• Home
  • About us
  • Advertising
  • Digital Archive
  • Contact
    • Letter to the Editor
Monday, February 6, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
lgbtq-san-diego-county-news-logo-475x166
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Film
    • Music
    • Books
    • Theater
    • Q Syndicate
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Court News
      • News Briefs
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Mara W. Elliot
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Features
  • Food & Drink
    • Hot Dish
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
    • The Frivolist
  • Columns
    • Conversations with Nicole
    • Big Mike and Friends
    • Life Beyond Therapy
    • Houston We Have a Problem
    • Queer Parenting
    • Notes from Toni
    • Trans Talk with Connor
    • Pozitively Michael
    • Powerful Black Women
    • Lambda Archives
  • Business
    • Best of Gay San Diego
    • Business Profile
    • Wedding Directory
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Out & About
  • Calendar
lgbtq-san-diego-county-news-logo
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Film
    • Music
    • Books
    • Theater
    • Q Syndicate
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Court News
      • News Briefs
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Mara W. Elliot
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Features
  • Food & Drink
    • Hot Dish
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
    • The Frivolist
  • Columns
    • Conversations with Nicole
    • Big Mike and Friends
    • Life Beyond Therapy
    • Houston We Have a Problem
    • Queer Parenting
    • Notes from Toni
    • Trans Talk with Connor
    • Pozitively Michael
    • Powerful Black Women
    • Lambda Archives
  • Business
    • Best of Gay San Diego
    • Business Profile
    • Wedding Directory
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Out & About
  • Calendar
No Result
View All Result
lgbtq-san-diego-county-news
No Result
View All Result

‘CLYBOURNE PARK’

Play by Bruce Norris

02/14/2020
in A&E, Featured, Theater Reviews
0
‘CLYBOURNE PARK’
3.7k
SHARES
198
VIEWS

M.G. Perez, senior reporter

Sometimes life is black and white. It isn’t fair.

Those were harsh realities in the 1970s Houston, Texas suburb where Bruce Norris grew up. Norris is playwright of the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Clybourne Park” opening Feb. 14, for a three-week run at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center. The show is produced by the Trinity Theatre Company, launching its eighth season as one of San Diego’s emerging artistic forces. “Clybourne Park” is inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s classic play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” about race and the American dream. Norris, who was a white, middle-class, seventh-grade student at the time, remembers his social studies teacher showing the Sidney Poitier film version. He says, “We were so closeted and unaware of our privilege, that this social studies teacher, I think, was trying to elbow us into some consciousness about what sort of world we were actually living in.” The film made such an impact that as an aspiring young actor, he believed he would someday play the role of Karl Lindner, who represents the racism of white America before the civil rights movement. That never happened. Instead, Norris built a career as a writer and eventually included the same character from Hansberry’s story, and a few others, in his play. The result bookends “A Raisin in the Sun” and launches new storylines and characters. The first act is set in the exclusively white 1959 Chicago neighborhood when a black couple buys a house and moves in. Then, Act 2 takes place in the same house 50 years later when a white couple initiates a move for gentrification in the now-dilapidated area. Norris says, “There’s a kind of mystery built into the play wondering why this family is leaving. If you pry further and further into a story, well, there’s a tragedy at the core of a momentous event like moving out of a house. I didn’t know what that was until I started writing the play.”

Courtesy photos

“Clybourne Park” also delivers comedy and stinging laughs often rooted in the underbelly of racism and bigotry. Director Kandace Crystal jumped at the opportunity to helm the Trinity Theatre production. “This is a show that has a voice of color. As a director, I love to hold a mirror up to an audience. I don’t live up to those angry black woman stereotypes,” she says. Crystal auditioned every person who wanted to be seen for the roles, no matter their ethnicity. Ultimately, she cast Caucasian and African American actors, who deliver authentic performances true to the text. The play is intentionally layered by the playwright to address issues of race, class, gender and indirectly sexual orientation and disability. All the actors play double roles including Emily Candia, who is Betsy in the first act set in 1959. Betsy is the deaf, pregnant wife of the antagonist and racist Karl Lindner, who Norris once thought he might play onstage. He tells us he created Betsy because he believed only a deaf woman would put up with that kind of husband. Candia uses the character to bring awareness and strength by communicating in sign language and her well-acted, effectively executed, limited-speaking interpretation to the role. In Act 2, Norris outs one of the male characters as gay, played by Ryan Cannan, through a clever use of a very offensive joke. It brings a laugh and makes a statement about the progress of the gay community at the time of the 2009 setting.

During a recent rehearsal, the entire cast delivered potent performances without the benefit of a set, lights, or costumes — a clear indication of what is to come in the next three weeks onstage and in the minds of both the actors and audience members who experience the power of this much respected and honored play. The cast also includes seasoned performers Paul Uhler (Russ/Dan), Melissa Malloy (Bev/Kathy), Robert Coe (Karl/Steve), Daniel Solomon (Albert/Kevin), and newcomer Ashley Graham (Francine/Lena), who includes on her resume the iconic role of Laurey in the musical “Oklahoma!” as a black actress in an otherwise white cast, performed at the Lawton Community Theater in Lawton, Oklahoma.

“Clybourne Park” director points out this play does not have a happy ending: “Who needs a happy ending? Let’s take this ‘mirror’ and see how we can do better in our own community,” quips Crystal.

Recommended for mature audiences; contains strong language and adult situations.

Tenth Avenue Arts Center
930 10th Ave. San Diego, CA 92101

Feb. 14 through March 8, 2020.
Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m.

Opening Night Valentine’s Day discount BOGO tickets using the code: 2Love

Feb. 14, 2020 performance only

www.trinityttc.org

 

M.G. Perez is founder of the San Diego Theatre Connection and creator of the Community OMG blog www.communityomg.tumblr.com. Follow on social media on Facebook and Instagram @sdtheatreconnection and on Twitter @TheSDTC.

Submit theater content and story ideas to mgperez@sdtconnection.com

Tags: Bruce NorrisClybourne ParkTenth Avenue Arts CenterTheatre San Diego
Next Post
Calendar, Feb. 14-27, 2020

Calendar, Feb. 14-27, 2020

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read our digital edition

Volume 4, Issue 9, February 2023

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

What started as a personal social media project vi What started as a personal social media project via Instagram during the pandemic, Hillcrest San Diego has become a 10K subscriber resource for news, history, memes, and all things Hillcrest. We caught up with Rick Cervantes the force behind the account to get to know more about the motivation behind it, the plans for the Instagram account and the upcoming inaugural #hillcrestsandiego Honors with its reception schedule for Monday February 6 at Uptown tavern to honor local community members and organizations.
Read the full Interview on the link below
http://ow.ly/OJ9k50MIEBZ
Our community has been built on the need for resou Our community has been built on the need for resources and support, and sectors in our community have also been called to create organizations that enrich and serve their own specific needs. One such organization is the San Diego LGBTQ Coalition.  Read full article on the link below
https://lgbtqsd.news/san-diego-black-lgbtq-coalition-a-stronger-front-for-the-betterment-of-the-community/
Read all our February Issue Articles on our websit Read all our February Issue Articles on our website!
https://lgbtqsd.news

our on our Digital edition courtesy of issuu!
https://issuu.com/sdcnn0/docs/lgbtq_news_february_2023
They are fresh off the press! They are fresh off the press!
The February Issue is OUT Today! Pick up a copy a The February Issue is OUT Today! 
Pick up a copy around town!
We are Welcoming February with a NEW Issue! We are Welcoming February with a NEW Issue!
Black History Includes Black LGBTQ History! Black History Includes Black LGBTQ History!
Are you thinking about having work done on your ho Are you thinking about having work done on your home that will cost more than $500 in labor and materials? If so, you should take precautions before hiring a contractor. Any person providing home improvements or repairs above the $500 handyman exception is required to have a state issued license from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Read more on the link below 

https://lgbtqsd.news/dont-fall-victim-to-unscrupulous-contractors/
San Diego Foundation has opened its Common Scholar San Diego Foundation has opened its Common Scholarship Application with $3.5 million in scholarships available for local college students. Students can apply at SDFoundation through March 8, 2023. Get all the details on the link below.

http://ow.ly/bq1C50MvOMH
Load More... Follow on Instagram
lgbtq_san_diego_county_news

© 2019 LGBTQ San Diego County News. All rights reserved.

Navigate our site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Q Syndicate
  • News & Features
    • News
    • Features
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
      • Susan Davis
  • Food & Drink
    • Hot Dish
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • The Frivolist
  • Business
  • Columns
    • Conversations with Nicole
    • Big Mike and Friends
    • Black Lives
    • C…Community
    • Frankly Speaking
    • Houston We Have a Problem
    • Life Beyond Therapy
    • My Good Tootie
  • Out & About
  • Contact
  • Archive
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Calendar

© 2019 LGBTQ San Diego County News. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In