11 minute read
Arts & Entertainment
Theater pg 17 | Gifts pg 18 | Trends pg 22 | Jazz pg 23
Your Stars
(L-R): Asia Kate Dillon, Che Ayende, Danny Wolohan, Amber Gray, Daniel Craig, Emeka Guindo, Paul Lazar, Ruth Negga, Maria Dizzia, Grantham Coleman, Bobbi MacKenzie, Phillip James Brannon, and Eboni Flowers
By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews
“Macbeth” reigns SUPREME on Broadway—you have never seen a “Macbeth” like this! William Shakespeare’s classic tale of a man who murders to become monarch in Scotland is having a rebirth at the Longacre Theatre on West 48th Street. This incarnation of the beloved “Scottish play” has never had its like experienced on any stage. The non-traditional casting, along both racial and gender lines, is simply brilliant. There is something very visceral about the delivery of this play. Your senses are piqued as you experience the fog effects throughout the play, the dramatic sighting of ghosts that haunt the conscience of Macbeth and the nightmare of Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare’s rhythmic, beautiful language flows as if it was everyday speech; the extraordinarily talented ensemble makes it seem easy.
The audience is first introduced to the history of what was happening to Shakespeare and to the world around him at the time he wrote “Macbeth.” Then the play begins, and the story is delivered to perfection. There are many unconventional choices made in the delivery of this tale; I have never seen a “Macbeth” with more originality, more humor and more audience engagement.
This cast is one of the best on Broadway—let me count the ways! Daniel Craig is magnificent as Macbeth. You see the inner struggles and his ambitions and those of his wife placed upon him, ambitions that cause his terrible deeds to snowball. He takes the audience through many emotions, even madness. Ruth Negga is nothing less than perfect as Lady Macbeth. Her diabolical ambitions seize Macbeth, manipulating him and, when the deed is done, causing her downfall. The photo on the Playbill truly depicts what you see on stage, as her evil character is definitely in Macbeth’s head, filling it with words of treason, treachery and murder. She makes it seem that Macbeth’s ambitions to be king are reasonable.
Paul Lazar as Duncan, king of Scotland, is memorable and funny in the role. (Funny seems like a strange way to describe this character, but you’ll see what I mean when you experience his unconventional behavior, especially after his death.) Asia Kate Dillon is a fantastic example of non-traditional, gender-bending casting as they play Malcolm, Duncan’s heir to the throne of Scotland. Grantham Coleman is absolutely incredible as MacDuff, thane of Fife who Macbeth sets his sights on. He brings an intensity on stage that is well felt by the audience. Maria Dizzia is powerful as Lady MacDuff, and one of the three sister witches. Bobbi Mackenie is brilliant as their child and one of the three witch sisters. Phillip James Brannon, another ingenious example of gender-bending casting, plays the third sister witch and Ross. Che Ayende and Eboni Flowers also play witches. Amber Gray, who audiences will know from “Hadestown,” is absolutely stunning as Banquo, a Scottish general. Her delivery of Shakespeare’s words, along with that of the entire cast, comes across as melodic and powerful. Once murdered, her haunting spirit will command your attention. Emeka Guindo delivers Fleance, the son of Banquo very well, Michael Patrick Thornton is entertaining as Lennox, as is Danny Wolohan as Seyton. The entire cast’s performances would do the Bard proud, as would the sterling direction of Sam Gold. Get thee to the theater, to see this phenomenal production!
For more info, visit www.macbethbroadway.com.
By MARGRIRA
Special to the AmNews
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FENTY
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By MARGRIRA
Special to the AmNews
If you close your eyes and listen to twotime Emmy Award-winning actor and poet Ron Cephas Jones’ voice, and allow yourself a moment to soak in his tone and pitch, you might be surprised by the sense of trust that envelopes you, like a warm, fuzzy blanket on a chilly night.
Like many New Yorkers, I know Jones as a well-seasoned theater thespian, and when he stepped into NBC’s groundbreaking hit “This Is Us” as William Hill, a gay, recovering addict who becomes reconnected with his biological son while coming to terms with his own terminal cancer, I was so proud, my chest puffed out like I was a family member.
In the theater community, there is a certain sense of earning your space, and although it’s a community it’s one with high stands. Jones has over 30 years of stage experience. He’s paid his dues several times over, often taking his small, baby girl—Emmy Award-winning actress Jasmine Cephas Jones—literally into the audition rooms over the years.
There is a sense of karmic justice that father and daughter both took home Emmy Awards (2020), Jasmine for best actress, in a short-form comedy or drama series for “#FreeRayshawn” and Ron for his role in “This Is Us,” making them the first father and daughter to win acting Emmys in the same year.
His television and film credits are long, growing every day. Some of those credits include AppleTV+ series “Truth Be Told,” AppleTV+ series “Lisey’s Story,” “Mr. Robot,” season 2 of NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” “Better Things,” “The Get Down,” AMC’s “Low Winter Sun,” “Banshee,” and “The Blacklist.”
On the stage, Jones recently wowed audiences and critics playing Montrellous, in the Second Stage Theater’s production of “Clyde’s,” alongside Uzo Aduba, Reza Salazar, and Kara Young. His work on stage as Montrellous earned Jones a 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
“Clyde’s” is written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and her frequent collaborator, director Kate Whoriskey (“Ruined,” “Sweat”) and is set in a truck stop sandwich shop where formerly incarcerated kitchen staff work for their shot at redemption. Ron’s character (Montrellous), a long-time employee of Clyde’s, in many ways serves as a kind of spiritual guide for the shop’s employees. Jones’ performance was praised across the board with Newsweek calling him “mesmerizing” and Time Out adding that he’s “a model of soulful grace.”
Jones, who has known Nottage for over 20 years, was initially struck by how “Clyde’s” stood apart from Nottage’s other work. No stranger to daring to tell the truth, this play examines important social issues, choosing to use the humor that emanates from the characters’ behavior.
There is power in laughter. As for his character Montrellous, Jones considers him to be someone unique, an enlightened being living in the now. To get to this place of bliss, he stepped into a headspace after learning how to make sandwiches, and use knives—properly—understanding the deeply spiritual space that preparing food can enter.
“Clyde’s” was the first time Jones has performed on Broadway in seven years, last appearing in “Of Mice And Men” (2014).
The season finale for NBC’s “This Is Us” is scheduled for May 24, and to answer the question—yes, his character, William Hill is returning. His two-time Emmy winning turn in “This is Us” kept him busy for many years, but now that the series has aired its final season, we might get to see more of him in New York. “I still have a bucket list,” he exclaims, as he rattles off roles both classic and contemporary that he is dying to explore on stage. The actor, who got his start with the famed LAByrinth Theater Company, seems to have theater woven into his DNA. “I’ll always long for the boards,” he admits, “it’s where my roots are.”
“It was about choosing light and also about having faith and working through fear,” he says of his recent role in “Clyde’s” on Broadway. Jones describes working on the play as a “joy” as he thinks back on “all the little metaphors” for light conquering darkness that he found in the script.
Here is part one of a two-part interview with two-time Emmy Award-winning actor and poet Ron Cephas Jones.
Amsterdam News: I don’t know if you heard this before, Ron, but I was very hungry while watching “Clyde’s.”
Ron Cephas Jones: (laughing) They were real sandwiches as well. We had a “personal sandwich maker” and she was integral to us having those fresh sandwiches there every night. Fortunately, Kara [Young, who played Letitia] and Reza [Salazar, who plays Rafael] and Edmund [Donovan, who plays Jason] was fortunate enough to be able to taste those sandwiches. I couldn’t eat the sandwiches during the course of the show, so but they got a chance to, you know, to enjoy the delicacies of those sandwiches.
RCJ: So, like you and everyone, you know, everyone left the theater, hungry, craving a gourmet sandwich, you know, so that was a beautiful part of it.
AMN: Not for nothing, but you were called using the knives like pros.
RCJ: Well, we had a chef working with us on how to use the knives. How to slice because they were very sharp. We learned how to make it look real. Learning how to hold knives. How to cut, downwards and away from the fingers, how to curl the fingers.
AMN: Life lessons in this knife slicing session, I think.
RCJ: That’s right. Yeah, yeah.
AMN: I had no idea how much training went into this play. However, in retrospect, it makes sense.
RCJ: Yes. You know everything was very specific. For example, the way the refrigerators were designed. And now each time they were open, they would have a different look. When Ryan pulled this out of her refrigerator it was more pale and dull. And when I pulled things out, they were bright, bright vegetables. And we had that smoke of steam, coming out of the freezer, to get that frosty look, when Clyde (Uzo Aduba) would come out, her colors were always dull.
AMN: There was a moment that I realized that what I was looking at was a very well choreographed piece. It reminded me of the visuals used in football.
RCJ: That’s the part of live theater. You get to experience not just a story, but how people move and things happen.
AMN: What comment, about your character (Montrellous), surprised you the most?
RCJ: That’s an interesting question. I think mostly, people were surprised by Montrellous’ redemptive quality. How Nottage wrote him [on the page] was elevated. It’s in his persona and his attitude. He’s almost angelic. It was a balance between Clyde’s (Uzo) devilish ways and his angelic ways.
And I think what got people when they started to notice, and they would question themselves, was that rest stop sandwich stop heaven, or was it hell?
AMN: Yikes. I can see that. Ok. I am stopping here. Next week, part two, and congratulations on being in the last episode of NBC’s “This Is Us” (May 24).
Uzo Aduba and Ron Cephas Jone in “Clyde’s” (Joan Marcus photo)
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