Tag: Review by Wanda Sabir

by Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners With Children and co-founder of All of Us or None I was incarcerated in San...

Cal Shakes’ stunning production of “The War of the Roses” by Eric Ting and Philippa Kelly, directed by Eric Ting, continues through Sept. 15. It is an amazing adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy and Richard III. I was not intimidated when I learned that the show was about four hours long. However, I did approach my seat cautiously and, at intermission, when I looked at my watch, I could hardly believe two hours had passed. I loved it. The time literally flew by.

What makes San Francisco Mime Troupe the award-winning theatre it is is its amazing work, which is always topical and timely. Its current production, July 1-Sept. 10, “Walls” is no different. Playwright and SF Mime veteran Michael Gene Sullivan’s new work looks at federal immigration policy from George W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton to Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The quartet has much in common, each president responsible for policies which criminalize its immigrant population.

“Kicks,” the first feature for East Bay native Justin Tipping, is a throwback to the harsh brutal ‘80s-’90s, when hip hop was painting landscapes along urban highways. It’s post-everything … urban removal complete – crack, pistols and cars about all that’s left for those who remain. Life is moving fast, so fast boys need their kicks to keep up. The story centers on Brandon, a petite youth who wants to buy a pair of Classic Jordans – Esu-Legba colors.

In “Southside with You” (2016), which opens nationally Aug. 26, 2016, Richard Tanne makes his feature film directorial debut. “Southside” is the story of youthful love, first love for Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, 25, a sheltered Chi-town daughter who is working hard – pressing against glass ceilings from a philosophical basement at a prestigious law firm, as she supervises the charming, cute intern, 27-year-old Barack Obama.

“Motown the Musical” is a wonderful story of a man’s ability to take a dream and, with the support of first his family and secondly his community – in this case, artists in Detroit, Michigan – see the vision through to its fruition. Berry Gordy Jr. decided to open his own music company, Motown, a company that put Black music on the map and provided the bridge between mainstream white America and the parallel nation Black people occupied, but not for long.