[Theatre] BN-W Snapshot - The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess - Worthy!

No, n-word not used.  This Broadway revival is excellent!   The acting, singing, orchestra are all standouts.   Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis have great chemistry and bring a love story to life about two people who are sad souls with serious outward weaknesses and dependencies but who make an unusual – albeit not necessarily healthy – connection that’s great for however long it may last but heartbreaking should it disintegrate.   The Porgy character uses a cane, giving him much more dignity than moving about on his knees or...

[Theatre] BN-W Snapshot - Stick Fly - Worthy!

Yes, n-word used about 2 times during a conversation about racism in America – it was used in an historical context and not in a reckless or careless manner.   This is an entertaining play with real-life situations that most people can relate to in some way.   It’s a pleasant night out with plenty of laughs yet there are serious issues about family relationships as well as matters of the heart that will leave you thinking while smiling.   There are also references made to the slave trade economics and the Middle Passage, which is always a plus when there’s an educational system trying to wipe out that history.   There is one caveat...

[Theatre] BN-W Snapshot - Black Angels Over Tuskegee - Worthy!

Yes, the n-word used once or twice in its historical context – and not needlessly or recklessly.  Excellent Off Broadway play that’s well-written and well-acted.   It will have you laughing and crying with its effective portrayal of life for a group of Black men – aka the Tuskegee Airmen – during World War II and their...

[Theatre] BN-W Snapshot - The Mountaintop - Mediocre!

Yes, n-word used about 5 times quite unnecessarily; it appears the writer just felt a need to emphasize that, yes, Martin Luther King Jr. used it too.  Why is it that so many people of African descent feel it’s their duty to belittle, minimize, and “humanize” someone whose influence was feared, dominant, and impactful enough to be assassinated – some say – by the government?   Is that the only way a play about a Black man who was murdered in his efforts to bring massive change to America can get bankrolled on Broadway.   We saw that lackadaisical attitude about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the film Barbershop, we can also see some of it in The Mountaintop.   This play is nowhere near as bad as The Scottsboro Boys (a sorry song-and-dance musical based on the true story of Black males falsely accused of rape and all but one sentenced to death) but it is far from as meaningful as Gem of the Ocean (a powerful play about the enslaved Africans, their horrid journey on ships during the transatlantic slave trade, and the “City of Bones”).   If Dr. King was wise enough to not use that word recklessly, needlessly or excessively in any of his many speeches, sermons or interviews, then why...