If there’s a single name in the world of collectibles today that fills every fan with anticipation, it’s Funko. Featuring a wide array of Loungefly bags and, of course, Pops, the announcement of new projects from the venerable toy company always peaks interest among its millions of fans worldwide.
Continue reading “Checking out ‘Star Wars Rivals’ at a Night of Rivals, Rebels, and Revelries”
After a record breaking cold spell across usually-sunny California, the customary 80-degree weather had begun to pick up again in mid April; as the sun set over South Broadway’s historic Ace Hotel Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, the golden views and massive crowds were a fitting way to welcome in students, poets, writers and songwriters from far and wide to the annual 2023 Classic Slam Competition Finals.
Continue reading “Get Lit Closes Out Poetry Month with Annual Classic Slam Competition Finals”
I have to make a conscious effort of reviewing plays I am invited to cover without learning anything about it and just go in completely blind. In this day and age, such an effort is difficult to do and even more so when the individual such as myself is an information devouring maniac.
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’”
Fuse’s standout original series Made From Scratch invites viewers into the kitchens of their favorite celebrities, like comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, as they cook their favorite dishes while sharing their most cherished memories with loved ones.
Continue reading “Atsuko Okatsuka’s Grandmother Comes Clean in ‘Made From Scratch’ Clip”
KCON Los Angeles is finally upon us this Friday, August 19 through Sunday, August 21 — and people are wondering WHAT DO I DO?! How do I navigate through this mecca of all things Hallyu?
Continue reading “Your Guide to KCON Los Angeles 2022”
CJ ENM revealed their headline artists for the World’s No. 1 K-Culture Festival, KCON 2022 in Los Angeles! Celebrating its 10th anniversary, KCON 2022 LA presented by Toyota will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena from August 19-21.
Continue reading “KCON Announces Full Artist Line-Up for KCON 2022 Los Angeles in August”
I will always cherish plays, especially original plays, that have global majority actors be the leads in content that have nothing to do with their race/culture but rather other pressing issues of life, which in this particular case is an upcoming baby shower for a group of friends and the “baby question” that all the women in Nina Braddock’s Untitled Baby Play individually grapple with. Presented by IAMA Theatre Company and currently playing at the Atwater Village Theatre, the play does a tremendous job giving each of the ensemble members a chance to shine.
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Untitled Baby Play’”
You would be hard pressed to find me wanting to watch a Shakespeare production willingly. While I am painfully aware his works are considered the echelon of fine performance arts training, my distaste for it only grew as a vast majority of Shakespeare productions only utilize white actors for the meaningful parts.
Until now.
As in-person theatre is making more of a return throughout the United States and particularly in Los Angeles where I reside, there’s been a surge of plays that deal with traumatic topics of race when all or most of their cast members are that of Global Majority.
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Celestial Events’”
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty takes viewers on a stylized journey through one of the most important times in the team’s legacy; the beginning of the 1980s. Known as the “Showtime Era,” this moment in NBA history changed the league immensely, revitalizing public interest in basketball, and introducing the world to the Lakers dynamo squad of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Norm Nixon. These star players ball alongside the rest of the packed Lakers team, coached by Jerry West, and led by Jerry Buss.
Continue reading “One on One with ‘Winning Time’ Stars John C. Reilly and Quincy Isaiah”
Every so often, when a new series is introduced, it is immediately compared to what people may consider to be the most related to that. This rings especially true for new sitcoms and comedies starring people of color. When NBC’s Grand Crew was first announced as a series surrounding the lives of a group of Black friends at a wine bar, there were so many comparisons to HBO’s Insecure and ABC’s Black-ish that it straight away was labeled as a “Black” show.
Continue reading “NBC’s ‘Grand Crew’ Doesn’t Want to be Compared to Other Shows”
Grab your purple and gold jerseys and a big tub of popcorn, it’s time to play ball. Or rather, it’s time to watch a bunch of other people play ball. Or… actually, it’s time to watch a guy buy a team of people who play ball. Point is, Lakers fans have a lot to be excited about.
Continue reading “It’s Showtime for HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’”
To be watching plays again inside a theatre after 18 months was certainly a strange experience considering that Poor Clare, now playing at the Echo Theater Company, was something I was supposed review right before the pandemic shut everything down and drastically altered our lives for many months to come. To finally be able to watch this play (written by Chiara Atik and directed by Alana Dietze) was made all the worthwhile in how utterly fantastic it was and how much its themes struck even harder after everything we experienced during this chaotic time.
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Poor Clare’”
Since its debut on Netflix last month, the Korean survival drama Squid Game has become an obsession for everyone. With over 142 million households viewing the series, which helped Netflix add 4.38 million new subscribers, Squid Game‘s cultural phenomenon is not slowing down anytime soon.
Continue reading “Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Visited the Heart of Koreatown, Los Angeles”
Internet sensation Frankie Quinones arrives in a low rider with two of his most well known characters Creeper and Juanita in his first sketch and stand up comedy special on HBO in Entre Nos Presents: Frankie Quinones: Superhomies. Frankie takes us through musings and anecdotes of his life, his family, and the community he grew up in with a lovely celebration of how far he has come; however, he has a hard time withstanding the weight of sharing the stage with three strong personas.
Continue reading “‘Frankie Quinones: Superhomies’ is a Must-Watch Comedy Special Experiment”
2020 has been a hard year for the entire world and for some business owners, the complete loss of their livelihood. Poet/Rapper/Activist, Jason Chu, recently reached out to The Nerds of Color to tell us the story of one of his favorite Los Angeles Hot Spots and how his latest single “AYCE” shines the spotlights on ‘Hop Woo Chinese BBQ & Seafood Restaurant’ and why we should support this Chinatown institution.
Continue reading “Jason Chu Music Video Fights for Chinatown Restaurant”
They all have a million secrets. What’s so bad about this one? The St. Catherine’s drama club is struggling to put up its first school play – Sophocles’ “Antigone.” As if staging this tragedy in an all-girls Catholic school isn’t challenging enough, the cast’s beloved director ends up betraying them in an unforgivable way — and it’s almost opening night! The cast must figure out the right course of action, all while rehearsing a classic play about impossibly difficult choices. What is the right thing to do? And must the show go on?
Antigone, Presented By The Girls Of St. Catherine’s came with much eager anticipation. Presented by Sacred Fools (which put up a fantastic world premiere production of Gifted), written by Madhuri Shekar, and directed by Reena Dutt (who knocked it out of the park with her previously directed play Defenders), did the play met my expectation? More after the jump below:
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Antigone, Presented By The Girls of St. Catherine’s’”
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.”
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’”
Co-written with Edward Hong
What do you do when you’re born with a superpower but it’s really not that super? Especially if it’s a power that can accurately pinpoint the success or failure of any romantic relationship? Gifted, which is currently playing at the Sacred Fools till February 29, explores this question in a world not at all too different from our own. Written by Bob DeRosa and directed by Rebecca Larsen, the play takes a somewhat absurd premise into a truly in-depth and touching story that is a feast for the eyes, ears, and the heart.
In the realm of Los Angeles intimate theatre, efficiency and constraint are often unfortunately emphasized as budget limitations become the all-too familiar factor hovering over anyone who dreams of doing anything grandiose. So when I heard about a World War II play written by Cailin Maureen Harrison that was going to have its world premiere with the Pandelia’s Canary Yellow Company, I was intrigued because my burning question was: How exactly do you stage a WWII story in a black box setting and do so compellingly??
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Defenders’”
This marks my second NOC Theatre review since Hannah and the Dread Gazebo performed at the Fountain Theatre a few months back and it was here that my key interest in doing so was a commitment/announcement of sorts. For as much as I can, my focus will be to review plays & musicals with the qualifying criteria that the director, writer, and/or one of the main cast members (not supporting/ensemble but one of the leads) MUST be a non-white artist. The more PoC in the cast/production team, the better I’ll want to review it as I’ll give a glaring stink eye to all things tokenism.
Attention Los Angeles NOC’s! Do you love Stephen King? Do you love The Shining, or its sequel Doctor Sleep? Want to attend the red carpet premiere of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep? If you said “Yes” to all three questions, read on to see how!
Continue reading “Win Tickets to the Redrum-Carpet World Premiere of ‘Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep’”
It’s not often we here at The Nerds of Color review theatre performances but once in a while, there comes a production so wonderful, magical, and full of heart that it must be told for all to know. That production is Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, performing in Los Angeles at the Fountain Theatre (in association with East West Players) from now till September 29.
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Hannah and the Dread Gazebo’”
