‘for colored girls’ reviews celebrate ‘riveting’ Broadway revival and ‘resplendent’ Kenita R. Miller
Forty-six years after the original production of Ntozake Shange’s legendary choreopoem “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf,” a sterling revival has returned to Broadway in the very same house where the original ran for nearly two years. Shange’s classic work consists of poems performed by seven different Black women – identified as different colors of the rainbow – that chronicle their joys, triumphs, and struggles. This mounting features the work of Tony-nominated choreographer Camille A. Brown, who also directs. The revival opened on April 20 at the Booth Theatre.
The ensemble cast stars Amara Granderson, Tendayi Kuumba, Kenita R. Miller, Okwui Okpokwasili, Stacey Sargeant, Alexandria Wailes, and D. Woods, the majority of whom are making their Broadway debuts. The late Shange’s voice also opens the play, in a short address to a young Black girl that invites the audience to imagine with them the...
The ensemble cast stars Amara Granderson, Tendayi Kuumba, Kenita R. Miller, Okwui Okpokwasili, Stacey Sargeant, Alexandria Wailes, and D. Woods, the majority of whom are making their Broadway debuts. The late Shange’s voice also opens the play, in a short address to a young Black girl that invites the audience to imagine with them the...
- 4/26/2022
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Director and choreographer Camille A. Brown and her cast of seven female singer-dancer-actors breathe life and vitality into Ntozake Shange’s still-potent mid-1970s touchstone for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf. Opening tonight at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, Shange’s fantasia of poetry, dance and stories of confession, defiance, sisterhood and, above all, perseverance, holds a power that’s not been weakened either by decades or the loss of a once startling newness.
Shange called her mix of spoken word set to dance and movement a “choreopoem,” a word as lovely and evocative today as it was when for colored girls (as it’s often abbreviated) began Off Broadway performances back in 1974. If the word itself seems tied to its era, the form would take root and work its influence on any number of theatrical works in any number of decades, from The...
Shange called her mix of spoken word set to dance and movement a “choreopoem,” a word as lovely and evocative today as it was when for colored girls (as it’s often abbreviated) began Off Broadway performances back in 1974. If the word itself seems tied to its era, the form would take root and work its influence on any number of theatrical works in any number of decades, from The...
- 4/21/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
“Coda” and “Don’t Look Up” added momentum to their hopes for Oscar gold by nabbing the top film honors Sunday at the 74th annual Writers Guild Awards.
The wins for the Apple TV Plus and Netflix titles come as film award season heads into its final seven-day countdown leading into the 94th Academy Awards on March 27. The Writers Guild of America West and East joined forces this year to present Sunday’s kudos in a virtual format, hosted by actor-writer Ashley Nicole Black, out of pandemic-related caution.
The leaders of both guilds, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm and WGA East president Michael Winship — made a brief side-by-side video appearance to assure members that the Writers Guild Awards will be back in person next year.
“Enjoy your sweat pants and slippers now. Next year you’ll be back in heels and ties and Spanx again,” said Stiehm.
On the TV side,...
The wins for the Apple TV Plus and Netflix titles come as film award season heads into its final seven-day countdown leading into the 94th Academy Awards on March 27. The Writers Guild of America West and East joined forces this year to present Sunday’s kudos in a virtual format, hosted by actor-writer Ashley Nicole Black, out of pandemic-related caution.
The leaders of both guilds, WGA West president Meredith Stiehm and WGA East president Michael Winship — made a brief side-by-side video appearance to assure members that the Writers Guild Awards will be back in person next year.
“Enjoy your sweat pants and slippers now. Next year you’ll be back in heels and ties and Spanx again,” said Stiehm.
On the TV side,...
- 3/20/2022
- by Cynthia Littleton, Michael Schneider and Adam B. Vary
- Variety Film + TV
Each of this year’s Best Picture Oscar nominees has survived a journey to cross the finish line, before earning the Academy’s consideration. Here’s how they came together.
Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees Streaming Site
Belfast
Writer-director Kenneth Branagh began work on Belfast at the beginning of 2020, but the story itself has been growing for 50 years. “The desire to write something about Belfast had been with me ever since I left the place,” says Branagh, “but it was definitely enhanced by the idea of the lockdown. There was much more introspection at the beginning of this period.”
In casting his family, Branagh’s goal was to cast people who understood the culture of Belfast. “I admired Jamie Dornan very much for his work on The Fall,” he says, “he’s from just outside Belfast. Ciarán Hinds was brought up a half a mile from where I lived,...
Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees Streaming Site
Belfast
Writer-director Kenneth Branagh began work on Belfast at the beginning of 2020, but the story itself has been growing for 50 years. “The desire to write something about Belfast had been with me ever since I left the place,” says Branagh, “but it was definitely enhanced by the idea of the lockdown. There was much more introspection at the beginning of this period.”
In casting his family, Branagh’s goal was to cast people who understood the culture of Belfast. “I admired Jamie Dornan very much for his work on The Fall,” he says, “he’s from just outside Belfast. Ciarán Hinds was brought up a half a mile from where I lived,...
- 3/17/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr, Joe Utichi, Antonia Blyth, Ryan Fleming, Damon Wise and Stevie Wong
- Deadline Film + TV
“Coda” started as “a scrappy production with few resources and filmed in a short amount of time,” says writer-director Siân Heder. But it earned the audience favorite award at Sundance and has chalked up other honors recently, including the key best-acting-ensemble at the Feb. 27 SAG Awards. It is nominated for three Oscars: supporting actor Troy Kotsur, adapted screenplay and best picture. And if its underdog/Cinderella status continues, it could take all three on March 27.
Producers Philippe Rousselet and Patrick Wachsberger wanted an English-language remake of the French “La Famille Bélier.” Heder pitched the idea of setting it in a fishing family, with a more authentic depiction of deafness.
Heder then began “an immersive research phase,” which included learning Asl. “I felt Asl is a lynchpin to understanding deaf culture. I approached the script in the way I’d always approached writing. But I realized this ‘radio play in my...
Producers Philippe Rousselet and Patrick Wachsberger wanted an English-language remake of the French “La Famille Bélier.” Heder pitched the idea of setting it in a fishing family, with a more authentic depiction of deafness.
Heder then began “an immersive research phase,” which included learning Asl. “I felt Asl is a lynchpin to understanding deaf culture. I approached the script in the way I’d always approached writing. But I realized this ‘radio play in my...
- 3/4/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
The Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf, directed and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown has announced its full cast and creative team, with performances set to begin at the Booth Theatre on Friday, April 1 and opening night on Wednesday, April 20.
Joining the cast are Amara Granderson as Lady in Orange, Tendayi Kuumba as Lady in Brown, Kenita R. Miller as Lady in Red, Okwui Okpokwasili as Lady in Green, Stacey Sargeant as Lady in Blue, Alexandria Wailes as Lady in Purple, and D. Woods as Lady in Yellow.
The revival will feature set design by Myung Hee Cho, costume design by Sarafina Bush, lighting design by Jiyoun Chang, sound design by Justin Ellington, projection design by Aaron Rhyne, and hair design by Cookie Jordan. The show also will feature...
Joining the cast are Amara Granderson as Lady in Orange, Tendayi Kuumba as Lady in Brown, Kenita R. Miller as Lady in Red, Okwui Okpokwasili as Lady in Green, Stacey Sargeant as Lady in Blue, Alexandria Wailes as Lady in Purple, and D. Woods as Lady in Yellow.
The revival will feature set design by Myung Hee Cho, costume design by Sarafina Bush, lighting design by Jiyoun Chang, sound design by Justin Ellington, projection design by Aaron Rhyne, and hair design by Cookie Jordan. The show also will feature...
- 2/28/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2014 French drama La Famille Bélier centered on a young woman growing up in a family with deaf parents, but for the most part the filmmakers cast hearing actors to play the deaf roles. Writer-director Siân Heder was determined not to take that same approach when she set about making Coda, her award-winning adaptation of the French film, and thus began her collaboration with actress Marlee Matlin. Heder cast the Oscar winner as mom Jackie Rossi, along with fellow deaf actors Troy Kotsur as husband Frank, and Daniel Durant as son Leo, while hearing actress Emilia Jones plays Ruby Rossi, the titular ‘Coda’—an acronym for Child of Deaf Adults.
In conversation with Matt Carey, Heder and Matlin discuss how they set about telling an authentic and moving story in a film that sold in a record-breaking deal out of Sundance.
Deadline: Siân, describe your thought process as you went about casting the film.
In conversation with Matt Carey, Heder and Matlin discuss how they set about telling an authentic and moving story in a film that sold in a record-breaking deal out of Sundance.
Deadline: Siân, describe your thought process as you went about casting the film.
- 12/1/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“It struck me when I saw that film, how rarely I had ever seen deaf characters on screen,” explains Sian Heder about the French film “La Famille Belier,” which she adapted into the American film “Coda.” It tells the story of the hearing daughter of a deaf family who is torn between the family business and her passion for music. Heder wrote and directed “Coda” and joined us for our “Meet the Experts” Film Writers Panel to discuss the unique experience of making the film. Watch our video interview above.
SEEEugenio Derbez (‘Coda’) on taking inspiration from ‘Dead Poets Society,’ ‘Whiplash’ for teacher character [Exclusive Video Interview]
“When I tried to go look for movies that had deaf characters in them, I was going back 35 years to ‘Children of a Lesser God,'” she adds. Trailblazing deaf actress and advocate Marlee Matlin won an Oscar for that 1986 film and also appears in “Coda...
SEEEugenio Derbez (‘Coda’) on taking inspiration from ‘Dead Poets Society,’ ‘Whiplash’ for teacher character [Exclusive Video Interview]
“When I tried to go look for movies that had deaf characters in them, I was going back 35 years to ‘Children of a Lesser God,'” she adds. Trailblazing deaf actress and advocate Marlee Matlin won an Oscar for that 1986 film and also appears in “Coda...
- 11/16/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
As Deaf Broadway’s creative team made the pivot from virtual performances to their inaugural live stage event for this fall, there were several production changes they had to consider. Among the first, says Deaf actress Alexandria Wailes, were pants.
“You’ve got to understand that on Zoom, no one dresses from the waist down,” the Deaf Broadway performer and Apple TV+ Little America actress jokes.
Humor aside, for the team behind “A Night with Deaf Broadway,” the re-imagining of scenes from the first act of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods for Wednesday’s event at the Lincoln Center marks an ...
“You’ve got to understand that on Zoom, no one dresses from the waist down,” the Deaf Broadway performer and Apple TV+ Little America actress jokes.
Humor aside, for the team behind “A Night with Deaf Broadway,” the re-imagining of scenes from the first act of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods for Wednesday’s event at the Lincoln Center marks an ...
- 9/14/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
As Deaf Broadway’s creative team made the pivot from virtual performances to their inaugural live stage event for this fall, there were several production changes they had to consider. Among the first, says Deaf actress Alexandria Wailes, were pants.
“You’ve got to understand that on Zoom, no one dresses from the waist down,” the Deaf Broadway performer and Apple TV+ Little America actress jokes.
Humor aside, for the team behind “A Night with Deaf Broadway,” the re-imagining of scenes from the first act of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods for Wednesday’s event at the Lincoln Center marks an ...
“You’ve got to understand that on Zoom, no one dresses from the waist down,” the Deaf Broadway performer and Apple TV+ Little America actress jokes.
Humor aside, for the team behind “A Night with Deaf Broadway,” the re-imagining of scenes from the first act of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods for Wednesday’s event at the Lincoln Center marks an ...
- 9/14/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
This is the second story in a three-part Spotlight on Deaf Actors Siân Heder’s living room was all wrong. While on set for her new film “Coda,” about the hearing daughter of a deaf family, her American Sign Language master, Anne Tomasetti, gave her a note about the film’s production design that Heder said she never would have considered as a hearing person. “She was like, this living room is set up wrong. No deaf family is going to put their couch facing away from the door,” Heder told TheWrap, explaining that a typical deaf household would arrange their furniture to be able to see who’s coming and going. That wasn’t the only suggestion Tomasetti or her colleague Alexandria Wailes had for Heder. And while “Coda” may be a watershed moment for representation of deaf people on screen, starring three deaf actors in leading roles, the...
- 8/11/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Demi Lovato, who was announced this week as a performer at the Grammy Awards, will sing the National Anthem a week later as part of Super Bowl Liv pregame festivities at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, February 2, the NFL and the Fox network announced today.
The pregame show, including the National Anthem, will be broadcast live worldwide.
Lovato will join a prestigious line up of Super Bowl National Anthem performers that includes Gladys Knight, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Joel, P!Nk, Jordin Sparks, Idina Menzel, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Neil Diamond.
In addition, on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (Nad), Christine Sun Kim, internationally renowned sound artist and performer, will sign the National Anthem in American Sign Language.
The appearance, combined with the Grammy performance, marks a big return for Lovato, who has been recovering from...
The pregame show, including the National Anthem, will be broadcast live worldwide.
Lovato will join a prestigious line up of Super Bowl National Anthem performers that includes Gladys Knight, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Joel, P!Nk, Jordin Sparks, Idina Menzel, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Neil Diamond.
In addition, on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (Nad), Christine Sun Kim, internationally renowned sound artist and performer, will sign the National Anthem in American Sign Language.
The appearance, combined with the Grammy performance, marks a big return for Lovato, who has been recovering from...
- 1/16/2020
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
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