Latest news with #ThePianoLesson
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Leopoldstadt,' ‘Next to Normal,' and ‘The Piano Lesson' among winners at Elliot Norton Awards
In the midsize theater division, Gloucester Stage and Teatro Chelsea's ' Jade Guerra, Anthony T. Goss, Jonathan Kitt and Omar Robinson in Actors' Shakespeare Project's production of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Nile Scott Studios Advertisement In the combined midsize or small theater category, 'The Piano Lesson' also won for outstanding scenic design (Jon Savage). Outstanding lighting design went to Jeff Adelberg for Arlekin Players Theatre's ' Topping the small theater honors was 'The Dybbuk' as outstanding play. Apollinaire Theatre Company's ' 'Next to Normal' garnered outstanding musical, outstanding lead performance in a musical (Sherée Marcelle), and outstanding featured performance in a musical (Cortlandt Barrett). Outstanding music direction went to Jenny Tsai for Sullivan Rep's 'A Little Night Music.' Ayodele Casel won the outstanding choreography award for American Repertory Theater's 'Diary of a Tap Dancer.' Jenece Upton gave the outstanding solo performance in Merrimack Repertory Theatre's 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.' Outstanding new script went to Mfoniso Udofia for the Huntington's ' Of the previously announced awards, the outstanding visiting play was ' Advertisement This year's Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence went to longtime Boston favorite Kathy St. George. Rehearsal for Life received the 2025 Elliot Norton Arts Education Award. Special Citations were given to the Boch Center Wang Theatre (100th anniversary), Apollinaire Theatre Company (30th anniversary), Greater Boston Stage Company (25th anniversary), and [Expletive]-Faced Shakespeare (10th anniversary).
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kandi Burruss Reacts to Her 'Othello' Revival Getting Snubbed by Tony Awards: 'Of Course I'm Disappointed'
Kandi Burruss says she is "disappointed" over Broadway's revival, which she co-produced with husband Todd Tucker, being snubbed by the Tony Awards The revival of the William Shakespeare tragedy stars Denzel Washington as Othello and Jake Gyllenhaal as Iago set Broadway box office records, making $2.8 million in one week of previews, and is the highest-grossing play of all time on Broadway Kandi Burruss is remaining positive in the wake of Broadway's Othello not being nominated for any 2025 Tony Awards. Burruss, 48, who co-produced the revival with husband Todd Tucker, took to Instagram to voice her dismay over the production's snub. "Well y'all… Othello didn't get the Tony nomination. Of course I'm disappointed, but I'm still beyond proud to be part of this phenomenal production. Every time I watch our cast, I'm blown away and inspired," the singer, who previously earned a Tony nod for producing the 2022 revival of The Piano Lesson, wrote. Directed by Kenny Leon, the revival of the William Shakespeare tragedy stars Denzel Washington as Othello and Jake Gyllenhaal as Iago. The production broke Broadway box office records, making $2.8 million in one week of previews, the highest weekly gross for a Broadway play. "#DenzelWashington @jakegyllenhaal — you both are delivering a masterclass in acting every single night. Truly unforgettable performances," Burruss said of the play's leading men, while also congratulating "all the nominees" for this year's Tony Awards. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Grammy winner kept things positive at the end of her post, writing that she's "already focused on what's next" and "not giving up on the dream." "'Tell Me No' by Whitney Houston (co-written by yours truly 😉✍🏾) is on repeat right now… and it hits different today," Burruss said, mentioning the Whitney Houston track she co-wrote for the late singer's fifth studio album, Just Whitney. "To anyone chasing a dream — don't let a 'no' stop your yes. The journey continues," Burruss concluded her post. Related: Denzel Washington Reacts to Those Ticket Prices for Othello on Broadway: 'God Has Blessed Me with a Great Ability' Amid the Shakespearean revival's success, the production has also been criticized for its hefty ticket prices — with some tickets selling for upwards of $900. The play's helmer weighed in on the high ticket prices in an interview with the Daily Mail, comparing seeing the show to watching an L.A. Lakers game or watching a Beyoncé concert. 'So to me, with a commercial industry, people are paying what they think it's worth,' Leon said. 'A guy showed up the other night and he said, 'I paid $921 for this ticket and you know what? I don't want a cent back. I want to figure out how to come back.'' 'That's what I feel proud of every night,' he continued. 'I have a thousand people in there and it's so diverse… I'm proud of the box office and I'm proud of what's on the stage.' The 2025 Tony nominees for best revival of a play are Romeo + Juliet, Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Yellow Face and Eureka Day. Cynthia Erivo is hosting the ceremony, which will air live on CBS and Paramount+ on June 8. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Samuel L. Jackson's Wife LaTanya Says It Was 'Hard' Directing Him Because 'He Thinks He Knows Everything'
LaTanya Richardson Jackson shared what it was like directing husband Samuel L. Jackson in Broadway's Speaking with Sherri Shepherd, the director and actress joked that her movie-star partner thinks he "knows everything" Samuel also starred in Netflix's movie adaptation of LaTanya Richardson Jackson admits it wasn't easy directing husband Samuel L. Jackson. The star, 75, sits down with Sherri Shepherd, 57, on the Tuesday, April 8 episode of Sherri, where she reflects on what it was like directing the actor, 76, in the 2022 Tony-nominated Broadway revival of The Piano Lesson. When asked if the Oscar nominee takes direction well, LaTanya joked "No" before adding that "because he's so old" he "thinks he knows everything." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "He's been there, done that, and who are you," the two-time Tony Award-nominated actress, director, and producer says to Shepherd in the clip shared with PEOPLE. "In this room, it's about what I say," LaTanya said she told her husband about directing the project, emphasizing that it was important she "set the tone" for everyone in the cast. "I need them listening to me," she adds. Samuel, who also stars in Netflix's movie adaptation of The Piano Lesson, may have had a few moments during production where his veteran status came into play, but LaTanya says she'd wave her hand and say, "Okay, go sit over there then, because we're over here working." Related: Samuel L. Jackson Supports Wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson at Opening of Broadway's New Hit Play, Purpose As for how their dynamic shifted back at home, LaTanya says their daughter Zoe Jackson was amazed her mother would still cook dinner, even telling her, "I cannot believe you fix his plate!" "I've been married 50-something years. Of course I fix his plate," LaTanya says of her husband, whom she met while she was attending Spelman College and Samuel was a student at Morehouse College. After meeting in college, the couple got married in 1980. Samuel and Zoe, 43, recently showed support for the actress by attending the opening of Purpose, in which LaTanya plays Claudine Jasper. See the full episode of Sherri on Tuesday, April 8. Check your local listings. Read the original article on People
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
48 Years After Playing Him, Denzel Washington Revisits Othello With Jake Gyllenhaal As His Iago
Love, hate, longing, jealousy, deception, passion, confusion, humor, loyalty and pain make for great drama. And all those emotions are on full display in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello. The play is as relevant today as when William Shakespeare first wrote it centuries ago between 1602 and 1604. This latest Broadway revival, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal maintains all those themes. The production has broken the record for the top-grossing play in Broadway history. After eight performances, the epic play, directed by Kenny Leon, grossed an epic $2,818,297.00. Othello, (Washington), is a heroic and respected general in the Venetian army who has led his troops to victory. Iago, (Gyllenhaal), his ensign, has been overlooked for a promotion and is profoundly jealous of Othello. As Iago remains passionate about his extreme hate for Othello, Othello remains fiercely trusting of the man he calls 'honest Iago.' Iago will stop at nothing to manipulate Othello. He even convinces Othello that his beloved wife, Desdemona, (Molly Osborne), is unfaithful. Othello, who by his own admission, 'loved not wisely, but too well,' spirals into a tempest of jealousy and madness. Washington who had first played Othello when he was a 22-year-old student at Fordham University nearly five decades ago, was eager to revisit him. No stranger to Shakespeare, Washington played the title role in Richard III and Brutus in Julius Caesar on stage. Plus there was his riveting Macbeth in Joel Cohen's film adaptation. And curiously, the last production of Othello on Broadway was in 1982 with James Earl Jones in the title role. Prolific Broadway producer Brian Anthony Moreland (The Wiz, August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, Thoughts of a Colored Man, American Buffalo), had gotten to know Washington as his son, John David Washington, starred in the Piano Lesson. During that time, Denzel Washington and Moreland began talks about collaborating on a project together, exploring various ideas. Othello's lead producer, Brian Anthony Moreland EMILIO MADRID 'Othello came up early in those conversations, but it wasn't immediately settled,' says Moreland. 'In fact, we initially selected a different play, but as things often go in this business, that project didn't pan out. As we circled back and considered other options, Othello was still very much in the mix.' And then Moreland got what he refers to as his 'day one moment.' The moment the possibility of doing Othello became real. 'I received a call from Denzel. He was on the set of Gladiator II in Malta—and on the other end of the FaceTime were Connie Nielsen and Paul Mescal,' says Moreland. 'And they said, 'It's got to be Othello. He's got to do Othello. He's going to be 70. It has to be Othello.' Then Denzel got back on the call and said, 'It's Othello. That's what we're doing. I'm settled. Go make it so.'' Right after that call Moreland got the ball rolling. 'I reached out to Kenny Leon [who directed Washington in A Raisin in the Sun and Fences]….Immediately we thought of Jake. I put the call in and Jake said 'yes.' Then I reached out to the Shubert Organization to request a theater,' says Moreland. 'It has been thrilling ever since.' Jeryl Brunner: What qualities do Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal have that makes them an ideal Othello and Iago? Brian Anthony Moreland: Ultimately it was Jake's ability to see the true love between Iago and Othello and the challenges of the layered role. He was and is so magnetic as Iago. Jake holds the courage to be hard and soft at the same time. Which makes Jake interesting and perfect for Iago. Denzel's qualities are a culmination of seventy years of wisdom, experience and passion for life and learning. His deep commitment to faith paired with a character who is in a battle of good versus bad and heaven and hell is also a layered understanding as to how Denzel's supportive Othello makes him perfect. Brunner: Why was Kenny Leon the ultimate director for Othello? Moreland: Kenny is a true linguist. Every actor comes with their own foreign language. A great director like Kenny learns each language so the actors and he can communicate. Then he brings the actors into the same world as the show's translator. This is Kenny's greatest gift. Brunner: What do you hope people come away from this production? Moreland: I hope people take away the understanding of how fragile love is, and what happens when love is misused and abused. So many people in the play are characters in pain. We can heal our pains with love. Also, I hope this production leaves people saying Shakespeare was so ahead of his time. Brunner: Is there something you wish you could say to Iago or Othello? Moreland: I wish I could heal Iago's pain. He is so-so,so hurt by Othello's actions. I wish Iago could have just had a conversation with his friend. Instead the temper flares. Brunner: Iago spreads lies and convinces people to believe the worst in others. Why do you think Othello, who calls him 'honest Iago,' believed all the terrible things Iago said about Desdemona being unfaithful? Moreland: Othello's love of Iago. Othello calls Iago 'honest Iago.' His friend the most trusted would never lie. So when Iago does in fact create this lie Othello believes it fully. Brunner: So many people want to see this production of Othello but don't have the means. What are some other options for people to get tickets that are less expensive? Moreland: Great question. We have ticket availability across many different price points. We have a digital lottery for $49. Also, beginning this week, we will start our $50 student Rush tickets at the box office window with valid Student ID. Best tip: check 96 hours before a show's performance as seats are always released. At least until they are completely sold out. Brunner: What inspired you to become a producer? Moreland: I was inspired by seeing people come together and create art. I find producing to be like a game of human Tetris. You keep moving things around until it is just the right fit. My curiosity of people helps drive pairings of teams. I say my job as producer is simply to create a room that is safe, supportive and a clear path for my director's vision to thrive and the actors can be their most creative selves. Brunner: When you hear "no" what inspires you to keep going and stay intrepid? Moreland: I gave a Ted X talk on 'unconditional investing.' People have 'invested in me,' not with money but their time, minds, and talents, that have led me to who I am today. Their investments in me as a youth came with an ROI that no one expected. My mentors had zero conditions for their willingness to give to me. As a result, when faced with adversity and the word NO, I hear the people who have poured in to me say 'keep going.' I do that by putting one foot in front of the other.
Boston Globe
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Her Portmanteau' grapples with the pains of separation and connection in family
Advertisement In the Ufot Cycle's second drama Advertisement But what about Iniabasi? For the past 36 years, as we learn in 'Her Portmanteau,' Iniabasi (Jade A. Guerra, 'The Piano Lesson') has been living in Nigeria with her father, and hasn't seen her mother in person in more than 20 years. She has a 6-year-old son of her own, Kufre. But her father has now died, and she's arrived in the States looking for help—and a connection—with her mother, Abasiama (Patrice Jean-Baptiste). Dawn Simmons, co-artistic director of the Front Porch Arts Collective, at rehearsal for "Her Portmanteau." Nile Scott Studios Tasia A. Jones, the play's director, says Abasiama had resolved to return to Nigeria, but life got in the way. Before she knew it, she was putting down roots. 'Abasiama's intention was always to go back or bring her child back with her. It was not meant to be a forever departure from each other, and she's been struggling for the last 36 years to find her way back to her daughter.' While Abasiama has kept in touch with Iniabasi and has been sending her money after Ukpong's passing, she's also dealing with a strained marriage due to Disciple's deteriorating mental state. The Cycle's third play 'runboyrun,' to be released as a podcast this spring, chronicles Disciple's unraveling and its roots in a traumatic childhood in war-torn Africa. ''Runboyrun' is Disciple's backstory, which helps you understand what makes a man like this,' Udofia said in a Zoom interview. 'You'll wonder where your empathy lies with him and where your boundaries are with him.' Udofia, who grew up in Southbridge and went to Wellesley College, was mulling over the idea of birthright in writing 'Her Portmanteau.' 'What is each woman owed?' she asks. 'What does each woman think they know about history and the history of their family?' Advertisement Indeed, Iniabasi has no idea of the challenges Abasiama endured when she was pregnant with her, alone in a foreign country with an absentee husband. Even Adiaha, who's now in her early 30s, can't fathom 'the emotional reality of what it means to be in Abasiama's position,' Udofia says. 'So these three women are sitting on narratives and assumptions and histories that need to be drawn out. And they're duking it out about who has first position, who has primacy, and what does it mean to have two eldest daughters. So that they can then go, 'Well, how do we take a step forward?' Set inside Adiaha's New York City apartment, the play finds the three women together for the first time in more than two decades. The story heaves with subtext and barely concealed pain, anger, resentment, and sadness. 'There's so much happening underneath the surface with these three people,' Jones explained, 'so much unspoken history between them and unanswered questions, all of this stuff that's just hanging in the air that they're not talking about. Then when they finally do start to talk about it, it can be explosive.' The title's dual meaning refers to both the old-fashioned red suitcase that Iniabasi totes with her to America and the combination of Abasiama's two 'eldest daughters,' whose lives shaped her own and gave it meaning and remain at the heart of their blended family. For Lorraine Victoria Kanyike ('Chicken and Biscuits'), who plays Adiaha in 'Her Portmanteau,' 'There's a lot of push and pull between the two of us of who's really in charge here, who's really the eldest daughter in Mom's eyes.' Advertisement In 'The Grove,' Kanyike pointed out, Abasiama tells her, 'You are the 'Adiaha' I could keep here.' I had to send my other one away.' So I think Abasiama is reckoning with all of her life choices.' Indeed, a through-line through all of the Ufot Cycle plays, Kanyike said, is 'the theme of sacrifice and the rewards or the consequences of your sacrifices. Iniabasi is both a reward and a consequence but also a person that Abasiama holds a lot of shame and pain around.' Meanwhile, Jones explained, Inibiasi, 'is hurting, and she doesn't know how to express the hurt. So she lashes out a little bit. She doesn't know how to express what she's been feeling for so many years.' With 'Her Portmanteau' and 'runboyboy,' which was presented in two recent public readings, the Ufot Cycle is now moving beyond the Huntington mothership. Five more plays are still to come over the next year and a half. Lee Mikeska Gardner, artistic director of Central Square Theater, says a project of this scope could only Advertisement The Ufot Cycle also has the potential to boost the Boston theater scene's profile nationally. Simmons says she's heard from playwrights around the country that there's buzz about this major citywide undertaking. 'They're like, 'Whoa, this is epic.' What does it mean for the future that an entire community can rally behind a writer like this? This is a big opportunity.' HER PORTMANTEAU By Mfoniso Udofia, co-produced by Central Square Theater and the Front Porch Arts Collective. At: Central Square Theater, March 27-April 20. Tickets: from $25; 617-576-9278;
