‘When January Feels Like Summer’ Debuts at Lehman
By Leonel Henriquez
Devaun (Mark Robinson) and Indira (Erica Peña) discuss dating. Photo by Leonel Henriquez.
From Oct. 18-21, Lehman’s Studio Theatre showcased “When January Feels Like Summer” by award winning playwright Cori Thomas from Marymount Manhattan college. The play follows five characters as they evolve from the redundancy of their lives in Harlem, New York. The warm, funky January weather is a precursor to the changing elements of the characters as they externalize their turmoil and desires. Susan Watson-Turner brilliantly directed and masterfully staged the production.
The moment the lights go up the witty rapid-fire banter between two fast food workers is as electric as the third rail. The two Burger King employees, Devaun (Mark Robinson) and Jeron (Jahdiel Rodriguez), seek a greater purpose to their fast food lives. They set out on a crusade to rid the neighborhood of a sexual predator and prevent him from “homosexing” little kids.
Joe (Eloy Rosario) is an awkward, reserved, and sincere sanitation worker who finds value in what others consider garbage. Joe has a crush on Nirmala, the sister of Ishan/Indira and the wife of an abusive bodega owner. Sara Rosado gives a phenomenal performance as Nirmala, who deals with a comatose husband. The somber hospital scenes are gut-wrenching as she addresses the monosyllabic response of a life support machine. At one point it feels like the audience wants to pull the plug to free her from her marital prison. Finally, Joe and Nirmala come together as they realize their mutual yearning for companionship.
Meanwhile center stage, shrouded in darkness, Ishan (Erica Peña) transforms to Indira. Peña’s performance is dynamic in the dual role. “I just want to look on the outside how I feel on the inside,” says Ishan of his desire to transition to a woman. Rounding out the cast, theatre major and senior Shawn Lackerson plays the newscaster.
“People can only truly find themselves when they are themselves.”
– playwright Cori Thomas
Playwright Cori Thomas wrote the play in 2007 after overhearing a conversation between two young men on the train. The language of the characters, how they speak and represent themselves, is at the heart of the play, she said. “People can only truly find themselves when they are themselves,” she told the Lehman audience.
“I thought it was great. I loved it,” said senior and environmental science major Jeffrey Townsend. This play is a must-see that will both have the audience laughing and have them leave wanting just a little more of this fantastic production.
‘Twin Peaks:’ Still a Damn Fine Cup of Joe---and Hot
By Deirdre Fanzo
Title card from “Twin Peaks: The Return.” Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
“I’ll see you again in 25 years,” said Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) to Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) in a bizarre dream shared between the two characters. The ominous phrase kept fans of “Twin Peaks,” David Lynch and Mark Frost’s cult television series, hoping she was right.
Now Palmer’s words have proven true. The show returned in May of 2017, airing Sunday nights on Showtime at 9 p.m. Directed in its entirety by David Lynch, “The Return” has a far darker vibe than the original run.
As computer science major Carlos Perez put it, “it’s a completely different show with a completely different tone.”
When “Twin Peaks” originally ran on ABC on Thursday nights in 1990-91, it was a quirky combination of paranormal detective mystery and soap opera. The plot followed Special Agent Dale Cooper on his investigation into the murder of local sweetheart Laura Palmer. There were funny scenes, touching moments, bizarre happenings, and an abundance of donuts, black coffee, and cherry pie. But as Agent Cooper uncovered Palmer’s dark secrets, the darker side of the town was revealed as well.
With the inclusion of alternate dimensions, malevolent spirits, and doppelgangers, the show presented to its audience something entirely new that paved the way for future programs like “The X-Files,” “Fringe,” and “Stranger Things.” But in 1991, network producers ordered Lynch and Frost to do what they had never intended---to reveal Palmer’s killer. Ratings plummeted after the big reveal and the show was cancelled, leaving angry viewers with a cliffhanger that seemed as though it would never be resolved.
Then, in 2014, Lynch and Frost were picked up by Showtime and given a platform to bring back their cult sensation in the form of “Twin Peaks: The Return.” Running “The Return” on Showtime allowed Lynch and Frost to bring in darker and scarier elements this time around. MacLachlan returns to the series as the show’s forerunner, this time taking on two different roles---the separate sides of Cooper. The show follows both Cooper’s horrifying and evil doppelganger, known as Mr. C, and the good, but infantile, Dougie Jones, who, unbeknownst to him, is actually the benevolent Dale Cooper.
There are moments where the show meanders. While Jones is funny, there are moments where his presence is excruciating. Cooper was the heart of “Twin Peaks” when it originally ran, and in “The Return,” the audience sits through roughly 15 hours of the clueless Jones before the true Cooper returns. When he does return, though, it is incredibly satisfying. This plot evolution makes it clear that the title “The Return” has two meanings---the return of the show itself and the return of Special Agent Dale Cooper.
True to the style of David Lynch, more questions are asked before the season comes to a close. “Part 17” can be considered the true ending of the season, while “Part 18” feels more like an epilogue, which ends on another confounding cliffhanger. Since a fourth season has not yet been confirmed, audiences can only hope that the show doesn’t end for good on yet another suspenseful shocker.
New ‘American Horror Story’ Season Spins 2016 Elections as the Real Horror Show
By Eileen Sepulveda
Promotional image for “Cult,” the latest installment of FX’s anthology, “American Horror Story.” Photo courtesy of Wikicommons.
Although its sixth season turned out to be a major flop, the seventh season of “American Horror Story,” entitled “Cult,” has so far proven to be one of the best seasons ever. Created and produced by Ryan Murphy and writer Brad Falchuk, the psychological, gory dramatic thriller, which premiered Sept. 5, revolves around the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The show stands out for tackling issues that are detrimental to many U.S. citizens, such as discrimination against Mexican immigrants and the LGBT community, and the resurgence of white nationalism.
“AHS” fans will appreciate the writer’s careful approach. John Landgraf, the chief executive of FX told John Koblin of the New York Times via phone interview, “It’s a horror piece, so it’s a genre piece, but it’s trying somehow to locate and diagnose the essential craziness of the times in which we live.”
Chaotic and terrifying, the first episode, “Election Night,” draws the viewer right in. It opens with the exhilarated soon to be cult leader, Kai Anderson played by Evan Peters---an “AHS” fan favorite who is also known for his role as X-Men’s Quicksilver---humping his TV screen and whispering, “The revolution has begun.” Along with his sister Winter (Billie Lourd) and their brother Dr. Rudy Vincent Anderson (Cheyenne Jackson), the three begin recruiting several members of the community into their strange and dangerous cult. By the end of episode 1, Kai’s evil cult has formed.
Masked as hideous clowns, the cult begins to terrorize the town, going on violent killing sprees. Allyson Mayfair Richards (Sarah Paulson) is also tormented by the cult. Triggered by Trump’s victory, Allyson and her family deal with her many phobias, including coulrophobia. Her wife Ivy (Alison Pill) goes on her own psychological rollercoaster. It takes a toll on the couple’s relationship and inflicts traumatic stresses on their son, 10-year-old Oz---short for Ozymandias (Cooper Dodson), who we learn secretly loves to read “Twisty: The Clown Chronicles.” As some viewers might know, Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch) also makes his appearance on “AHS Season 4: Freak Show.”
As the plot unfolds many of the characters’ identities are revealed and the truths uncovered through many twists and turns will leave viewers dumbfounded right up till the season finale, “Great Again,” scheduled to air on Nov. 14. Beside the constant neck slicing and clown faces, the show brings to life the nightmare that’s become a reality in the U.S.
The New ‘IT’ Will Give You Goosebumps
By Shaiann Frazier
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in Andres Muschietti’s “IT.” Photo courtesy of Vimeo.
If you want to be scared and laugh at the same time, the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 bestselling novel, “IT” is the movie for you. Director Andres Muschietti does an excellent job of exposing the individuality of each character in depth, while adding an element of comedy which was missing in the 1990 version, a two-part TV miniseries directed by Tommy Lee Wallace.
Muschietti updates and internalizes King’s story of several Maine teenagers who unite against two attacks---relentless bullying and terrorism from an ancient shapeshifting creature which they call IT. IT mainly manifests as Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård), and preys on and murders children using supernatural powers that feed off the fears of its victims. What makes the creature so terrifying is that it can only be seen by children and goes undetected by adults. IT also appears every 27 years, otherwise hiding in the local sewer system of fictional Derry, Maine.
With a $35 million budget, almost triple that of the miniseries, Muscheietti’s version focuses less on brute horror and more on the individuality and struggles of each character. The use of drama balances out the brutality of the movie, which helps the audience empathize with each character. Take Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), for example, who struggles with an abusive father and school rumors about her. Her friend Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), another victim of IT’s attacks, suffers from mysophobia and an overbearing mother. Even though the movie is set up to scare the audience, each character affected by IT has to endure their own struggles in their personal life while attempting to not become another victim of the terrifying clown.
Muschietti also focuses heavily on the bond that brothers, Billy (Jaeden Lieberher) and Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott), share. From the opening scene, it is evident how much Georgie means to Billy, especially when Billy creates a boat for Georgie to sail in the pouring rain, and calls it “SS Georgie.” The moment after they hug before Georgie goes out to play will have your heart pounding.
But in terms of pure terror, Wallace’s film does a better job with the awful Pennywise, who appears within the first ten minutes, by intensifying each scene where IT appears. For those who have seen the first adaptation, it is safe to say that the more Pennywise appears, the more scared the audience becomes, and the more difficult it becomes to gauge Pennywise’s next move, especially in the sewer scene when IT appears to all seven teenagers at the same time. Likewise, rather than emphasizing the relationship between brothers, Billy and Georgie, Wallace focuses heavily on how Pennywise affects Billy’s mental state along with the other characters. This build-up of anticipation makes Pennywise appear more unpredictable compared to the 2017 adaptation where one can expect the appearance of IT, although Pennywise doesn’t show up until 30 minutes into the film. For fans of the original, just having to wait for the awful Pennywise can be a deal-breaker.
However, if you can overlook some minor plot changes and Pennywise jumping out at you from the screen, the latest, “IT” will have you laughing while gripping your seat tightly in anticipation. For that darker and more subtle suspense, this film is worth every minute.