Lifestyle & Culture

Thomas Bradshaw Causes Fevers to Rise in “Southern Promises”

March 19, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s a huge challenge to produce and mount plays that tackle the difficult subjects of slavery and/or race relations. There is always the problem of theatrical voice, sensitivity, and racial currency. Race relations and slavery are very sensitive subjects for the theatre to take on. And even though slavery in the US ended over 150 years ago, racial discrimination and inequity continues for African Americans.

Thomas Bradshaw in his 2008 play “Southern Promises” re-examines slavery and the residual effects of such a brutal social and economic system of oppression. In this production of “Southern Promises,” The Bats, the resident acting company at the Flea, boldly revisits slavery with an interracial cast that contains people color playing both the servants and the dominant class.

“Southern Promises” centers on a promise made by the dying plantation owner that his slaves be set free after his death. Though the plantation owner wills manumission of his slaves in his will, the patriarch’s wife goes against his will, literally, and keeps the slaves in bondage, contributing her dead husband’s desire for manumission to his fevered dementia at the end of his life.

There are many things in this production that serves this incendiary subject in a great way. Though the utilitarian set is almost stark with a plantation backdrop, it is surprisingly functional and serves the production adequately.

The Bats acting company takes on all the characters and though some of the black actors play white antebellum roles, the non-traditional casting does not detract from the incendiary nature and forcefulness of the script. One wonders if Bradshaw was inspired or drew reference from Jean Genet’s iconic play “The Blacks,” where the blacks actors took on the roles of the black and white characters. Whether Bradshaw borrowed from Genet’s “The Blacks,” the non-traditional castings works in this production.

If Bradshaw’s goal in “Southern Promises” was to demonstrate the historical legacy of slavery, Bradshaw skillfully proved that the remnants of slavery are still with us. Consider the white’s description of slaves as childlike, sexually immoral, and intellectually inferior. Black folks are still described as having these character flaws. Bradshaw also brilliantly inserted biblical scripture and references in the script, demonstrating how slave owners used the Bible to justify slavery and their white privilege. Hmm, doesn’t too far removed from what some white supremicists currently do.

Where this production of “Southern Promises” did have some challenges were in the southern, antebellum accents, which unfortunately most of the cast was not able to pull off. And some of the simulated, sexually explicit scenes didn’t really move the story forward and seemed gratuitous in nature.

Standouts in the cast was Brittany Zaken as Elizabeth, mistress of the plantation, who expertly distilled the chilly, cruel nature of plantation mistresses while being aware that their power was limited by their gender. Shakur Tolliver was very good as the docile slave Benjamin. And special acknowledgement goes to Marcus Jones as David, the brother preacher of Elizabeth. Jones really knows how to conjure up the spirit of evangelical, revivalist preachers of that day.

Photos courtesy of Joan Marcus/ Spin Cycle NYC

Though “Southern Promises” is an incendiary drama with racially sensitive language and scenes, Thomas Bradshaw should be congratulated for telling it like it was, causing us to understand that though many things have changed, the memory of and the toxic shrapnel of slavery lives on. Will we ever be delivered from this scourge on our history? Well, only if we tell the truth!! “Southern Promises” runs through April 14 at the Flea Theater. For more information, go to theflea.org.

—William S. Gooch

Ayodele Casel: A Joyous and Nuanced Tap Journey

March 5, 2019 by admin 2 Comments

When we think of dance, rarely is dance considered a masculine pursuit. Though progress has been made in that respect with great dancers like Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gene Kelly, and Gregory Hines, and great hip hop artists, dance is still mostly reserved for women.

Tap is the one dance form where the male presence reigns supreme. There have been some great female tappers—Mable Lee, Elvera Sanchez, Bunny Briggs, Brenda Buffalino, Michelle Torrance, and Dormeshia Sumdry-Edwards. And, of course the great female tap artists from the Golden Age of Hollywood—Ginger Rogers, Eleanor Powell, Ann Miller, and Vera-Allen have made their mark.

Still, female tap artists get far less recognition than their male peers and are often expected to look glamorous and refined while their feet are performing incredible feats. Ayodele Casel is changing all that.

As one of the few Latina tap artists with international recognition, Ayodele Casel is forging a new path for female tap artists. For Ayodele, tap is more than a syncopated expression of steps from the tap dance lexicon, but a way for an artist to express a range of emotions, told along a narrative arch.

In this Women’s History Month, Ayodele Casel compels us to re-examine this truly American artform through a more expansive lens, celebrating the women who have given so much to this artform. May Ayodele’s star continue to shine!!

Fashion Reverie: Lets first begin with your first name, Ayodele, what does it mean?

Ayodele Casel: My name is from the Yoruba culture and in that language, it means joy has arrived. I love my name.

FR: In reference to your name, there is nothing more joyful than tap dancing. How did you come to tap dancing?

Ayodele Casel: My interest in tap dancing peaked when I was about 18 years old, my senior year in high school. I was taking a course on the history of the movies. I saw Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in film in this course. And that was the first time I had really paid attention to tap dancing.

I was so impressed with what Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astaire were doing on the screen that I started trying to teach myself how to tap, imitating what Fred and Ginger were doing. I had varying degrees of success and it brought me great joy to be trying to do what they were doing in movies.

While I was an acting major at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU), during my sophomore year, we had to take a movement class. I had the choice of taking Tai Chi or tap. Of course, I enrolled in the tap class and fell in love with the training immediately. Naturally, we were doing very basic things, but I still loved it.

By luck, one of my best friends was friend with Baakari Wilder who was a freshman at the time at NYU in the acting department. Baakari is an incredible tap dancer. And through that friend I was introduced to Baakari because we were both tap dancers.

Now, at that time, I was the best tap dancer in my class, which is not really saying much because I was in a beginner’s class. Baakari and me rented a studio to start working together and in that dance studio I realized that tap was an artform. Baakari was already a master tapper and he taught so much about the artform and the history of tap.

FR: How did realize you could turn tap dancing into a professional career?

Ayodele Casel: During the mid-90s diversity and inclusion were not buzz works in the performing arts. However, when I became interested in tap dancing, tap was having a resurgence. Savion Glover was one of the major forces behind this resurgence. Gregory Hines also used his celebrity to shine a light on tap dancing.

That said; Baakari invited to come see him in the show “Bring in the Noise, Bring the Funk” while that show was still at the Public Theatre. I still didn’t have a reference point for young people of color taking up any space in theatre. When I attended the show, I witnessed Savion Glover dancing so authentically and joyfully, I just knew I wanted to immerse myself in tap and be surrounded by the genre.

My professional career came out of joy of learning and performing the artform. I would practice incessantly. If Savion was doing a tap jam at the Nuyorican Café, I would go and participate. At the time, there were not a lot of women getting into the jam with men. But, I am from the Bronx, so I was not intimidated.

About two years into my deep immersion into the artform, Savion started a group called Not Your Ordinary Tappers (NOT), and he asked me to join. This was Savion’s first professional venture after he won the Tony Award for “Bring in the Noise, Bring the Funk.” I toured with NOT for about three years.

FR: When people think about tap dancing, they rarely think of women tap dancing and certainly not Latina women tap dancing. What challenges have you experienced around this misperception?

Ayodele Casel: In the mid-90s there were practically no roles for female tap dancers. Most of the tap-dancing jobs for women required you to be in high heels and fishnet stockings. I was not interested in that.

That said; I was the only woman in NOT and very few people had seen women tap dance with the intensity that I brought to NOT. I was told that I danced like a man, but I knew I wasn’t an anomaly. This prompted me to research and learn about women of color that were tap dancing along side men in the 1930s and 40s.

FR: You trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the William Esper Studio as an actor. How do you combine tap dancing with acting?

Ayodele Casel: Dance is a form of storytelling. You have a clear point of view and there must be an arch to your storytelling through your performance and your interpretation. I am really interested in making dance theatrical and accessible in ways that go beyond just dance audiences.

I performed a piece entitled “Diary of a Tap Dancer.” In that work, I wanted to reveal the people behind tap dancing. Tap is very joyous, but sometimes it is seen as a gimmicky element to a production; an energetic, virtuosic dance expression. With “Diary of a Tap Dancer,” I wanted to create a piece where the tap artists got to speak about who they are and how they arrived at where they were in the artform.

FR: How did “While I Have the Floor,” your one-woman show at the Spoleto Festival come about?

Ayodele Casel: That show was borne out of a seven-minute piece I did for Encores! Off-Center at New York City Center. That seven-minute work was me talking about my roots, my passion for tap dancing and my fear of having poured my life into this artform and no one even knowing I existed. Which was much like the female tap dancers I had researched who had worked so hard at the craft, but many died without being acknowledged for their art.

The work was very well received and when I did the work at Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, I was asked if I had a longer version of the piece. Then, I was asked to perform the seven-minute piece at Broadway for Hillary Clinton. I began to flush out the seven-minute show into a longer more extensive work which I later became “While I Have the Floor” that I later performed at Spoleto.

FR: Could you talk about your best performing experience, and your worst?

Ayodele Casel: My best performing experience is performing “While I Have the Floor” at the Spoleto Festival. I was so nervous leading up to performing at Spoleto. And writing this piece was the hardest thing I have ever done. I had to tap into a lot of personal and emotional stuff to be able to write this piece. I really exposed myself in this work.

I became ill with everything from sinus infections to the flu and loss of voice right before I performed at Spoleto. However, when I got to Spoleto magically all my illnesses disappeared and “While I Have the Floor” was well received. I performed six performances of the work and people came back several times to see it. I still get emails from people praising the work.

My worst experiences have been performing at events where people don’t really appreciate what you are doing and in the end all you get is a cold meal. Fortunately, I have had many of those.

FR: How do sustain yourself financially from your tap dancing?

Ayodele Casel: Like a lot of dancers I maintain myself financially by teaching. I acquire work as a dance educator and teach tap at dance conventions and workshops. I have been fortunate in the last three years mainly performing and choreographing which has kept be very busy.

Choreography by Ayodele Casel

FR: You have been a frequent collaborator with New York City Center. Could you talk about that?Ayodele Casel: They have really adopted me. I first started performing at City Center as an artist in their Encore! Series. In 2016, I was a member of their artists’ board for Encores!. I also choreographed “Really Rosie” for City Center Encores! in 2017.

I was involved in a dance festival with them recently and I am now participating in City Center on the Move. I just love them. And they are champions of tap dancing!!

FR: With the advance of the marley floor, tap dancing is taking a beating. Could you talk about that?

Ayodele Casel: One of things I have done to deal with the absence of wood floors in some dance studios is open my own studio with wood floors. The Original Tap House is in a brownstone in the Bronx. The space is a full floor where I practice and is open to other tap dancers to come and practice and hold rehearsals.

FR: Is tap dancing growing in the US?

Ayodele Casel: Yes, it is. The resurgence is due to being included more in musical theatre. Tap dancing is magic. You can have a show that has nothing to do with tap dancing and you can insert a tap routine in the show and that routine will bring the house down every single time. Remember, tap is joyous and not limited by age and size. Everybody wants to be a tap dancer. People are just curious about it.

All Photos courtesy of Ayodele Casel/Michael Higgins

FR: What’s next for you?Ayodele Casel: I am excited about creating work for other tap artists. I am so excited about the young people that are doing tap right now and they are bringing a richness and depth that is amazing.

I have the privilege of working and creating work for so many of them. The artform is going to do well in their hands.

—William S. Gooch

Houston Ballet Puts a Unique Stamp on a Ballet Classic

January 21, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Most ballet stories are quite simple in structure and tone. Complicated story lines don’t often lend themselves well to an art form where movement progresses the story. Consider Sleeping Beauty where a young princess plucks her finger, goes into a deep sleep and awakened by a kiss from a handsome prince. Or Raymonda where a Hungarian princess’ love is coveted by a dark Saracen, who is eventually defeated by the knight Jean de Brienne, leading to a marriage between the Hungarian princess and the heroic knight.

Of all ballet storylines, Sylvia has perhaps the most simplistic narrative. In huntress in Greek goddess Diana’s retinue falls in love with a handsome shepherd, Aminta. There love is slightly thwarted by evil hunter Orion; however, in the end Aminta and Sylvia marry in nuptials that are attended by the gods.

That simplicity of story worked very well when most of these classic ballets premiered, the mid-1860s–1890s; an era of refinement, feminine modesty, and a rigid class structure. Consider that all most classical ballets include the aristocracy, a chaste heroine, and for the most part, a grand and/or royal wedding.

Mask from “Sylvia”

But, we don’t currently live our lives in the shadows of the aristocracy and age-old social mores. Women are far more self-assured and independent, and many of us establish our own rules and morays.In the wake of this modern self-actualization, Houston Ballet’s Artistic Director Stanton Welch AM is taking a different approach to Sylvia. Scheduled to premier in Houston’s on February 21— New York audiences were given a sneak peak at the Guggenheim’s Works in Progress— Welch’s Sylvia goes beyond the traditional story narrative. Welch looks at three couples in the ballet instead of just the dynamic between Sylvia and the Shepherd. In his version of Sylvia, Welch brilliantly weaves the relationships between three couples, Sylvia and the Shepherd, Artemis and Orion, and Psyche and Eros. Welch even substitutes the Greek names for the well-known Roman names.

Houston Ballet’s “Sylvia” cast: Karina Gonzalez, Connor Walsh, and Jessica Collado. Images courtesy of Houston Ballet

There is a big diversion from the original Sylvia in Welch’s version. Beyond the addition of two principal couples, Greek names in place of Roman names, Welch approaches his version as an attempt to empower the principal women in the cast. Gone are the traditional approaches to pas de deux that ballet audiences may be familiar with. There is a lot of women partnering their male counterparts, ladies lifting the men, and in general a much more aggressive approach to the choreography for Sylvia, Artemis, and Psyche. Though there are some lovely, gentle steps for the three heroines—that aptly expresses the Leo Delibes’ score—for the most part, Welch goes beyond delicate pizzicato movement. And instead of the corps de ballet being used as merely stage decoration or the reflection of the lead ballerina, Welch employs the corps de ballet dancers to help advance the narrative.

In Welch’s Sylvia, audiences will find more fully fleshed out characters. With Sylvia having to choose between her commitment to Artemis or her love of the Shepherd. Hmm, a woman choosing between love and work; sound familiar, of course, it does!!

—William S. Gooch

Ballet Hispánico Gets it So Right in its First Women of Color in the Arts Panel

January 12, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

Are we in a post-racial era? Of course we are not. When Barack Obama was elected as the 44^th President of the United States, many hoped and some cultural pundits projected that a post-racial society had arrived.

Well, we all know that was not true. Documented police killings are up, racially motivated hate crimes have escalated, and the wealth gap between whites and people of color, with African Americans disproportionately in the bottom half, has widened. And when you take a glance at the arts, though more diversity has been noted in recent years, there is still much to be done.

Ballet Hispánico in Vicente Nebrada’s Batucada Fantastica

Ballet Hispánico, founded in 1970 by Tina Ramirez, is much more than a dance company that promotes and distills Latin culture through a variety of dance forms, Ballet Hispánico is taking on new challenges. Diálogos is Ballet Hispánico’s conversation series that explores the interconnections of the arts, social justice, and Latino cultures. Since 2016, Diálogos has given voice to issues that directly affect the Hispanic community, finding the intersectionality between the arts, culture, and politics.On January 10, Diálogos hosted the first panel discussion in its series, Women of Color in the Arts, giving voice to Afro-Latino women in the performing and curative arts experiences and struggles as women of color, available resources, and ways to bring more women of color into arts leadership positions. Hosted by Tamia Santana, founder of Brooklyn Dance Festival, and featuring panelists New York State Senator Marisol Alcantara; Ayodele Casel, Actress, Tap Dancer, Choreographer; Maria Torres, Director, Choreographer, Producer; Lauren Argentina Zelaya, Assistant Curator, Public Programs–Brooklyn Museum, the panel in the tradition of Ballet Hispanico’s passion for truth telling, bravely tackled issues of racial discrimination, sexism, funding, colorism, career stagnation, and isolation.Still, the panel discussion was not limited to the struggles of being an Afro Latina artist. The discussion also included the joys and exhilarations of celebrating the Latin experience through their work. The panelists also detailed about the importance of demonstrating that the Latin voice is not a monolithic voice, but voices that encompass many cultures and expressions. And in this ‘Year of the Woman,’ the feminine voice is an essential, nuanced voice that is primed to expand and distill Hispanic culture.

Photos courtesy of Michelle Tabnick PR

Ballet Hispánico Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro should be commended for assembling these great artists and political leaders. And for launching the series, Women of Color in the Arts. Ballet Hispánico, a role model in and for the Latino community, is inspiring creativity and social awareness in our neighborhoods and across the country by providing access to arts education.—William S. Gooch

“Mary Queen of Scots”: A Tale of Two Queens

December 6, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of pinterest.com

“A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” –Eleanor RooseveltAnd like former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, both Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I exhibit unbelievable strength and fortitude during difficult political times. In Josie Rourke’s “Mary Queen of Scots,” challenging political conflicts bring out the best and the worst in both female rulers.

Images courtesy of tomandlorenzo.com

“Mary Queen of Scots” explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan). Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie). Each young Queen beholds her “sister” in fear and fascination. Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage juxtaposed against female independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones—and change the course of history.This film of two strong, independent royals interestingly coincides with 2018 being deemed ‘The Year of the Woman’ and a surge of female empowerment evidenced in the US 2018 Mid-Term elections where an unprecedented amount of female candidate ran and won federal and local offices. Though female empowerment during the Elizabethan era rested almost solely in the province of male sovereigns with women mostly being benign consorts who helped bring wealth and power to the throne, Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor, respectively Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, were decidedly different, having inherited their thrones because of a lack of male heirs. (At that time, England and Scotland were two separate kingdoms.)

Image courtesy of rollingstone.com

Related through their ancestor Henry VII, though divided by religious affiliations—Mary being a devoted Catholic and Elizabeth a confirmed Protestant—both Mary and Elizabeth wore their respective crowns in a man’s world. And Josie Rourke highlighted this struggle—whether factually or fictionally—brilliantly in this film.

Image imbd.com

Rourke also managed to take the well-known historical fact of Mary Queen of Scots’ struggles with her throne and with Elizabeth I and inject a modern sensibility into a film that could have been just another dusty journey down a historical path. Rourke’s infusion of modern elements includes diverse, multiracial casts with black ambassadors and aristocrats, as well as Asian and Latin courtiers. Initially this mélange of diversity was a bit offsetting, but after a short time, due to the incredible script and acting chops of the cast, the cast diversity began to actually add to the film.You cannot talk about historical dramas without looking at the costumes. Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne was historically accurate and revelatory with her costume choices in this film. Understanding that bold color was a luxury that even most royals didn’t have access to, Byrne attired the cast, for the most part, in the neutral colors of black, grey, white, with some occasional blue tones in for good measure. Only Queen Elizabeth I’s costumes exhibited a small injection of bold color. Byrne also did a great job with Queen Elizabeth I’s headdresses and Mary’s battle attire was both powerful and feminine at the same time.

Images courtesy of nytimes.com

Costumes and multiracial casting aside, this movie would have had a powerful impact with the well-skill abilities of the two main characters. Audience members will readily sympathize with Mary’s (Ronan) almost insurmountable task of ruling a divided Scotland, and the many obstacles to her sovereignty. And Robbie skillfully demonstrated Elizabeth’s transition from a young female ruler to a woman who had no choice but to defeminize herself in order to rule the throne.“Mary Queen of Scots” displayed the inordinate sacrifices that both rulers made in order to be sovereigns. And in the end, neither Mary nor Elizabeth won. Mary lost her life, and Elizabeth gave up her right to womanhood.

“Mary Queen of Scots” opens in limited release on December 7.

—William S. Gooch

Gather NYC Brings New Yorkers Together

November 19, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

We are living in very in challenging times. Times that are dividing us because of disparate political sentiment and life challenges that are causing us to tune out because there are just too many tragedies to digest. Everything seems to be collapsing around us with many of cultural and social institutions failing to give the support and stability we need.

In these very difficult times, we need to find a way to come together, and its possible!! And if you live in New York City the possibilities expand exponentially with Gather NYC. Founded by Laura Metcalf and Rupert Boyd, Gather NYC meets most Sunday mornings at SubCulture on 45 Bleeker Street. “Gather NYC was started in the spring of 2018 as an all-exclusive way for people to get together on Sunday mornings and enjoy classical music, spoken word, and a brief celebration of silence and find a sense of a community in a way that is a non-religious equivalent of church. Every week we have brought in different musicians and storytellers. We serve coffee and pastries and before and after the performances, people strike up conversations and friendships,” explains Rupert Boyd.

GATHERNYC Founders Laura Metcalf & Rupert Boyd

Past performers at Gather NYC have been Attaca Quartet, Joshua Roman, Russian Renaissance, Banda Magda, Rupert Boyd and Friends, and Bridget Kibbey. Upcoming performers include Rachel Barton Pine on December 2 and the Claremont Trio on December 9. “We chose artists for this gathering from artists that we already know and for the most part these musicians are from New York City and they are the best of the best. And we have had 21 shows so far,” Rupert Boyd detailed.On November 18, the Grammy-nominated IMANI WINDS performed at Gather NYC, performing five works from a 20^th Century repertoire. The musical choices for the November 18 were eclectic, particularly the Indian composer Reena Esmail’s work “Delight Is the Same,” Jeffrey Scott’s “Starting Something,” which is a take on a jazz shuffle, a work by Astor Piazzolla, Lalo Schrifin’s “La Nouvelle N’Orleans,” and a traditional take on the Negro spiritual “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

Photos courtesy of Terry Doe

“IMANI WINDS started 21 years ago with African American and Latino musicians with a different take on how they would interpret classical music. We were put together as experimental fun and we morphed into a stable music ensemble that now has management, touring and residencies and many awards which was not envisioned 21 years ago when we formed the ensemble,” explains IMANI WINDS’ Jeffrey Scott. “We are all of based in New York City and for 17 years now, we have been a full-time recording and touring ensemble.”Gather NYC is giving New Yorkers the much-welcomed opportunity to come together on a Sunday morning experience some great music and enjoy each other’s company. Hopefully, this will spread to other major US cities.

Why not? If we can distance ourselves over things that divide us, why not come together and celebrate great music, conversation, and libations. And hey, the coffee and breakfast snacks are free!!

—William S. Gooch

The Most Authentic Callas: “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words”

November 2, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

What is to be said about opera legend Maria Callas that hasn’t always been said? Not much. There have been several documentaries and movies her life—“Callas Forever,” “Maria Callas: La Divina: A Portrait,” Callas Assoluta,” “Maria Callas: Life & Art,” and “Maria Callas: Living and Dying for.” So, is another documentary or movie about La Callas necessary?

Perhaps, Tom Volf’s documentary “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” will give Callas’s diehard fans a reason for another film about the great diva. “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” is the first documentary where Maria Callas tells her life story in her own words. The entire documentary is told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs—nearly all of which have never been shown to the public—the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. This documentary is a loving portrait of one of history’s most extraordinarily talented women, told in a way that is revelatory, unprecedented, and authoritative.

Interestingly, “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” is perhaps the most authentic reflection on Callas’ life and there is no doubt that Callas’ life was a life that great dramas are made from. From her up from the almost bottom in the Bronx—most people don’t know that Callas is actually a New York native—to the beginning of her operatic career in Greece to her dramatic weight loss, to her becoming a style icon in the manner of Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren to her reputation as a difficult diva, to her affair with Aristotle Onassis everything is documented through interviews and photographs in the diva’s own words.

What is most evident in this documentary is that though Callas was a very complicated woman whose life and career was just as complicated as the woman herself is that Callas was totally invested in the complications in her life and her passions. “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” is perhaps the first documentary that records in an artist own words the angst and frustrations of a great artist torn between career, family life and personal obligations.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Classic

And though there is some sadness and regret in this film due to Callas’ tragic life and untimely death at the age of 59, there are some great footage of her performing great operatic roles—Norma, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor—as well as great interviews with Dick Cavett, particularly after her breakup with Onassis. There is also great footage of Callas’ fans queued outside of the old Metropolitan House in New York City.

For those Callas diehards this is a must-see film. In “Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” still lives and lives, through her own words.

Photos by REX/Shutterstock (25089c) MARIA CALLAS WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS
VARIOUS – 1968

“Maria by Callas: In Her Own Words” is directed by Tom Volf and opens in limited release nationwide on November 2.

—William S. Gooch

Raheem DeVaughn Still Reigns in “Decade of a King”

October 25, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Fashion Reverie had the opportunity to sit down with Raheem DeVaughn at the listening party for Raheem’s sixth studio album, “Decade of a Love King.” “Decade of a Love King” was released on October 19 via all streaming platforms.

Raheem has had a decade-long steady climb to international R&B prominence. And with his soul-satisfying musical style, Raheem has become many things to contemporary music culture and his ever-expanding core audience.

“There’s a lot of talk about ‘King of R&B’ and ‘King of Soul,” but I’ve got enough music for the next ten years,” says the three-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter. “I literally have enough music for a decade to release. If I stopped recording now and said I wouldn’t record for five years, I’ve got enough music for ten. So I can’t wait, because I’m just warming up.”

His latest single, “Don’t Come Easy” is currently the #5 R&B song in the country.

Fashion Reverie: When it comes to your top 5 R&B hit “Don’t Come Easy” what’s the inspiration behind the song?

Raheem DeVaughn: The inspiration is the words; it’s the message “Love Don’t Come Easy.“ You’ve got to put in the work; you gotta be willing to change. It really speaks to turmoil that all relationships go through. I think the message that I want to put out there is that when dealing with the matters of the heart and love, it’s worth fighting for. Fight for the things that matter to you and in some cases you even have to challenge that person that you’re into, in love with, dating, or courting.

Fashion Reverie: This is your sixth album! That’s a lot. Tell us about your growth since the first one. How much have you changed and evolved?

Raheem DeVaughn: I think that’s for people to decide. Artists are very vulnerable, whether they want to admit it or not and you don’t know what the response will be when you put your music out. You are exposing yourself and you are taking a chance, you are taking a risk of being a failure. It takes a lot of guts. Because I could easily put this record out and although the feedback has been great thus far, it could’ve been the total opposite.

Fashion Reverie: How do you cope with reviews that aren’t exactly the best?

Raheem DeVaughn: First and foremost, you have to have tough skin in this business. If you are going to worry about what somebody thinks and responding to every negative tweet or Facebook message, there is just not enough time in a day. You can’t please everybody all the time.

Fashion Reverie: How would you describe your fashion style?

Raheem DeVaughn: I have a wonderful stylist, Tiffany Barenger. Shout out to my previous stylist, Bria Stantson, we have a great relationship. All the years I worked with Bria and with Tamika Foster, they were always telling me fashion is important and early in my career I was hard-headed. I was one of those people that was very music-driven, and I felt as long as I make great music it shouldn’t matter if I come out there in my socks or in a bathrobe. I’m still one of those guys that dislikes shopping. I’m a hustler’s hustler so I could wear the same clothes seven days in a row on a rap boy song; however, I’m now enjoying style and fashion, and leading by example. Because of my community work and my foundation we do talk to the young children and challenge them to pull their pants, getting young people to realize that you are treated you differently when you are well dressed. You feel good, you feel good when you’re groomed. These are things that I encourage my sons to do as well.

Fashion Reverie: You are wearing a double-breasted suit, is that your usual choice when it comes to suits?

Raheem DeVaughn: This is what I am wearing today. When I was told that there would be best of the best of the influencers at this listening party, I knew I had to look the part!

Fashion Reverie: Do you have any favorite designers?

Raheem DeVaughn: To be truthfully honest, my team has been kind of designing my looks. I got a real dope tailor named Barry that helps my stylist envision my looks. We buy the fabrics and Barry puts it together and we’re smashing it!!

I do have a secret; I love Zara. I would love to do something like a type of brand ambassadorship or endorsement with Zara; they have some dope pieces and it’s very affordable and you can be fly and find ways to still make it stand out.

Fashion Reverie: Who are some of the music artists you still haven’t collaborated with, but you would like to?

I’d love to pin a song for Beyoncé; I’d love to work with Lauren Hill; I’d love to work with Shade, and I’d love to do an entire album with The Roots—the Roots are the Rolling Stones of hip hop or the Beatles of hip hop when you talk about bands, music and progressiveness—I had the opportunity of being on The Roots last album.

I’m really studying South African culture and music, and my sister Zonke and me are working on a project that will include those South African influences—she is a huge talent in South Africa. Zonke and a lot of the other dope artists would like to bridge the gap with Caribbean sound, Nigerian artists, and mixing it up a little bit. I have a Caribbean, I guess you could say reggae album, in the can.

Photos courtesy of 2R’s Entertainment & Media PR

Fashion Reverie: You mentioned in your press release that you would like this album to be a shock to people’s system. What do you mean by that? A shock for people, hmm; well, this album is my futuristic 90s time machine. The only thing I could compare it to is when D’Angelo dropped his first album 1995. It sounds like nothing that was out in ‘95. And what I’m also discovering is that this album sounds like nothing that’s out sonically in 2018.

Raheem DeVaughn can be seen in a comic role in the upcoming film “Love.com.” Raheem continues to focus on his Love Life Foundation whose initiatives include domestic violence, art and education, HIV/AIDS, and text book scholarships for in-need students.

—Tijana Ibrahimovic

“The Happy Prince”: A Different Oscar Wilde

October 8, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

It is not uncommon for an actor to change their appearance for a role. Often this transformation, if the script is good and the film is well directed, can render an Oscar nomination, if not an outright win. Looking back who can forget Charlize Theron’s transformation to the serial killer/man hater Aileen Wournos in “Monster” or Alfred Molina putting on a lot of weight when he played Frida Kahlo;s husband, Diego Rivera, in “Frida?” And what about the late Philip Seymour Hoffman drastic alteration of his body and visage to portray an effete Truman Capote in “Capote.” (In retrospect by Theron and Hoffman won Academy Awards for their characters in “Monster” and “Capote.)

In Sony Classics’ “The Happy Prince” so does Rupert Everett morph his well-chiseled physique into a bloated, oversized, sotted, mess of a man in an attempt to give visual relevance to Oscar Wilde in the last years of his life. In past films. Everett mostly portrayed urban, sophisticated, body-beautiful men who always had the last quip and were the love interest of both women and men alike. Everett’s Oscar Wilde is far removed from the well-heeled gay characters that Everett has portrayed over the last two decades. His Wilde is desperate, morose, down-on-his- luck, and lost in menage of remembrances past and unfulfilled opportunities.

Though “Happy Prince” is written and directed by Everett, Everett ingeniously mines out a performance that is stocked full of nuance and depth. He even manages to project beyond Wilde’s miserable state of a penniless outcast who depends on the kindness of friends, fellow miscreants with an occasional rent boy thrown in for good measure. In spite of Wilde’s pitiful state, Everett injects a wealth of charm and vibrancy coupled with Wilde’s incomparable wit into his portrayal.

In a cheap Parisian hotel room, in declining health, Wilde looks back on life, his fall from grace, his imprisonment, and his many loves—Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie) and Wilde’s wife and two children. His retrospection details good times and great losses; his life as a libertine and dandy of sorts, as well as the fame that came with the production of his plays and written works.

“The Happy Prince” includes a stellar cast that includes Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, and Edwin Thomas. Still, “The “Happy Prince” is a star vehicle for Rupert Everett. And with his portrayal of a downtrodden Oscar Wilde, we get to see Oscar Wilde in a different light, and how deep Rupert Everett’s well of talent can go. With “The Happy Prince,” Rupert Everett proves he is much more than a pretty face with a British accent. Is there is Oscar nomination in the works? Fashion Reverie thinks so!!

Photos courtesy of Sony Classics

“The Happy Prince” is distributed by Sony Classics and opens in limited release on October 10.—William S. Gooch

Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco

September 16, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of departures.com

It is amazing how one person can touch the lives of so many people. Antonio Lopez is just that person. Though Lopez only lived to the ripe age of 44, his influence in the fashion industry is immensely important and still felt thirty years later.The documentary “Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco” carefully and brilliantly details Antonio Lopez’s rise from humble beginnings in Puerto Rico, and later the Bronx, to his prolific, though short, career as a fashion illustrator and designer. Interestingly, Lopez’s ascent in the fashion industry—in the mid 1960s—came at time when there were few people of color in positions of influence. Still, Lopez with his magnetic charm was never an outsider, always pushing the proverbial fashion envelope, ultimately expanding fashion’s palette of what is beautiful and relevant.

Lopez, singlehandedly, used his familiarity with urban and street culture and infused his illustrations with that specific influence. This was perhaps the first time that major fashion publications had a person of color in their employ that paid homage to diversity and urban culture.

“Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco” gives a purview into how the worlds of urban street culture, pop music, and the downtown arts scene were beginning to influence the fashion industry. Lopez was at the epicenter of this particular cross-pollination of cultures and infused his art and craft with this mélange of influences.

From his fashion illustrations that demonstrated that black and brown is beautiful to his renderings that expressed male sexuality and sensuality in ways that were both erotic and sophisticated, Lopez helped forge a new consciousness in fashion that went beyond the fashion elites and well-heeled ladies with deep pockets. And this documentary gives credence to Lopez’s mastery of fusing a plethora of pop cultural experiences.

Director James Crump carefully examines Lopez’s unique ability to excavate inchoate talent and pushing that talent to the forefront of fashion. Without Lopez there probably would not have been a Grace Jones, Pat Cleveland, Patti D’Arbanville, Corey Tippin or Jerry Hall. And it was Lopez and his partner Juan Ramos that sparked that creative fire and sensibility in Karl Lagerfeld early in his career. Without Lopez and his coterie of creative merry people, perhaps, Lagerfeld would not have developed into the genius who could masterfully combine a variety of influences and popular trends into a seamless expression of beauty and adventure.

Blending video footage, photographs, Lopez’s fashion illustrations, disco music and some very well-placed interviews from Jessica Lange, Grace Coddington, Bill Cunningham, Pat Cleveland, Joan Juliet Buck, Andre Leon Talley, Corey Tippin, Bob Colacello, and others, James Crump artfully creates the mood and motivation of the late 60s and 70s. This collision of cultures and aesthetics is set against the backdrop of New York City and Paris. In fact, Crump creates such well-collaged kaleidoscope of images, sounds and colors that is almost like being in the New York City and Paris of Antonio Lopez. Still, Crump does not leave out some of the vices that drove Lopez’s creative genius. Though these vices—sex, sex, and more sex—are not the focus of the documentary, Crump does detail Lopez’s excesses without simulating titillating voyeurism.

Sadly, like many artists of Lopez’s ilk, his glorious flame burned out way too early, succumbing to HIV/AIDS in 1987. Though Lopez is gone, he most certainly is not forgotten. And “Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco” shows us why!!

“Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco” is currently playing at the IFC Center in New York City through October 4.