TCB Oct. 7, 2021 — The Other Witch by Triad City Beat

OCT. 7-13, 2021

TRIAD-CITY-BEAT.COM

The other

WITCH Amanda Fallon Smith from Disney princess to Nessarose in Wicked, starting this week in Greensboro BY SAYAKA MATSUOKA | PAGE 12

Marcus smith case heads to doj PAGE 6

redlining unveiled in w-s PAGE 11

the perils of rollerskating PAGE 2

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK OCT. 7-13, 2021

Okay fine, I broke my ankle

want you to know that I have recently begun rollerskating, recreationally. Also, I have broken my ankle. The two events are not

moves completely lost to the ravages of time. But I started to get the feel for it, and when I went back a few weeks later I could hit the crossover turn, weave through traffic and execute some rudimentary footwork. I was on my way back, baby. I bought some skates and got to work. by Brian Clarey And it wasn’t long before I took a spill unrelated. bad enough to crack — slightly — the I have been thinking about rollerskating very base of my fibia, right by the lateral since the start of the pandemic. Longer malleolus. than that, really, because I spent a lot of I was trying to do a jump. time on skates when I was a It’s embarrassing, this hubris kid — during the season, we that led me to believe I could played street hockey every day I bought get back to my old form, or at after school from the time I was something approaching some skates least 11 or 12 until I was around 16. it, in a manner of weeks. And it And while I was an okay hockey and got to was dangerous — I could have player, I was a pretty good snapped my foot right off my work. skater with all kinds of moves leg! Maybe not, but even the that transcended my game. doctor at the urgent care told This was in the 1980s, which me I was lucky. someone recently told me was like 40 And I’m like, Lucky I got such a sweet years ago, which doesn’t seem possible pair of skates. because everyone knows the ’80s were 20 I’ll be back on them in weeks, and by years ago. If it were true, that would put Thanksgiving I’ll be hitting the backwards me right around 50, which I suppose is the transition, pulling bubbles, doing that case. thing where you crouch with one foot So I made my move a few weeks ago, in front of the other. Slowly this time, dropping by the rink on a Sunday night though, one move at a time. for a few hours of flailing in a circle, my

Fri. OCTOBER 8th

Sun. OCTOBER 10th

QUOTE OF THE WEEK What happened to Marcus is not an isolated event. It didn’t happen in a vacuum.

—Bradley Hunt, president of the Greensboro branch of the NAACP pg. 6 1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.256.9320

Charles Owens Trio Sat. OCTOBER 9th

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS

Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

Roosevelt Collier

HISS Afterparty - Sam Fribush Trio

TUESDAYs Charlie Hunter & Friends

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Live Broadcast 103.1 WUAG

2 221 Summit Ave. Greensboro, NC

SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR

Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

EDITORIAL ADVISOR

Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

EDITORIAL INTERN

Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

STAFF WRITER

Nicole Zelniker nicole@triad-city-beat.com

www.flatirongso.com

Michaela Ratliff michaela@triad-city-beat.com

OF COUNSEL

Jonathan Jones

WedneSDAYs

CHIEF CONTRIBUTOR

Jasmine Gaines calendar@triad-city-beat.com

ART ART DIRECTOR

Robert Paquette robert@triad-city-beat.com

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Drew Dix drew@triad-city-beat.com

KEY ACCOUNTS

Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, James Douglas, Matt Jones, Jordan Howse, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones

COVER Photo by Joan Marcus

OCT. 7-13, 2021

UP FRONT | OCT. 7-13, 2021

CITY LIFE OCT. 8-9 by Michaela Ratliff

FRIDAY Oct. 8

Forsyth County OTC Giveaway @ Hanes Hosiery Community Center (W-S) 9 a.m.

Car, Truck and Tractor Show @ Friedberg Moravian Church (W-S) 9 a.m.

Come enjoy this free family event with live entertainment and door prizes. Vehicles will be on display with auction items. Event is free to spectators but entry fees for registration begin at $15. Register online at friedberg. church/car-truck-tractor-show/.

Touch-a-Truck @ Piedmont Triad Farmers Market (GSO) 9 a.m. NC MedAssist collaborates with community leaders to provide low-income individuals and families with free over-the-counter medicine. Check out the Facebook page for more information.

History of Beer @ Paddled South Brewing Co. (HP) 5:30 p.m.

Come out and Touch-a-Truck with the National Association of Women in Construction. This educational community event allows children to have hands-on experience with machinery. There will be activities for children of all ages and scholarship opportunities for those interested in pursuing careers in the construction industry. Five-dollar tickets may be purchased at the event. Be sure to visit the events page for more information.

Belview Historic District Walking Tour @ First Waughtown Baptist Church (W-S) 10 a.m.

Come explore the Belview National Register Historic District with Preservation Forsyth during a two-hour walking tour. Learn the history of the Wachovia development and hear inspirational stories about those helped evolved the Memorial Industrial school. For more information visit the Preservation Forsyth website.

Fall Festival @ Bur-Mil Park (GSO) 10 a.m. High Point Historical Society presents A History of Beer in the Triad. Join Erin Lawrimore and Richard Cox for discussion and a book signing. Lobster Dogs Food Truck will be on hand. For more information visit the Facebook page.

SATURDAY Oct. 9

Out of Darkness Virtual Walk @ Facebook Live 8:30 a.m.

Fall is here! Enjoy the beautiful fall weather at this fun-filled event. Admission is free to participate in hayrides, inflatables, pumpkin patch and more. Visit the Facebook page for more information.

Oktoberfest Party @ Centennial Station (HP) 7 p.m.

Join the High Point Arts Council for its Culture and Entertainment series. The event features the North Carolina Polka Time Allstars and will have a food truck on-site. Specialty beers will be served, and anyone dressed in German clothing will receive a token for a free beverage! Purchase tickets on the Oktoberfest webpage.

Scrapfest @ LeBauer Park (GSO) 12 p.m.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will be hosting a virtual walk to raise donations for those who have been affected by suicide. Help bring hope to others by purchasing the tickets at afsp.org/triad.

Everyone is welcome to enjoy the beauty of downtown Greensboro and to support Piedmont Land Conservancy at this event. This free music festival is presented by Little Brother Brewing and will include local business popups throughout the day. To register for this event, check out the Eventbrite page.

(As of Wednesday, Oct. 6)

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses

OCT. 7-13, 2021 | UP FRONT

Coronavirus in the Triad: NC 1,417,203 (+26,714) Forsyth 49,690 (+890) Guilford County

63,979 (+1,539)

COVID-19 deaths NC

16,945 (+501)

Forsyth

525 (+18)

Guilford

839 (+36)

Documented recoveries NC

1,338,603 (+41,040)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

59,753 (+1,904)

Current cases NC

61,655 (-15,035)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

3,386 (+374)

Hospitalizations (right now) NC

2,586 (-424)

Forsyth

*no data*

Guilford

113 (-35)

Vaccinations NC First Dose

5,632,363 (+41,222)

Fully vaccinated

5,627,084 (54%, +62,111)

Forsyth First Dose

224,839 (+3,995)

Fully vaccinated

208,947 (55%, +3,630)

Guilford First dose

312,054 (+2,454)

Fully vaccinated

292,740 (54%, *adjustment*)

NEWS | OCT. 7-13, 2021

NEWS

Seeking justice in Marcus Smith case, community members and Smith family send letter to DOJ by Sayaka Matsuoka

fter three years of resistance from the city, activists and the family of Marcus Deon Smith are taking their fight straight to the US Department of Justice. On Sept. 30, dozens of community members joined the Smith family in downtown Greensboro, to call on the people of Greensboro to get involved in the movement to bring justice for Smith. In September 2018, Smith killed by police officers, who hogtied him while he was in the midst of a mental-health crisis on a downtown street during the Folk Festival. Now, more than three years later, activists and the family say they are turning to a “higher power” to seek accountability. “We had no choice but to go over their heads,” said Hester Petty, a member of the city’s homeless union and longtime community activist. The letter released to the public last week was delivered by US mail and emailed to Steven Rosenbaum, the chief of the special litigation section at the US DOJ. The four pages of the document outline specifics about the Marcus Smith case, but also urge the DOJ to “open a pattern and practice investigation into racially and sexually discriminatory policing by the Greensboro, North Carolina Police Department, as well as into the grossly inadequate supervision, discipline, and training with regard to police brutality and misconduct.” The letter comes after several failed attempts by former city council member Michelle Kennedy to open an independent investigation into the death of Marcus Deon Smith. The most recent failed attempt took place in June, just two months before Kennedy would resign. At the time, Kennedy and Mayor Pro Tem Yvonne Johnson supported an independent investigation but some of the remaining members of council, including mayoral candidate Justin Outling, didn’t support the idea, citing that the investigation would be too broad and that the civil litigation underway already acted as an investigation. The letter was signed by a coalition of activists and former local politicians including former Greensboro mayor Carolyn Allen, former Guilford County Commissioner Margaret Arbuckle and Bishop William J. Barber, II, the co-chair

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Mary and George Smith accounced that they would be sending a letter to the Department of Justice to seek accountability for the death of their son, Marcus Smith, who was killed by GPD in 2018.

of the national Poor People’s Campaign. ‘Not an isolated event’ None of the current city councilmems previously reported by Triad bers signed onto the letter or were in City Beat, the bulk of the letter to attendance at the Sept. 30 meeting. the DOJ outlines findings that While Mayor Nancy Vaughan told have come out from the threeTCB that she hadn’t received the letter year long lawsuit between the Smith last week, on Tuesday, she noted that she family and the city of Greensboro. was disappointed by some of the comMost notably is the fact that in the nine munity’s response. months prior to Smith’s “I am disappointed that death, which was ruled as a respected community leaders ‘We had no homicide, there were about would sign onto a letter than 50 incidents of hogtying choice but to basically reiterates the plainby the Greensboro police. go over their tiffs’ attorneys position, as Of those 50 incidents, 38 truth, without any indepenvictims or 76 percent were heads.’ dent verification.” Black and 39 or 78 percent, – Hester Petty, City attorney Chuck Watts were people of color. The community activist responded last week by sayincidents, which spanned ing, “I’m sure the DOJ will from Dec. 19, 2017, to Sept. do what they think is appropriate.” 7, 2018, show a “pattern and practice of racially and sexually discriminatory

hogtying, often accompanied by the use of excessive force,” the letter states. The letter also notes that 84 percent of the hogtiers were white and 48 percent of the victims were women. Seventeen percent of the victims had been suffering a mental-health crisis similar to the one Smith was experiencing when he died. “What happened to Marcus is not an isolated event,” said Bradley Hunt, the president of the Greensboro branch of the NAACP, during the press conference. “It didn’t happen in a vacuum.” One of the most shocking examples of hogtying during that period includes a Black woman who was restrained with her legs at less than 90 degrees from her body, who was left prone on the ground for more than five minutes and her breasts exposed. Several victims expressed that they could not breathe,

OCT. 7-13, 2021 | NEWS CAROLYN DE BERRY

Community members gathered to hear from speakers about the letter to the DOJ on Sept. 30.

ated agreement, otherwise known as a consent decree, that incorporates specific remedies will be enacted by the departCAROLYN DE ment. The fact sheet noted that the DOJ BERRY stays involved throughout the impleBeloved Community Center’s co-director Rev. Nelson Johnson delivers an impassioned mentation of the remedies to ensure speech during last week’s event. that meaningful and sustainable change occurs. This process typically takes years according to the Smith legal team’s findAngeles and New Orleans. In August, and the police departments must comply ings. The city of Greensboro officially the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ for several years before the jurisdiction is banned the use of the RIPP Hobble, or opened an investigation into the city of released from federal oversight. restraining someone by their hands and Phoenix and the Phoenix Police DepartAccording to the PEW feet, in November 2020 and banned ment. reporting, in the past hogtying in 2018, after Smith’s death. According to a DOJ fact three decades, the DOJ sheet, an investigation by ‘What happened has conducted more than How DOJ investigations work the Civil Rights Division to Marcus Smith 70 investigations of local hile the DOJ did not conof the DOJ would “dedepartments. In the duct investigations of police termine whether a police is not an isolated police case of Ferguson, MO, departments during former department has engaged event.’ the city initially rejected President Trump’s tenure, US Attorney in a pattern or practice a 2016 consent decree – Bradley Hunt, president of General Merrick Garland announced in of discriminatory and or because of heavy costs. GSO NAACP April that his office would once again be unconstitutional policing.” When the DOJ sued them investigating local law enforcement agenThe process involves the next day, the city cies for systemic constitutional violations, gathering information signed onto the 12-page consent decree according to reporting by PEW Charifrom the police department and coma month later. table Trusts. Some examples of police munity members and culminates in While a core group of activists has departments that have been investigated the DOJ releasing a public report of been engaged in seeking justice for by the DOJ in the past include departits findings. If the DOJ finds fault with Smith since 2018, the murders of ments in Ferguson, MO, Chicago, Los the police department, then a negoti-

George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020 brought about renewed interest in the case, with some in the city calling Smith, “Greensboro’s George Floyd.” Mary Smith, Marcus Deon Smith’s mother, said that the ongoing legal battle has been tough on her and her family, who have to travel from South Carolina every few weeks to come to Greensboro. “This has been one of the most trying times I will probably see in my lifetime,” Smith said on Sept. 30. “…We do not understand after three years and over why we’re still coming to Greensboro.” In addition to announcing their letter to the DOJ, the coalition of activists stated that they are gathering stories from community members who have been harassed or brutalized by the police. As Rev. Nelson Johnson stated during the event, the idea is for the community to come together to form a “strong, disciplined justice movement.”

NEWS | OCT. 7-13, 2021

EDITORIAL

Minority rule in NC, and elsewhere

ilary Clinton owes us nothing. unpopular policies like anti-LGBTQ+ After a lifetime of government legislation and ignoring popular ones like service and decades in the cannabis legalization. very highest halls of power, The mathematical proof is public she has earned a quiet retirement. But record: The 2020 Election results display she knows what she’s talking about, and it neatly. when she speaks — especially now, when There were roughly 10 million North she is not running for anything or inCarolinians in 2020, 7.36 million of them volved in anyone’s campaign — we ignore registered to vote. In 2020, registered her at our peril. Democrats outnumbered Republicans Last month at an event held by the statewide by 391,414. Unaffiliated voters Guardian, she described one of the most outnumbered Republicans by more than pressing dangers to our democracy is 200,000. the Republican’s desire to Note that 5.5 million “rule by minority,” which in North Carolinians voted in theory is the very antithesis the governor’s race that year, The tools of of democracy… kind of. 99.22 percent of the votes Minority rule is when cast. The Democrat won by minority rule those in power are un4.5 points, with more than 51 are the same popular, operating outside percent of the vote. And yet the desires of most of the this exact same electorate everywhere. people they govern. It is, chose a heavily Republican in fact, less governing than General Assembly. Out it is ruling, because their of 120 House seats spread actions are edicts and not mandates. across the state, Republicans won 75, or Remember, though, the country was 62.45 percent. And they won 35 of 50 established by white men who systemiSenate seats, or 70 percent. cally disenfranchised all voters other than The tools of minority rule are the same themselves. So in a sense we have always everywhere: filibuster, gerrymander, voter had minority rule. It’s harder to pull off obstruction, propaganda and, occasionthese days, but certainly do-able. Look ally, violence. They’re working just fine no further than our own state, where the here in NC, where marginalizing the Republicans have been marginalizing the majority has become the only option left majority for almost a decade, enacting for a party with unpopular positions.

Jen Sorensen jensorensen.com/subscribe

OCT. 7-13, 2021 | OPINION

OPINION

CULTURE | OCT. 7-13, 2021

Culture by Nicole Zelniker

An old play gets a new life at Little Theatre of Winston-Salem

he stuffy room in a brick building off of Spruce Street hardly screams “1930s murder mystery,” but when the actors at the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem take their places in the small rehearsal space, it’s easy to forget that they’re not really sitting on a train, watching detective Hercule Poirot figure out who killed Lanfranco Cassetti. The Little Theatre’s last few shows have all been virtual, including The Blue Death, Home for the Holidays and Hadleyburg. Murder on the Orient Express will be the second play at the Little Theatre since it reopened for in-person shows in early September. It runs Oct. 15-24. The story is a classic, arguably one of Agatha Christie’s most popular works, that centers around Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective and a passenger on the Orient Express train traveling from Istanbul to London. After an infamous American gangster is found dead on board, everyone still standing becomes a suspect. The book, published in 1934, has since been adapted into various movies, TV shows, plays and even a game. “It was so popular, so when this became available, they wanted it,” says Matthew Cravey, who plays Monsieur Buoc, Poirot’s right-hand man. Ron Law, the director, nods. “This is the show out of the whole season that I wanted to direct,” he says. This version, adapted by Ken Ludwig, parses down the characters and includes flashbacks to earlier scenes during the second act. Ludwig, known largely for his comedy, adapted the show at the request of the Agatha Christie Estate. The show premiered for the first time in 2017 at McCarter Theatre Center for the Performing Arts in New Jersey. “When Ken Ludwig adapted it, he adapted it like a movie, but for the stage,” says Elizabeth J. Rief, the show’s stage manager. Adding to the pseudo-movie magic, the stage will turn as the characters move to various compartments along the train. But for now, Rief and the actors just move the furniture each time the characters go into a different room. The actors rehearse in their regular T-shirts and sweaters, but the costumes hang in the back behind them. For the real show, all of them will don heavy coats and a variety of hats. The outfits are largely various shades of black,

DANIEL ALVAREZ

Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie’s most beloved Hercule Poirot mysteries, brings the train car to the stage.

brown and tan with splashes of red on the brim of a hat or the tip of a shoe. Weeks before the first curtain, the actors are not quite off book yet, but they are getting close. The rehearsal was still full of notes beginning with the first line of the second act, “Touch nothing!” In one instance, Law stopped actor Ralph Shaw, who plays protagonist Poiroit, and instructed him to deliver his lines with more annoyance and to move a few steps to the left so as not to block the other actors. Shaw took the notes and incorporated them with ease. Some of the actors have done theater for decades while others are new. Several were even in shows directed by Law in the 1970s and 80s.

As the show gets closer, actors express nerves about getting their lines down, but no one has more lines than Shaw. Much of the second act consists of long monologues by the detective with occasional interjections by the other characters. With that in mind, some of the other actors still stand out. Karen Kell Chandler as Caroline Hubbard is emotive and compelling, and Joyner Horn is captivating as Countess Andrenyi, especially when her character plays off Shaw’s. All of the accents in the show are flawless, and there are many. Even those who know the ending of this famous story will be captivated by the production. Like on the Orient Express, the journey matters far more than the destination.

Murder on the Orient Express will play from Oct. 15-24 at The Hanesbrands Theater. Tickets start at $12. Learn more about the show and upcoming events at ltofws.org.

Culture

by Nicole Zelniker

ndesign the Redline is an exhibit at the Forsyth County Public Library, but the idea started all the way in Cleveland. Brittney Gaspari, vice president of community investment at the WinstonSalem Foundation, saw the Cleveland exhibit in November 2019, when she was visiting the city for a work conference on inclusive economy. She resolved to bring something similar back to her community. “It was a really profound experience,” said Gaspari. “The exhibit really helped me see how the history of a place or a country created outcomes we see today.” Redlining is the denial of services to marginalized communities, such as financial services like bank loans, healthcare or access to food. Even retail businesses like supermarkets have been kept out of certain neighborhoods. Chicago activists coined the term in the 1960s, referring to the red lines bankers drew on their maps around communities they refused to work with. A 2020 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that the majority of redlined neighborhoods in Winston-Salem are majority Black and have a lower life expectancy, lower estimated family income and higher risk of disease such as asthma or cancer. Likewise, the USDA found that there are 21 food deserts in and around Winston-Salem, all in or around redlined cities. Cities that have never been redlined, largely white cities, have as many as 20 grocery stores easily accessible. To bring the redlining exhibit to her city, Gaspari reached out to an organization called designing the WE, who were responsible for organizing the Cleveland exhibit. “They give the broad, national context,” she said. “But some of [our exhibit] is really tailored to the community.” One section of the exhibit, for example, offers documentation from Winston-Salem in the 1930s that shows how Black residents were discriminated against while another has several pop outs with information about Forsyth County. A different section is made up of all stories from local residents, showing how pervasive the effects of redlining

are even decades later. A Black couple shared their experience trying to rent an apartment in a redlined neighborhood after seeing an add in a newspaper. They were told the units were all rented, but when a white colleague went back later, the renters showed the colleague a room. “People are continuously adding their own stories,” said Gaspari. “I’ve taken a few folks through on guided tours and I’ve started to hear these stories. One couple shared how they were directed to and excluded from areas of the community. I’ve spoken to former busiNICOLE ZELNIKER ness owners who’ve talked about the thriving BlackUndesign the Redline shows the long-term effects of decades of redlining, a federally mandated owned businesses we used segregation program. to have that are no longer here.” exhibit together. The exhibit was supposed to come to the Winston-Salem in “What the exhibit is trying to do is make people aware of May 2020, but COVID threw a wrench in those plans. It finally why our cities are the way they are,” said Smith. “They didn’t opened Sept. 14. happen by chance. Why we have communities that were “The silver lining was that we had more time to think about poorer, there were things in place to create communities that how we were going to engage the community,” said Charlie are privileged and disadvantage.” Gardner, one of Gaspari’s colleagues at the Winston-Salem In addition to design the WE and SJS, the people at the Foundation. Winston-Salem Foundation also reached out to the library to “The exhibit really tries to reframe the narratives about ask if they would host the exhibit. The people at the library why some neighborhoods are poorer than others,” he said. immediately said yes. “You may be familiar with the term redlining, but not how it’s “We know the significance of the exhibit,” said Brian Hart, a systemic issue. There was a lot of intention behind it about director of the library system. “It was an opportunity for us to advantaging white people in America and really disadvantagnot only support the Winston-Salem Foundation, but it also ing minorities. It’s very eye opening in aligns with what the library is doing that way.” to further ones knowledge about the That is the central lesson of the communities.” exhibit, that redlining decades ago The library has hosted several other continues to hurt people today who community events about race and live in those affected neighborhoods. social justice recently, including a “If you were redlined, you were talk with Bookmarks annual festival .banned from getting bank loans, keynote speaker Yusef Salaam, one of etc.,” said Russell Smith, the faculty the exonerated five. lead for the Spatial Justice Studio Another talk featured Anneliese M. at Winston-Salem State University. Bruner, the great granddaughter of a “Today, those places continue to be Tulsa Race Massacre survivor, talking some of the poorest places. If it’s a about her great grandmother’s book predominately Black community, it The Nation Must Awake. Hart believes was redlined.” the redlining exhibit falls in line with Based in Winston-Salem, The those events. Spatial Justice Studio aims to bring people together to develop “We’re really committed to identifying the needs and intersolutions to what they call “spacial (in)justice.” The Winstonests of the community and being able to provide programing Salem Foundation invited SJS to join them in putting the that responds,” said Hart.

OCT. 7-13, 2021 | CULTURE

Forsyth County Library’s Undesign the Redline exhibit challenges the practices of the past

The exhibit will be on display at the library at 660 W. 5th St. until Nov. 14.

The library is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.

CULTURE | OCT. 7-13, 2021

Culture by Sayaka Matsuoka

The other witch: Amanda Fallon Smith sheds her princess past to become Nessarose in Wicked

manda Fallon Smith is used to playing princesses. With long brown hair and hazel eyes, Smith has played a myriad of Disney’s sweethearts including Jane from Tarzan, Ariel from The Little Mermaid and, of course, Belle from Beauty and the Beast. But a few years ago, Smith traded her regular damsel-indistress characters for a quieter, slightly more wicked role. Starting on Thursday, Smith will step into the role of Nessarose for the Tanger Center’s run of Wicked. It’s a role that she’s reprising after a year of waiting due to the pandemic. “She’s been one of my favorite characters to play because her starting and ending points are so different mentally, emotionally and physically even,” says Smith. “It is a challenge to take myself there six nights a week, but it’s a really great challenge.” Nessarose is the Wicked Witch of the East, or the younger sister of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of West. Nessarose’s character was absent in the original Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum while Elphaba is nameless. Both characters get their own origin stories to become the central figures of Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire’s book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which came out in 1995 and subsequently spawned the popular 2003 Broadway musical. Unlike many of the Disney characters that Smith has played in the past, she says she fell in love with Nessarose because of the complexity of her character and her tumultuous relationship with her sister. “I always loved Nessa because she’s someone for whom everything she does, she does because she loves so hard,” Smith says. “She just loves so incredibly hard.” Unlike classic Disney stories that often focus on love interests and pit female characters against one another for the attention of a man, Wicked focuses on the story between Elphaba and Glinda the Good Witch, exploring the complexity of female relationships whether they’re between sisters or friends. “It really is a beautiful relationship between female characters and women, which you hardly ever see in entertainment,” Smith says. “This really is a love story between two friends.”

JOAN MARCUS

The first Broadway show that actor Amanda Fallon Smith had ever seen was Wicked, when she was in middle school. Getting to play Nessarose in this year’s Broadway production of the show feels like things are coming “full circle,” the actor says.

Smith has been in the industry for more than 10 years and first saw Wicked when she was in middle school. “It was so magical to see everything from the sets to the costumes,” she says. “You really feel immersed in the world.” Growing up on an ostrich farm in a rural Florida town, Smith says she wasn’t really given the opportunity to pursue theater until she was in high school. “I was a later bloomer in the theater world,” Smith says. “I grew up in a rural area in Florida, and there were only 300 people in my class. The school didn’t even have a drama class.” After seeing Wicked, Smith sang “Popular” in her middle school talent show, something for which her classmates made fun of her. “No one got musical theater where I was from,” Smith says.

“So I never really considered it until I grew up.” When Smith was in eighth grade, her best friend dragged her to an audition for a youth production of Beauty and the Beast. She secured her first ever role as a singing knife and was hooked. “I loved it,” Smith says. “It brought me out of my shell.” By the time she was a senior in high school, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career in theater. Now, more than a decade later, Smith says that being able to be a part of a production of Wicked on Broadway feels like everything is coming “full circle.” “Wicked was the first Broadway musical I ever saw,” Smith says. “I have sung the soundtrack for the last 18 years. So getting the call that I got the role, it didn’t feel real. I was in shock. Like, I’m a part of this huge machine; I get to be a part of

Wicked runs at the Tanger Center from Oct. 6-24. Learn more at tangercenter.com.

OCT. 7-13, 2021 | CULTURE

PARTICIPATE IN OUR RESEARCH with Dr. Blair Wisco at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

WE’RE EXAMINING: emotional and physical reactions to memories of stressful or traumatic experiences. YOU MUST BE: •Age 18 or older •Able to read and write in English THE BASICS: •5 visits to our lab within 2 weeks •$150 total compensation JOAN MARCUS

Wicked tells the tale of the Wicked Witch of the West or Elphaba, with her a backstory that wasn’t available in the original L. Frank Braum text.

this magic. That’s when it really hit me.” In addition to it being one of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time, Smith says that the show takes on a new relevance these days because of its core messaging of understanding those who are different from us. “All of the characters in the show, for the most part, are characters that were used as the pinnacle of evil in the original story,” Smith says. “But we really have to understand that they were misunderstood and that because of their circumstances, they ended up being portrayed as evil.”

Smith says with the hyperpolarization of the country with everything from politics to coronavirus, the show could be a way for people to try and empathize with others. “In this really sensitive time you’re forced to choose sides, but all of these people are coming to see Wicked,” Smith says. “And it forces us to stop and look at people different from you and to experience empathy and look at someone and say, ‘Let me hear your side.’ It’s really about not judging someone on your first impression.”

WHAT YOU’LL DO: •Interviews and questionnaires (3 hour visit) •Monitor your bodily reactions while you think of past experiences (2 hour visit) •Wear a cardiac monitor and answer questions on a tablet computer on 3 days (30 min set-up per day)

WANT TO SEE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE?

CONTACT US TO GET STARTED! You will be asked to complete screening questions online and over the phone. Email or call us to get more information and be directed to the online survey. Or, scan the QR code to take you straight there. Dr. Blair Wisco - UNCG

copelab@uncg.edu

SHOT IN THE TRIAD | OCT. 7-13, 2021

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

South Greene Street, Greensboro

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Activist Lewis Pitts speaks at a press conference about the death of Marcus Deon Smith at the hands of Greensboro police. Activists and the Smith family have formally asked the US Department of Justice to investigate the case and police practices in Greensboro. Pitts is joined on stage by Smith’s parents, Rev. Nelson Johnson and community activist Hester Petty.

CROSSWORD

‘Uncommon Bonds’— spy thrillers with something missing.

SUDOKU OCT. 7-13, 2021 | PUZZLES

by Matt Jones

Across

1 Wheat byproduct 6 Australian boots 10 Ensemble 14 Burj Khalifa locale 15 It comes before a fall? 16 Italian volcano that has been erupting through most of 2021 17 Opinion that the ordinal suffix from 4 onward is the worst of the group? 19 They may rehabilitate injured animals 20 Turn into 21 Songs to Wear ___ To (early 2000s website with humorous music) 22 Jason’s mythical vessel 25 Drive into hard 26 Highly decorated 27 Personal notification that nothing but © 2021 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) dense, flavorful bread is available? 30 A little off 31 Soothing ointment 32 The color of money (if that money is a Brazilian 10 real note) 33 “___ Doubtfire” (movie turned into an upcoming Broadway musical) 36 Louis XVI, once 37 Sunscreen letters Answers from last issue 40 South American mammal that looks like a raccoon 13 Cup, in France 42 Like some roof panels 18 Beige-like shade 44 The physics of a Spanish bear tying its shoes? 21 Qualifying clause 48 Figures on some Valentine’s Day cards 22 Distant 49 Pantone selection 23 Capital on the Tiber 50 Added color to white canvas shoes, maybe 24 Graph paper pattern 51 Lounges around 26 World capital where parts of “Tenet” were filmed 52 Formidable 28 Pop music family from Utah 54 Leaning type (abbr.) 29 Daith piercing locale 55 Request for Garfield’s canine pal to hurry up? 34 “Peanuts” expletive 59 Self-referential 35 Poker Hall of Famer Ungar 60 Actor Steve of “Superstore” 37 Kill it on the runway 61 Person from Malmo 38 Treasure hunter’s step 62 Maverick of “Maverick” 39 Mister Rogers 63 Plays like Diz 40 “Try” singer Colbie 64 Garden creeper 41 Egyptian considered to be history’s first architect Down 43 “___ Road” (Lil Nas X song) 1 It ends in Chicago in Nov. 44 One making citations 2 “Wait, what?” 45 Still awake 3 “Aladdin” monkey 46 They might not retain lint as well 4 Some Comic-Con attendees 47 Give the appearance of 5 Bona ___ 48 Reach new heights? 6 Hoo-ha 52 Walt Kelly comic strip 7 23 so far for Jay-Z, e.g. 53 Mike of Social Distortion 8 7 to 10, on the Beaufort Scale 55 Apprehend 9 2011 World Series winners, for short 56 “Breaking Bad” org. 10 Degas contemporary 57 Despot Amin 11 Like many group renditions of 58 Migratory swimmer “Happy Birthday,” to music students? 12 Condescending

(editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

Answers from previous publication.

If you read

then you know...

• How many Triad teens are vaccinated • April Parker’s new job • What a service-industry wedding looks like Triad City Beat — If you know, you know

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chris@triad-city-beat.com drew@triad-city-beat.com