpy or irritable. My strongest image of her is her smiling gently. Ruu-chan is so nice that I’m always ending up relying on her 💖

She loves Takarazuka 💖 She’s always loved Takarazuka, and she knows so much about it, so whenever we asked her about old times she would have an answer—she’s our Professor Takarazuka! I only had superficial knowledge, so she seemed to me like she was really my senior, a powerful individual who even back then had the otokoyaku aesthetics down and a real presence as a Takarasienne (laughs).

Back to Kouzuki Ruu…

Goal!

“I’m not that nice, though~ I have really major emotional swings (laughs). I hated being called a star student ever since I was a junior actress, and I really struggled to break out of that framework… Also, I don’t know about the whole history of Takarazuka (laughs). I probably just said things based on what I knew from when I started watching Takarazuka  (laughs). But, the otokoyaku style and aesthetic hasn’t ever changed! I think Rai-chan’s strongest idea of me is from TMS, so if you looked at me now it might shatter the picture you have of me… (laughs). Thank you for saying I’m grown-up and a star student ✨ Please don’t be disillusioned by the current me either!

[loudlytransparenttrash]

This Week Within Our Colleges: Part 20

Evergreen State College held another celebration of racial segregation. Last year the school created a shitstorm after they asked white students and staff to stay away from campus for the day so the non-whites can “heal.” This time around it was a three-day “Day of Absence” which asked students to RSVP at a URL named ‘No Nazis Allowed’ where no-whites-allowed meet-ups were held off campus. But don’t worry, they didn’t entirely exclude whites, as they state in their advertisement: “In addition to POC centered events there will be anti-racist workshops for white folks.” 

University of Chicago socialist and black lives matter student groups demanded their school pays not only its black students reparations but local black residents too. They claim the original University of Chicago, a completely different entity from today’s, had its original land donated by Stephen Douglas who purchased the property using profits from his wife’s family’s plantation in 1856, so all black people in the area today are owed “damages.” 

Howard University student protesters occupied an administrative building for over a week with a list of demands which the school has ultimately caved to. The demands include fighting rape culture on campus, disarming campus police out of “respect for Black life,” implementing a system that can track and discipline faculty who use classist, ableist, colorist, queerphobic language, hiring more counselors to “cater to the traumas of systemic oppression,” and the resignation of Howard’s president along with the school’s Board of Trustees. 

A group of black students at Oklahoma State University created a list of demands which include punishing students or faculty who use “racially insensitive” rhetoric, creating a minority history and diversity lounge, hiring more faulty of color and for the school to rename its buildings after “prominent social activists of color.” They’re called the ‘Four Percent’ and from the look of their meetings posted on Twitter, it appears their name reflects their four-person membership.

St. Catherine University canceled a one-day conference designed to equip and empower women for leadership roles because too many of the female speakers scheduled to appear were white. “The lineup did not reflect the diverse St. Kate’s community of today nor the world of tomorrow we are committed to creating.” Last year at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, a conference on writing for children and young adults was also canceled, calling it a “mistake” that too many white speakers were going to be there.

Duke University hosted a workshop titled “Confronting White Fragility” that explores the topics of “whiteness and racism” with the goal of addressing the supposed problems that white people have with discussing racism. It serves as an introduction to the work of Robin DiAngelo, the inventor of ‘White Fragility.’ According to DiAngelo, white fragility is the defensive moves that white people make when spoken to about their privilege and many forms of racism, all which ultimately protects white supremacy and racial inequalities. 

Stanford University intended to offer a workshop called “Confronting Whiteness” which aimed to provide students an opportunity to understand problems associated with white privilege and learn ways they could lessen the pain white privilege creates, according to the online description. “Learn tools to mitigate the harms of white privilege in daily life. We will work through real-life examples together.” 

Stanford Law School student activists created a campaign to expose the “racism, bigotry and the forces of white supremacy” pervading the school. The group claim racism runs rampant and minority students suffer “death by a thousand proverbial paper-cuts,” pointing to microaggressions they say they are constantly bombarded with. They also complain how “it’s stunning that you can graduate with a Stanford Law degree and completely avoid discussions of race and structural inequalities in your three years here.”

University of Akron thankfully squashed a professor’s plans to boost the grades of his female students in an attempt to “correct gender imbalances” as part of a “national movement.” The professor admitted that his female students were “not doing well” and they would have to repeat the course if he did not boost their scores. It appears he got the idea from the plan of action by Microsoft which encourages teachers to reward female students for effort rather than for knowing the right answers. 

Schulich School of Law first-year students receive a two-sided card in their mandatory Aboriginal & Indigenous class suggesting 50 ways they can acknowledge and act on their complicity in the mistreatment of Indigenous people. Ways for students to pay their reparations include adding land acknowledgment in their email signatures, buying dreamcatchers, learning “why sexy Pocahontas is just wrong,” and when discussing LGBTQ issues, always including two-spirited peoples (LGBTQ2S*)

Humboldt State University offers a lengthy online resource guide to address a wide variety of issues dealing with whiteness, including white privilege, white fragility, white spaces and seeing white. It offers more than a dozen different articles on white privilege, defined as having “unearned entitlements” such as feeling safe in public. The “Seeing White” section showcases a weekly podcast on “the historical origins of whiteness and its racism in the U.S.” The guide also suggests reading “The scientific way to train white people to stop being racist.”

An educational session called “The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys” has been embraced by universities such as North Carolina-Charlotte, University of Iowa, Grand Valley State and Metropolitan Community College. Better connecting with black youth and their education seems like quite a reasonable conversation, until you learn the sessions are based off a book with the same title, where the author writes, “Given that whites come to the teaching profession with ingrained and implicit bias simply because they live in a white supremacist country, their whiteness impacts their classrooms and especially those black males who exist in their space for the school year.” 

George Washington University hosted a training session for students and faculty that teaches that white Christians “receive unmerited perks" and are the beneficiaries of a combined “Christian Privilege and White Privilege.” The event also aims to educate those of the “role of denial when it comes to white privilege.” By the end of the training, the organizers want participants to be able to name at least three examples of Christian privilege and at least three ways to be a good ally for those of a different religion. 

Yale University is offering a course which aims to help students understand and counteract “whiteness,” exploring such topics as white spaces, white masculinity and white speech. Students in the course are asked to read books such as Angry White Men, White Woman, Listen! and My White Feminism. The professor is active in the theater community and has produced the play “The White Card” which centers around a conversation at a dinner party focusing on the question: “Can American society progress if whiteness stays invisible?”

University of Wisconsin-Madison have created a class that teaches students the relationship between social justice and hip-hop. It will be taught by the professor who is best known for his “The Problem of Whiteness” course, and will involve reading race theory and listening to hip-hop music. It will also delve into colonialism, blackness, cultural appropriation, white rappers, black power, and black feminism. The funniest part about it all? The teacher is white and enjoys performing hip-hop on his weekends under the moniker ‘ProfessorD.us’ 

Columbia University is not to be outdone, creating a class about pop and social justice to teach students how to write music addressing “LGBTQIA rights,” mass incarceration and “gender and racial equality.” According to the program coordinator, the workshop will teach students how to “harness music to advance social justice narratives” as “it’s a university’s role to enact social change.” 

California Institute of Integral Studies held a “Making Whiteness Conscious” workshop to discuss how “racial privilege is often unconscious for white people,” especially “in this time when the rise of white supremacy is hypervisible.” Participants took part in “theatre of the oppressed” exercises and reflected on the often invisible negative impacts of whiteness. By end of the workshop, attendees were expected to have a better understanding of “white racial identity” and how to “cultivate racial justice orientation.” 

At Santa Clara University, a “Know Your Whiteness” display was created on a bulletin board which claims white people have to acknowledge their privilege "for the greater good.” “Understanding our privilege is the first step to addressing the problem which will improve everyone’s quality of life.” In the same area it displays a list of boxes to check your privilege, but the only options are if you are white, male, Christian, able-bodied, heterosexual and cisgender. The board shows an image of a white male that has a green check mark and a black man, a Muslim woman and person in a wheelchair who all bear red crosses. It recommends white people be “an ally at movements and events BUT don’t speak over others.” 

Penn State has become the latest university to abolish the king and queen homecoming titles, replacing it with the unsexed “Guide State Forward Award” in an attempt to advance “diversity and gender inclusivity” and “foster a welcoming and equitable environment.” They have also abandoned the male-to-female ratio of Homecoming, allowing one sex to be given both of the new gender neutral awards. 

Mount Holyoke, a women’s liberal arts college, has updated its Advanced Topics in Italian course that studies fascism with a particular focus on the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini to include President Donald Trump. Taught in Italian, the course description tells students that it plans to discuss the Trump administration as it follow the development of fascisms.

A New York University music technology professor claims it’s part of white supremacy when teachers trained in classical music teach classical music. Professors who teach their students about Beethoven and Mozart is a product of “a racist patriarchy” and a “preservation of whiteness.” He says the problem with teaching classical music is not a case of boring or alienating students of color, but it’s an “attack on their sense of belonging to the school community" and even more criminal, “it fails to advance social justice.”

Ohio State University’s Young Democratic Socialists hosted a “deportation defense training workshop” that hoped to teach students the “best ways to prevent deportations, protect the undocumented and resist ICE.” According to the event’s online description, “this is an opportunity for us to get involved in the immigrant’s struggle on campus.” Wait, immigrant or illegal immigrant? 

A Columbia University lecturer recently explained how veganism can help “resist the violence associated with the subjugation and oppression of nonwhite groups.” “What we do to other animals informs how we treat one another on this planet, and it is someone who doesn’t have institutional power, and they’re usually brown” he told the attendees. A proud “social justice advocate,” he teaches a graduate course called “POP! Power, Oppression, and Privilege” where he argues the parallels between eating meat and racism and sexism. 

[frontmezzjunkies]

James McArdle, Andrew Garfield. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

NTLive’s Angels in America: (Still) A Gay Fantasia on National Themes Both Past and Present

By Ross

This play floods me with very strong memories and emotions. It was one of the first plays I saw when I moved to New York City. I had seen Part One: Millennium Approaches in 1993 when I was visiting from Los Angeles where I was living at the time it opened. But I saw Part Two: Perestroika when I finally moved to New York City in the spring of 1994. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes was something quite beyond belief.  The original cast included Ron Leibman, Stephen Spinella, Kathleen Chalfant, (the spectacular) Marcia Gay Harden, Jeffrey Wright, Ellen McLaughlin, David Marshall Grant and Joe Mantello. It was a play about AIDS and homosexuality in America that demanded to be heard and taken seriously.  It was revolutionary, theatrical, and dramatic while also being entirely human.  It forced itself inside you and stayed. Anyone who saw it on Broadway can instantly bring forth the memory of that magnificent Angel descending from the heavens. That particular image will forever be embedded in our collective mind, with no possibility of escape. And why would anyone want to?

Andrew Garfield. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

“Listen to the world, to how fast it goes. That’s New York traffic, baby, that’s the sound of energy, the sound of time.”

My fellow theatre-junkie and I were a bit cautious when we arrived at BAM Rose Cinemas on the 20th of July. We were there to see the National Theatre Live’s screening of Part One of Angels in America, the acclaimed production currently on stage at the National in London. Would the medium be able to transport us back to New York City, circa 1985/86 and into the minds and hearts of all those strange and wonderful characters? On stage, it is something to behold, but on staged show on a movie screen, I wasn’t so sure. The place it was always meant to be seen and heard is the stage, with all strings and mechanicals showing. On one very long Sunday in 2010 at the Signature Theatre, my same friend and I took in the marathon day of both parts of a revival. Tony Kushner’s play confirmed it’s place in my soul that day, with a stellar production and a talented cast that included: Christian Borle as Prior, Zachary Quinto as Louis, Billy Porter as Belize, Bill Heck as Joe, Zoe Kazan as Harper, Robin Bartlett as Hannah, Frank Wood as Roy, and Robin Weigert as the angel, directed by Michael Greif.

Andrew Garfield, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

With the monumental HBO production, Angels in America could not be minimized or squashed, even on that small screen.  It didn’t hurt that the cast was made up of super stars perfectly cast in their roles:  Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright (repeating his Tony-winning Broadway role), Justin Kirk, Ben Shenkman, Patrick Wilson, and Mary-Louise Parker. It was sublime and epic. A powerful piece of writing and a strong statement for the world to see. A statement that seems as relevant today as any time before it.

“History is about to crack wide open. Millennium Approaches.”

Russell Tovey, Nathan Lane, Denise Gough. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches

From a taping at the Lyttleton Theatre in London, Part One: Millennium Approaches is by far the most beautiful and far reaching introduction to a place and time representing the History of Gay America in the 1980’s. Magnificently directed by Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, War Horse), the opening monologue, a speech by an old Jewish rabbi, played effortlessly by Susan Brown (National Theatre’s Husbands & Sons) mysteriously tells us all we need to know.  Not in terms of the old Jewish woman laying in the coffin, which he does do, but about the world and people we are about to embrace.  It’s such a sly and wonderful piece of writing that sneaks into our soul, and sets us up on almost all levels for what is in store.  It’s about death, love, life, but it’s also about pain, suffering, guilt, and abandonment. One thing you can say about Kushner and his writing of Part One, is that there isn’t a moment of excess or a wasted scene that could be edited out.  Every word seems meaningful in this over three hour beginning.

Denise Gough, Russell Tovey. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

The cast is exceptional. Andrew Garfield (Mike Nichols’ Death of a Salesman) as Prior gives us 1980’s camp artfully masking the frightened young boy beneath. James McArdle (Chichester Festival Theatre’s Platonov) as his guilt ridden boyfriend, Louis is epic in his word play, hiding quite simply behind the intellectual waterfall of words and ideas. They don’t in the end do the job in protecting him, as most beautifully pointed out by Belize, archly portrayed by the wonderful Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (National Theatre’s The History Boys) but they do distract him just enough not to see how he is engaging with the world.

Russell Tovey, who was masterful in Broadway’s The View from the Bridge, is sublime once again as the confused Morman, Joe. The battle that plays out inside his head ricochets throughout the theatre and into our hearts. Denise Gough (National Theatre’s People, Places and Things – a play I NEED to see with her in it – it’s coming to St. Ann’s Warehouse) as Joe’s tortured and torturing wife, Harper tackles maybe one of the hardest parts in this complex play and triumphs against all odds (Marcia Gay Harden and Mary Louise Parker must be giving her virtual standing ovations nightly).  The scene when Harper and Prior connect for the first time is electric and emotionally engaging, making tears flow down my face before I knew what even was happening. The thin hair of connecting tissue between these two are what holds this piece together. The way they can see inside the other and know their pain, is what adds weight and meaning to the whole.

Nathan Lane, Russell Tovey. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

Amanda Lawrence and Susan Brown have the joy and the difficulty of playing numerous roles spanning from a nurse, a Mormon neighbor, a male doctor, Joe’s mother, a homeless woman, Ethel Rosenberg, to a Rabbi and an angel. Gough also has the opportunity to showcase her skills playing a smarmy male friend of Roy Cohn. All with an ease that makes it look effortless. Nathan Lane (Broadway’s The Front Page), as the closeted Roy Cohn is the biggest surprise of the evening.  The comedian that has charmed us all and made us laugh in shows like The Producers has proven once again, that to be a brilliant and true comedian, one must almost also be a smart and intense actor. His Roy Cohn is as layered and fiery as one could hope for, funny but devastating, cruel but desperate for connection. It’s a magnificent performance and one I hope to witness again. He, and the others bring the humor to the front without distancing themselves from the pain and suffering that surrounds. I only hope that the rumor is true and that this production will be coming to Broadway next season.

James McArdle, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

The three plus hours of the first part is just the beginning.  On Thursday July 27, we will be back at BAM Rose Theatres to see Part Two of Angels in America, but I must say we are left at the end of Act One majestically.  For the few who don’t know I won’t spoil the epic theatricality of the descent, but it still leaves us wanting more.  Does it equal the Broadway, or even the vision of Emma Thompson from the HBO version? Not really, but I must admit the predecessors were and are monumental, and pretty hard to beat.

“I want the voice, it’s wonderful. It’s all that’s keeping me alive.”

  Denise Gough. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

But Kushner spoke often about Angels in America‘s need to be seen as artificial in a theatrical manner, with all strings and artifice showing itself. And in that stance, the National Theatre’s grand and intimate production succeeds gloriously.  The set by Ian MacNeil, with expert lighting by Paule Constable and perfect costuming by Nicky Gillibrand expands and highlights all aspects of this play (choreography and movement by Robby Graham, music by Adrian Sutton, sound by Ian Dickinson).  It effortlessly transitions and blends from one moment to another, emotionally and visually. The intimacy is palpable, especially in the intricate revolves. It pulls us in to the tremendously engaging story of the AIDS crisis in America, a conservative Reagan administration doing nothing to help these strange and wonderful New Yorkers who are grappling with life and death, love and sex, and most importantly of all, heaven and hell.  I look forward to what is next to come. I will prepare for the arrival.

Amanda Lawrence, Susan Brown. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

  Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika

“Greetings, Prophet. The Great Work Begins. The Messenger Has Arrived.”

Andrew Garfield. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

And we are back. At the BAM Rose Cinemas to see the most theatrical of stage shows on screen, Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika, and I am thrilled. My nervousness and concern are no more after last week’s powerful and touching introduction to NTLive’s theatre presentation, and I’m ready for more.

One of the striking things about this tale is just how epic and large Kushner’s stroke is as he paints his canvas. He will open with the oldest living Russian Bolshevik (Susan Brown) give a speech about revolution, passion, and theory, and it’s captivating in its word play, but sometimes, it’s a bit difficult to see the point. In reflection though, it has deep psychological meaning about living life and moving forward. Not just for Russians, or persons with AIDS but for humanity as a whole. He spins words and ideas that are sometimes overwhelming in the moment but are never without passion and heavy meaning on the bigger canvas.

Denise Gough, Russell Tovey. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

Some believe that this play, Part Two, should be edited down well beyond its plus four hour length. They say the story could and would still be told, and I agree with that point if story-telling is all we are here for. But like great works of Shakespeare and others, the piece would lose some of its magic with each subtraction of text. Ever word and utterance feels important somehow. Maybe not in the moment, but when it is all said and done, the piece carries that weight well. The canvas is brilliant to behold long after the last stroke is applied. And I wouldn’t want to lose one phrase for the sake of a few minutes here and there.

 “The fountain’s not flowing now, they turn it off in the winter. Ice in the pipes. But in the summer…it’s a sight to see, and I want to be around to see it. I plan to be, I hope to be.”

Susan Brown, Andrew Garfield. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

The lead actors are as magnificent as they are in Part One. Not surprisingly, they dig deeper into our souls with each overlapping scene and interaction. Garfield’s Prior becomes much more than a victim of AIDS but a prophet and brave forger for life and love. His surprising entanglement and deepening connection to Gough’s Harper makes my heart ache every moment these two souls see into each other’s pain, but the truly spectacular connection is the one to Brown’s Hannah Pitt, Joe’s mother. Hannah finds herself lost and adrift in Manhattan, with no connection to her son or daughter-in-law. She has been abandoned by them just like Prior has by Louis making it one of the most touching bonds formed in the whole nine hours of Angels. At first it is one helping the other out of an emergency need, but in the end, their comradory is equal and needed by both. Watching Hannah open up to the magical possibilities of the world and beyond triggers so much deep emotional connections to the maternal other, that at moments it’s hard to take in.

Nathan Lane, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Susan Brown. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

That being said, a lot of the real magic of the second half lies in the hands of the two women who feel like supporting roles in Part One. Brown is not only magnificent at the Mormon mother breaking the stereotypical mold, but is equally mesmerizing as the Bolshevik and as Ethel Rosenberg watching over the magnificent Lane on his death bed. Amanda Lawrence (Young Vic’s Government Inspector) also carries a ton of the weight of this colorful canvas on her magical wings.  As the angel that descends from the heavens, the actress, and a fantastically assist from the team of players that manipulate the winged creature (puppetry designers: Nick Barnes, Finn Caldwell; puppetry director and movement: Finn Caldwell; illusions: Chris Fisher; aerial direction: Gwen Hales; fight director: Kate Waters) create something together that is stupendously theatrical and out-of-this-world.  It’s beauty and it’s resplendent majesty resonates beyond the dramatics, especially when taken to the extremes with in the heavenly scene up above. It hits us deep, much deeper than one might expect.

Denise Gough, Andrew Garfield. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

There is that beautiful moment when Prior leaves Heaven for the real world, choosing life over freedom from suffering. It’s inexplicably emotional, resonating down into our animalistic urges for survival. The magic of the theatrical design is breathtaking in Prior’s Heavenly ascendancy and even more so in his descent, and the humor and care that is found upon his return makes the heart break more real and powerful than one can imagine.

There is an interesting component taking place throughout Part 2 with the look and dynamics of it’s conceptual set construction.  Part One saw solid set pieces with walls and hallways, but there is a wonderful deconstructed quality to everything and everyone in Part Two  There are no more walls between these people,  but scenes remain while others fly in from the sides.  We see the shadows pushing and arranging the pieces like the shadows of the angels constructing scenarios all around them.  We see Prior in his hospital bed sleeping far off but present, while the forever guilty and challenged Louis lays on his living room floor in a pool of his own shame and undoing. All of that is just the background to a scene between the complex and exciting Belize fighting it out with the dying Cohn in a hospital bed on the other side of town. All the while being watched over by the spirit of the dead Ethel Rosenberg. It’s quite the layered moment, and says volumes about the lives in front and behind that are slowly becoming more and more entangled and enmeshed.

Russell Tovey, James McArdle. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

“This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all. And the dead will be commemorated, and will struggle on with the living and we are not going away.”

Heaven, in Angels in America, is something far more than what is described in the text.  The Shakespearean quality of the dialogue echoes around the theatre, passes through the screen and into the cinema, adding a dynamic that connects Prior with the omnipresence of all, and to our spirit.  His desire to live, even with all the pain and suffering that he will have to endure, pulls on our collective heart. It’s the desire to live over all else, even when given a chance to end his suffering and remain in heaven. Just like many other moments in this wondrous conclusion, a desire to live and connect, even if that connection will bring pain, is the choice that is held onto.  Harper’s beautiful monologue as she flies off through the sky in search of meaning, speaks, once again, to the collective.  The dead will rise, and join hands in a hopeful act of saving others, so that I n the end, it is really just about creating something more meaningful and beautiful than what and how life is initially seen. Gloriousness can be found in the ending of a person’s life, and at the end of this lovely heart-wrenching story.

Amanda Lawrence, Andrew Garfield. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

(Still) A Gay Fantasia on National Themes both Past and Present

“We won’t die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come.”

Maybe it doesn’t feel as true as it did when I first heard those words thirty years ago. Or where I thought this nation was even one year ago, but we have to believe, I guess, in the bigger picture of civilization.  We need to look beyond what we are stuck with now, just like these complex characters had to do.  So we shall. We can’t stand still. We will #Resist and move forward.

“Bye now, you are fabulous each and every one and I bless you. More life, the great work begins.”

  James McArdle, Russell Tovey. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

  #frontmezzjunkies reviews: @NTLive's #AngelsInAmerica #TonyKushner #AndrewGarfield NTLive's Angels in America: (Still) A Gay Fantasia on National Themes Both Past and Present By Ross…

[londontheatre]

Outlaws to In-Laws

70 years is, according the bible, the amount of time that a person has on earth – Psalm 90, verse 10: “The days of our years are three score and ten.” Of course, in reality, people often live much longer. But, over the course of seven decades its amazing how much the world in which we live can change and this is the central message of Outlaws to In-Laws which is part of the centrepiece of the King’s Head Theatre’s Queer Festival 17.

Outlaws to In-Laws is not a single play but is an evening comprising of seven plays by individual authors, each taking place in a separate decade between the 1950s and 2010s. The first, Happy and Glorious by Philip Meeks take place on the day of the Queen’s coronation in 1953. In a ‘gentleman’s club’ overlooking Westminster Abbey, Edward (Alex Marlow) and Peter (Elliot Balchin) are welcoming a new member in the shape of Dennis (Myles Devonté) a young black man who is a complete innocent in the underground world of gay men in 1950s Britain. Despite the law, both Peter and Edward seem happy as they are. Even drag queen Arthur (Paul Carroll) seems content despite his recent brush with the law. As the Queen is crowned, the men have no doubt that for homosexuals, the new Elizabethan era will not change life one jot for them.

Move forward to Liverpool in 1965 and Jonathan Harvey’s Mister Tuesday. Two men, Jimmy (Elliot Balchin) and Peter (Jack Bence) are sitting in bed relaxing. It is obviously a post coital moment and both gentlemen should be feeling relaxed and chilled after their time together. But they aren’t, and the reasons for this become obvious very quickly. Both men have secrets to keep from each other and the world outside and both know more than they should about the other. What is the future of the two young men who, if only they had met a couple of years later may have found their lives to be completely different?

1977, the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and we enter the world of Reward by Jonathan Kemp. On a London street, two men are waiting for a bus. Donald (Michael Duke) is a young, well dressed black man, waiting patiently book in hand, is joined by Spike (Jack Bence) a young skinhead who, in order to make himself comfortable, has dragged a discarded sofa over to the bus stop. The two boys tentatively start to chat in a way that would definitely not be approved of by Spike’s skinhead mates, and especially his friend Terry (Paul Carroll)

Move forward and the Conservative Party conference provides the backdrop to Patrick Wilde’s 1984. At the Grand Hotel, waiter Tommy (Alex Marlow) is having a break, drinking some purloined gin, when he is joined by his old friend – and current Tory speech writer – Alan (Elliot Balchin). The two of them are no longer close and politically, they could not be further away from each other. One is living with the AIDS crises whilst the other does not even acknowledge it. Maybe the intercession of would-be thief Peter (Jack Bence) will change things for both men.

Following the interval, we enter the year 1997. There is a new government and in Princess Die by Matt Harris, The Queen of Hearts is emulated by a young drag queen called Shane (Alex Marlow). However, Shane has made a huge mistake on a night out with his boyfriend Tyler (Myles Devonté). Returning home alone, Shane seeks solace in drugs and suddenly finds his fantasies coming to life in the immaculate shape of underwear model Calvin (Elliot Balchin). Can Calvin make Shane realise what he has done and help him to save his romance or is Calvin but a figment of Shane’s drug addled mind?

Two young black gay men, alcohol and a computer are the ingredients for Brothas 2.0 by Topher Campbell. Its 2004 and the internet has brought a new way of connecting with other men. As Dwayne (Michael Duke) and Femi (Myles Devonté) sit drinking, they browse the various profiles of other men looking for a hook-up. Both boys are very ‘street’ in their actions and words but both are also not exactly what they seem. Dwayne is very fussy about who he speaks too online and despite Femi’s protestations, Dwayne seems to find something wrong with everyone who tries to contact him. Until a certain profile appears which changes his mind.

Finally, it is 2017 and in Joshua Val Martin’s The Last Gay Play the dream of a church wedding has finally come true for Robin (Jack Bence) and his partner Zak (Michael Duke). Not only are they getting married in a church but the celebrant for the ceremony will be Robin’s father Ted (Paul Carroll). As pre-wedding nerves kick in, Robin and his Dad have some serious things to say to each other. Does the answer to all the questions lie in a ring, first seen back in 1953?

Wow, seven plays in two hours – with a fifteen-minute interval – is a lot to take in at one showing. With each play lasting, average, fifteen minutes, the writers and actors had to do a fantastic job of getting their characters established and stories told. And, on the whole, this they did with style.

With seven shows, each member of the audience is going to have their particular favourite and the one that doesn’t quite work for them. Having written about each of them today, I’m actually surprised to find that my favourite was Reward. Without giving anything away, the subject matter, and very authentic 1970s language should have been a total turn off but, the writing was pretty amazing completely took me surprise as the story unfolded. At no point did it go the way I thought it would, given the characters involved. I also thought this was the strongest acting-wise with Michael, Paul and particularly Jack Bence completely believable in their respective roles.

On the flip side, the play I had most trouble connecting with was Brothas 2.0 which, despite some fine acting from Michael and Myles really didn’t work for me. Maybe it was because it was a shade too real but having been on the receiving end of some of the comments made by the boys, I found the play irritating. Personally, I think it would be nice if just once a playwright let the fat gay man actually win and not just be a cheap joke element guaranteed to raise some laughter. Of course, this is a personal opinion and did not detract from the evening as a whole.

Anyhow, full credit to the cast of Outlaws to In-Laws for their performances throughout. Normally, when you see a night of short plays, each one has its own individual cast but here, we had six actors playing a total of twenty very varied roles. A really impressive feat that they do very well. One final thing about acting. There is a real art in not moving and not all actors can do it well, but hats off to Elliot Balchin for his ability to sit centre of the stage in just a pair of CKs without any movement to the point where you almost forget he was there. I also really liked the idea of the ‘Ring’ moving through the years which was a lovely way of connecting the individual plays. Having one Director in Mary Franklin and a single, flexible set by P J Mcevoy also helped make the evening feel connected and Robin Lill’s costumes were wonderfully era specific.

To sum up then. Outlaws to In-Laws is a most appropriately titled show that takes a slice through seven decades of gay men’s life with a very honest forthright approach that shows not only how far we have come but, to an extent, what there is still to do.

Review by Terry Eastham

Outlaws to In-laws, which gets its world premiere at London’s King’s Head Theatre from 29 August – 23 September, is dedicated to the struggles and joys of gay men connecting with each other over the last seven decades.

From the darkest days of criminality to the legalising of gay marriage, it features seven short plays by leading gay writers that represent each of the decades from the 1950s to the present day.

Outlaws to In-Laws King’s Head Theatre 29th August to 23rd September 2017 http://ift.tt/1fCF0rr

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