Latest news with #TennesseeWilliams
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Orleans' rich history, and the resilience of the people who live there
The voice of the Mississippi still sings in New Orleans, a place where umbrellas dance, booze mingles with beignets, the irreverent holds hands with the sacred, and the dead sleep among the living. "It's a city that enjoys life," said Robert Florence, who, like many others taken by New Orleans, first went there to be playwright and author. He added: "It's a city that lives for the moment. It's a city that is not judgmental. It's a city where people don't worry as much." Longtime New Orleans resident Tennessee Williams counted it among America's top three cities. "Everywhere else," Williams is said to have remarked, "is Cleveland." Cradled in the crescent of the Mississippi's embrace, the area had been inhabited by Indigenous people for centuries. But it later proved no easy place to inhabit. It has survived fires, wars, disease, the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Year's Eve terrorist attack, and, now, a jail-break that continues to make headlines. "But we're still here," said Mona Lisa Saloy, Louisiana's former Poet Laureate and a professor at Dillard University, which is the state's oldest Historically Black College or University, or HBCU. "Those of us who are here want to be here because there is no place like it." Saloy said that New Orleans' reputation as a "party city" hardly tells its whole story. The families who live there, and their traditions, make the city what it is, she told "CBS Sunday Morning." And those families have deep roots in many places. The French claimed and named New Orleans in 1718. Later, it was controlled by Spain, returned to French rule, and, finally, sold to Thomas Jefferson as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Some hearty folks were among the area's first settlers: criminals, counterfeiters, pirates and prostitutes. Over time, though, a duality developed in New Orleans that may be the city's "secret sauce." "They weren't the Puritans!" Florence said of New Orleans' early settlers. But, he noted, "At the same time, it's been a very religious city, and a very spiritual city." Like many cities in the southern United States, New Orleans was built on the backs of the enslaved. However, unlike other places in the South, the enslaved and free people of color lived shoulder to shoulder. They were allowed to celebrate their traditions, not hide them. "On Sunday afternoon, after worship, Black people could unite and sell their wares, and practice drumming and dancing and singing," Saloy said. "No other place in the country allowed that kind of public, free congregation of enslaved Africans, and free." Those African traditions started to merge with the musical influences all around it — classical, the mambo and the tango — and that fusion became jazz. Birthed in this stew of cultures, locals like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver created a sound that was never heard before, and is still evolving today. If music is the heartbeat of New Orleans, its creole cuisine is the city's soul. Mark Twain, who grew up on Southern cooking, once said that "New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin." It's also a feast for the eyes, from colorful creole cottages to grand antebellum mansions. Elegance, grit, acceptance and defiance are all in the marrow of New Orleans. Asked to sum up the city in one word, Saloy said: "Happy. We keep that. It's part of us, and we're not letting it go." "I think it's more than the buildings, the music and the food," Florence added. "I think it's the people that draws people here." For more info: Mona Lisa SaloyRed Beans and Ricely YoursDooky Chase's RestaurantRobert Florence, New Orleans Historic ToursThe Cabildo, A Louisiana State MuseumNew Orleans & CompanySt. Louis CathedralThahn Thahn restaurantCafe Beignet Raw Video: Mexican navy training ship hits Brooklyn Bridge Surprising facts about Mark Twain that biographer Ron Chernow learned while writing new book Family's goodbye to beloved dog becomes a lesson in letting go
CBS News
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
New Orleans' rich history, and the resilience of the people who live there
The voice of the Mississippi still sings in New Orleans, a place where umbrellas dance, booze mingles with beignets, the irreverent holds hands with the sacred, and the dead sleep among the living. "It's a city that enjoys life," said Robert Florence, who, like many others taken by New Orleans, first went there to be playwright and author. He added: "It's a city that lives for the moment. It's a city that is not judgmental. It's a city where people don't worry as much." Longtime New Orleans resident Tennessee Williams counted it among America's top three cities. "Everywhere else," Williams is said to have remarked, "is Cleveland." Cradled in the crescent of the Mississippi's embrace, the area had been inhabited by Indigenous people for centuries. But it later proved no easy place to inhabit. It has survived fires, wars, disease, the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Year's Eve terrorist attack, and, now, a jail-break that continues to make headlines. "But we're still here," said Mona Lisa Saloy, Louisiana's former Poet Laureate and a professor at Dillard University, which is the state's oldest Historically Black College or University, or HBCU. "Those of us who are here want to be here because there is no place like it." Saloy said that New Orleans' reputation as a "party city" hardly tells its whole story. The families who live there, and their traditions, make the city what it is, she told "CBS Sunday Morning." And those families have deep roots in many places. The French claimed and named New Orleans in 1718. Later, it was controlled by Spain, returned to French rule, and, finally, sold to Thomas Jefferson as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Some hearty folks were among the area's first settlers: criminals, counterfeiters, pirates and prostitutes. Over time, though, a duality developed in New Orleans that may be the city's "secret sauce." "They weren't the Puritans!" Florence said of New Orleans' early settlers. But, he noted, "At the same time, it's been a very religious city, and a very spiritual city." Like many cities in the southern United States, New Orleans was built on the backs of the enslaved. However, unlike other places in the South, the enslaved and free people of color lived shoulder to shoulder. They were allowed to celebrate their traditions, not hide them. "On Sunday afternoon, after worship, Black people could unite and sell their wares, and practice drumming and dancing and singing," Saloy said. "No other place in the country allowed that kind of public, free congregation of enslaved Africans, and free." Those African traditions started to merge with the musical influences all around it — classical, the mambo and the tango — and that fusion became jazz. Birthed in this stew of cultures, locals like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver created a sound that was never heard before, and is still evolving today. If music is the heartbeat of New Orleans, its creole cuisine is the city's soul. Mark Twain, who grew up on Southern cooking, once said that "New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin." It's also a feast for the eyes, from colorful creole cottages to grand antebellum mansions. Elegance, grit, acceptance and defiance are all in the marrow of New Orleans. Asked to sum up the city in one word, Saloy said: "Happy. We keep that. It's part of us, and we're not letting it go." "I think it's more than the buildings, the music and the food," Florence added. "I think it's the people that draws people here." For more info:
Time Out
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Tiger Tail
Despite its name, Shakespeare Downtown does not limit itself to Shakespearean works. This summer, it returns to the Battery's Castle Clinton with a very rare staging of Tennessee Williams's 1978 play—adapted from his own screenplay for the 1956 film Baby Doll, which was itself inspired by a pair of one-acts he wrote ten years earlier. Like the movie, the play centers on the owner of a failing cotton gin in rural Mississippi, his teenage bride in a not-yet-consummated marriage, her dotty aunt and his principal rival in the cotton business. Geoffrey Horne directs the production, whose cast includes Billie Andersson, Juan Pablo Toro, Elizabeth Ruf and Saundra Jones.
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 18): By Design — A Weekend in New Orleans
The Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. "Sunday Morning" also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.) Hosted by Jane Pauley COVER STORY: Welcome to New Orleans In the 1930s, it's said that playwright and longtime New Orleans resident Tennessee Williams counted the city among America's top three. "Everywhere else," his saying goes, "is Cleveland." Known as a thriving hub for art, culture and cuisine, New Orleans has also faced its share of challenges — fires, wars, diseases, hurricanes and, most recently, a terrorist attack — and survived. Correspondent Lee Cowan shines a light on the city's rich history, and the resilience of the people who live there. For more info: ARCHITECTURE: Longue Vue House Host Jane Pauley visits Longue Vue House, a 20th-century estate and architectural masterpiece designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman. BRAND NEW YOU: Can you redesign a personality? For years, journalist Olga Khazan hated much of her own personality. So, despite the common assumption that character traits are immutable once a person reaches a certain age, Khazan set out to change hers. Correspondent Susan Spencer explores the field of personality science, and hears from a professor at the University of Kentucky whose research in that area could be a game-changer for mental health treatments. For more info: FLOWER POWER: The ancient art of Hawaiian lei-making Hawaii is renowned for lei-making, an ancient tradition that's still popular on the island today. But the future of the craft could be in peril, as flower farms disappear and remaining land overheats due to the effects of climate change. Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti sits down with Meleana Estes, a Hawaiian native who learned the art of making leis from her grandmother. He also attends this year's annual Lei Day Festival, held annually in Waikiki since 1929, and meets Island Boy founder Andrew Mau, who's reinventing what a lei can be. EASY DOES IT: The French Quarter's historic ironwork, and the craftsmen who keep it alive A city known for its centuries-old ironwork needs an expert who can keep it looking like new. Correspondent Michelle Miller, the former first Lady of New Orleans, is our guide to some of its most iconic designs. She meets with Darryl Reeves, one of just a handful of restoration blacksmiths still working in New Orleans, where vintage, wrought iron pieces survive in the French Quarter. For more info: DESIGNING OUTSIDE: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor living continues to thrive Throughout history, the American backyard has greatly evolved. Even after the pandemic forced people to spend more time outside, outdoor living spaces have become a booming business, to the tune of about $10 billion a year. Correspondent David Pogue talks with "House Beautiful" editor-in-chief Joanna Saltz about the trends and visits a home with Foxterra Design cofounder Justin Fox to see just how some people are taking their interior design outside. HIDE AND SEEK: Secret passageways to history Correspondent Nancy Giles goes in search of hidden rooms, and finds some of them in the most unexpected places. Giles speaks to Steven Humble, the founder of Creating Home Engineering, which specializes in building secret passageway doors and high-security panic rooms. She also hears from April Tucholke, who researches hidden spaces and says the phenomena of secret rooms goes back centuries. BEYOND GUMBO: How childhood meals inspired two chefs' acclaimed menus New Orleans is known for its music, Mardi Gras and, especially, its food. Correspondent Mo Rocca visits with two award-winning chefs who created extraordinary menus by reaching back into their childhood memories of cooking and culture. Rocca speaks with Nina Compton and her husband, Larry Miller, about the impact of St. Lucia on the cooking at Compere Lapin, and with chef Serigne Mbaye and his business partner Dr. Effie Richardson, who bring a Senegalese flavor to the food at Dakar Nola. For more info: RIDE IN STYLE: New Orleans transit official says streetcars are integral to the city's identity — here's why By the 1960s, New Orleans had replaced nearly all of its streetcars with buses. But some continued on humming. Lona Edwards Hankins, the CEO of the New Orleans Transit Authority, tells correspondent Michelle Miller that as the city reintroduced contemporary streetcars in recent decades, it also maintained a few originals. Anthony Maggio, a seasoned machinist, shares how he and an army of craftsmen keep them running. For more info: NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Christian Bale is on a mission to keep foster siblings together Actor Christian Bale won praise for his titular performance in the "Batman" franchise, and now, he's on a mission to help kids who could use a real-life superhero. Bale is helping to build Together California, a foster care home designed to keep orphaned siblings from being separated. He talks to correspondent Tracy Smith about his inspiration for the project. ITALY: Prehistoric homes in Puglia Correspondent Seth Doane travels to southern Italy for a look at its magical peaked Trulli houses. SUITING UP: For many, the seersucker suit is a New Orleans staple Southern gentlemen know all about the beauty and coolness of the seersucker suit, and its connection to New Orleans. Correspondent Jamie Wax, a Louisiana native, takes viewers on a trip through the sartorial side of the city — from a historic men's clothing store to an iconic suit maker and, finally, to a fashionable New Orleans party. For more info: HEART AND SOLE: Forty years of Air Jordan The Air Jordan sneaker turns 40 this year. "Sunday Morning" celebrates the design of the iconic shoe with correspondent Luke Burbank, who traces its origins back to NBA legend Michael Jordan's first meeting with Nike, then a relatively small sneaker company in Oregon. CULTURE CELEBRATION: "Beadmaster of New Orleans" pays homage to Mardi Gras' history with his art In Michelle Miller's final look this week at pillars of New Orleans' style, the correspondent delves into the centuries-old Carnival tradition of Black Masking. Acclaimed contemporary artist Demond Melancon's work has been shown all over the world, but it is deeply rooted in elaborate beaded suits he creates as the Big Chief of the Young Seminole Hunters Black Masking Tribe. For more info: NATURE: Black-bellied whistling ducks in New Orleans We leave you this Sunday morning with Black-bellied whistling ducks, basking in the sun at the Audubon Park and Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison. DVR Alert! Find out when "Sunday Morning" airs in your city "Sunday Morning" also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.) Full episodes of "Sunday Morning" are now available to watch on demand on and Paramount+, including via Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon FireTV/FireTV stick and Xbox. Follow us on Twitter/X; Facebook; Instagram; YouTube; TikTok; Bluesky; and at You can also download the free "Sunday Morning" audio podcast at iTunes and at Now you'll never miss the trumpet!
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Viola Davis Said She Was Taught To Act Like A "Perfect White Actress" At Juilliard, And This Is How It Affected Her
Viola Davis shed light on her formal acting education at Juilliard and the white standard she was held to during each performance. The EGOT winner recently stopped by the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast for an insightful conversation about her journey to stardom, her liberating projects, and her formative years attending one of the most revered performing arts schools in the world. In the middle of the discussion, Sam asked, "In Juilliard, what was the purpose of their training? Are they shaping you into a good actress or a perfect white actress?" "Definitely a perfect white actress," Viola said. "What it looks technical training in order to deal with the classics — the Strindbergs, and the O'Neills, and the Chekhovs, and the Shakespeares. I totally understand that, to get your But what it denies is the human being behind all of that." Related: These 19 Celebs Started Acting As Kids, But Are Wayyyy More Popular Now — So I'm Positive You Won't Be Able To Identify Them From A Childhood Photo "I feel that as a Black actress, I'm always being tasked to show that I have range, by doing white work. So, if I can master Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire — I can do the best I can with Tennessee Williams, but he writes for fragile, white women. Beautiful work, but it's not me." The G20 star, who's known for taking on powerful roles like Nanisca in The Woman King, Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder, Rose Maxson in Fences, added that she was never taught the works of any classic Black writers, which in turn, meant her white classmates weren't either. The limited source teachings felt like a disservice to her. Related: People Are Sharing The Celebrities They Genuinely Feel Bad For, And It's Heartbreaking "But we don't put those same parameters on white actors," Viola continued. "You can have a white actor who's 54 or 55 years old, which is a great age to play Mama in A Raisin in the Sun — is she going to be able to pull off Mama in A Raisin in the Sun? Is she going to be able to pull off Beneatha? Is she going to be able to pull off Molly in Joe Turner's Come and Gone, when Molly says, 'I ain't going south' and make me believe it? They don't have to do that." "So for those four years at Juilliard, all those white actors have to do is play all white characters. That's not me. Me, I'm tasked to only do the classics, and no Black writer is included in those classics. Then, once I leave Juilliard, guess what? Most of what I'll be asked to do are Black characters, which people will not feel I am Black enough. So then I'm caught in a quagmire, this sort of in between place, of sort of not understanding how to use myself as the canvas." Despite being thankful for everything she learned while being there, Viola eventually realized she wasn't able to bring her true, full self to Juilliard. "Juilliard was an out of body experience because once again I did not think that I could use me. Me needed to be left at the front door, even though me was what got me in there." This is why representation is so essential for everyone in all facets of life. People deserve to see themselves as the standard. Although she didn't see herself in any of the roles she took at school, Viola made sure to change that when she officially hit Hollywood, and she's been breaking barriers ever since. It's always interesting learning about the things that help shape the people we know today, and this conversation truly shed light on Viola's life and illustrious career. To learn more, you can watch a clip of this discussion below or watch her full interview on Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso here. View this photo on Instagram What did you think of Viola's comments? Share them with me in the comments! Also in Celebrity: These 21 Celebrity Ex-Marriages Were So Brief And Bizarre, They Practically Evaporated From Hollywood History Also in Celebrity: 28 Celebs Who Never Seem To Get Canceled Despite Some Pretty Awful Behavior Also in Celebrity: 33 Years After Getting A Breast Reduction As A Teenager, Drew Barrymore Made A Rare Comment About The Plastic Surgery
