A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘West Adams’

Earlier this month, I watched the opening premiere of West Adams at the Skylight Theatre Company and the first immediate thought I had when it finished was:

“Oh damn, this is Rich Liberal White People (And One Chinese Woman) Gone Crazy.”

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I’ll definitely go more into this after the break as there were tremendous things to be praised for this show (acting, directing, and production design aspects) but at the core of it was a very troubling and, at times, a baffling story. Who was the intended audience? That aspect remains unclear but more on this later:

Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘West Adams’”

‘Sorry to Bother You’: An Endorsement

It has been an experience watching people twist and bend, trying to slot Sorry to Bother You into some kind of familiar category. “It’s Michel Gondry married to Spike Jonze,” or “Wes Anderson by way of Charlie Kaufman.” Not only do these comparisons try to position this flawed masterpiece in a white filmmaker pantheon, but it also disrespects Boots Riley’s vision and execution. Let Riley live. 

Oh yeah, let’s stop it with the Get Out comparisons. Lazy.  Continue reading “‘Sorry to Bother You’: An Endorsement”