09-15-2024 Fall Arts - Flipbook - Page 2
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The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, September 15, 2024
HOROSCOPES
Tarot.com
Aries (March 21-April 19):
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22):
Speaking your mind can
nourish the blossoming
of major breakthroughs.
Current relationships of
all kinds can benefit from
this alignment, but people
who appear on the scene
now, in particular, can have
a massively positive impact
on you for ages to come. Be
open and friendly.
The universe appreciates
the benefits of a friendly
chat, especially today.
Your neighborhood is full
of things to see and do.
Whether you’re chatting
up the person next to you
in line or turning to social
media for connections,
your next big opportunity
is only a few words away.
Taurus (April 20-May 20):
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Ryder shares tradition with Reeves
This could be one of the
most lucrative days you’ve
seen in ages. You can take
your tremendous quantity
of energy all the way to the
bank. If you’re looking for
a new job, then you could
hit on the perfect solution,
but this may also result in
a raise at your current gig.
Go for gold.
There’s a pot of gold waiting with “you” written all
over it! The famous luck
of the Irish is on your side
this season. Turn away
from podcasts and look
towards a cheap index
fund. This angle is also
terrific for searching out
new jobs that will pay
quite well.
By Jami Ganz
Gemini (May 21-June 20):
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
No one can dim your shine.
You only get to experience
this particular alignment
once every thirteen years.
Don’t hesitate to take a
chance on yourself and
see what you can manifest during this miraculous time. When you put in
the work, you can achieve
amazing things.
You can go as far as you like
right now, so don’t even
think about limiting yourself. If you’ve been playing
life small, consider this
your cosmic cue to start
growing. The whole world
is waiting for your grand
entrance. Step out and let
everyone know you are
coming.
You can follow your heart
wherever it leads you. The
vibes are giving you a green
light from the universe,
signaling your freedom
to leave most mundane
matters for another time.
Use your free time to
pursue whatever brings
you joy. Life shouldn’t be
all work.
Cancer (June 21-July 22):
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
There is practically endless
support on offer, whether
you need it or not. View
yourself as part of a larger
village than just yourself.
These helpers may be
relatives or loved ones, but
life loves surprises, so they
could be all but unknown
to you. Regardless, don’t
forget to thank them. They
deserve it!
You can tap into something
incredibly powerful today,
something mystical and
primordial. Think of this
as a portal: On the other
side, there’s a happier,
more satisfied version of
yourself, but to get there
you must decide what to
leave behind. Look deep
inside and identify what is
hindering you.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March
20): You don’t need to rely
on other people, but that
doesn’t mean that you can’t
or shouldn’t. Even if you’re
capable of standing strong
all by yourself, loved ones
are offering you a special
kind of support. Whether
or not you’re struggling,
the lifting of any burdens
from your shoulders
should be a blessing.
TODAY IN
HISTORY
German Jews of their
citizenship.
Street Baptist Church in
Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1958, a commuter train
In 1978, Muhammad Ali
headed for New York City
plunged into Newark Bay
after missing a stop signal
and sliding off the open
Newark Bay lift bridge,
killing 48 people.
became the first boxer to
capture the heavyweight
title three times, winning
in his rematch with Leon
Spinks.
Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves remain bonded since“Dracula.” KEVIN WINTER/GETTY 2018
CELEBRITIES
New York Daily News
Winona Ryder and
Keanu Reeves call each
other “husband” and
“wife” three decades after
tying the knot on-screen in
a ceremony they suspect
could have been the real
deal.
The “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” star, 52, revealed the
cute tradition she shares
with the “John Wick”
star, 60, while appearing
recently on the “Happy
Sad Confused” podcast.
After host Josh Horowitz joked that the actors
seem like “the biggest
Luddites on the planet,”
Ryder concurred, but
noted they “do text.”
“And we always say
who it is even though it
says it on the text,” said
the “Stranger Things” star,
noting she’ll say, “‘Happy
birthday, my husband.’ ...
And I always put ‘Nonny.’
And he’s like, ‘Hey, wife!
Love you, KR 57.’ On each
birthday, he’s like, ‘KR 57’
or whatever the age is. And
he’s always done that. He’s
the best.”
While promoting
their film, “Destination Wedding,” in 2018,
Ryder told Entertainment
Weekly — and Reeves —
that the two “actually got
married in ‘Dracula.’
‘Happy’
from Page 1
music, the show includes a
score composed by gospel
recording luminary Donald
Lawrence.
The playwright himself
will perform the lead role
of Keyshawn, a drug-addicted gay prostitute who
has become estranged from
his church-going family. He
returns to his hometown
with a seemingly impossible mission — to warn
the people he loves of an
impending, world-ending
flood and to convince them
to board the boat he will
build in the backyard from
scratch.
Commenting on the
action are the three
Divines, supernatural
gospel singers who function as a kind of Greek
chorus and represent
the voice of the community; the trio will include
vocalist Latrice Pace of
the Anointed Pace Sisters,
sometimes referred to
as “The First Family of
Gospel.”
“No, I swear to God, I
think we’re married in real
life,” she continued at the
time.
Ryder and Reeves costarred in Francis Ford
Coppola’s 1992 adaptation
of the Bram Stoker classic, during which she says
“Francis used a real Romanian priest” to marry Mina,
played by Ryder, and Jonathan, played by Reeves.
“We shot the master, and
he did the whole thing. So
I think we’re married,” she
shared.
“It’s lovely to see you
again,” joked Reeves at
the time, and, after Ryder
regaled him with the tale
of their potentially very
real nuptials, he asked,
“We said yes?”
“Don’t you remember
that? It was on Valentine’s
Day.”
“Oh my gosh, we’re
married,” said the “Matrix”
star.
To date, neither Ryder
nor Reeves has publicly
married, though he and
artist Alexandra Grant
have been together since
2019.
Also in 2018, Ryder
described herself as a
“serial monogamist,” telling The Edit: “I’d rather
never have been married
than been divorced a few
times.”
Meanwhile, after 36
When Cooper was a
teen, he said he struggled
with suicidal thoughts that
resulted from growing up
gay in a blue-collar. deeply
religious Texas family.
“This is the play I ran
away from for a long time,”
he said.
“I’m a church boy, and
my parents didn’t understand why I would add one
more thing on top of being
Black that would make my
life difficult. As long as I
can remember, I’ve struggled with how to love a God
who you’re told hates you,
how to love a church that
side-eyes you.”
He paused for a moment,
then continued: “This play
is re-opening wounds that I
thought were gone.”
BROADWAY
BREAKOUT AND
TV STANDOUT
The mix of over-thetop farce and anger is one
of Cooper’s hallmarks as
a playwright. While the
satire can be searing, it is
driven by a deep love for
the same institutions he is
lampooning.
years of waiting, Ryder’s
latest film “Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice,” racked up
$110 million in its premiere
weekend. The longawaited Tim Burton sequel
was the third-best opening
weekend of the year,
only behind box-office
triumphs “Inside Out
2” and “Deadpool &
Wolverine.”
Michael Keaton returns
as the titular spirit, and
Catherine O’Hara and
Ryder also reprise their
roles as Delia and Lydia
Deetz, with newcomer
Jenna Ortega playing
Ryder’s daughter, Astrid.
Willem Dafoe, Monica
Bellucci and Justin Theroux round out the cast.
The Warner Bros. sequel
is the second-highest
grossing September movie
of all time, only behind
2017’s “It,” which opened
with a staggering $123
million.
Sept. 15 birthdays: Actor
Tommy Lee Jones is 78.
Director Oliver Stone is
78. Drummer Kelly Keagy
is 72. Actor Barry Shabaka
Henley is 70. DJ Kay Gee
is 55. Actor Josh Charles
is 53. Actor Tom Hardy is
47. Actor Marisa Ramirez
is 47. Actor Amy Davidson
is 45. TV personality Heidi
Montag is 38. Actor Kate
Mansi is 37.
For example, Cooper’s
breakout show, “Ain’t No
Mo’” was set in an airport
boarding lounge and was
based on the premise that
the U.S. has decided to
solve its race problem by
buying every Black person
in America a one-way ticket
to Africa.
Skeptics predicted that
Cooper’s satire was too
edgy for Broadway, and
early signs seemed to indicate that the pundits were
right. Ticket sales lagged,
and “Ain’t No Mo’” was
scheduled to close just two
weeks after its Broadway
debut.
But Cooper launched a
social media campaign to
save his show. The resulting outpouring of support
bought one more week on
stage, a slew of largely positive reviews from national
publications and six Tony
nominations — including
one for the show’s director,
Walker-Webb.
But even before “Ain’t
No Mo’” introduced the
29-year-old Cooper to
theater geeks, a television audience already was
Associated Press
On Sept. 15, 1835, Charles
Darwin reached the
Galápagos Islands aboard
the HMS Beagle.
Laws were enacted in
Nazi Germany, depriving
familiar with the writer’s
uniquely fearless brand of
humor.
In 2021, he created
“The Ms. Pat Show,”
the Emmy-nominated
TV series which just
completed its fourth season
on BET.
Cooper still writes the
show, which is based on the
life story of its star, Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams, a
convicted felon from the
streets of Atlanta turned
reluctant suburban mother.
The caustic sitcom is
filmed before a live audience, and the show’s fans
included the late television
pioneer Norman Lear (“All
in the Family” and “The
Jeffersons.”)
“I wanted to challenge the conventions of
the genre by creating an
R-rated family sitcom,”
Cooper said.
“People are afraid of the
truth, so you mix it with
humor. I wanted to write
an episode about molestation, and have the audience
fall over laughing. I wanted
to find the comedy from
having an abortion while
from Page 1
the first pair Evans made,
around the time of his
graduation from Northern
High School in 2002. In
those early days, he would
use whatever materials
he could get his hands on
to make shoes and clothing, including his mother’s
scarves.
Years after a fortuitous
encounter in Baltimore
with actor Michael K.
Williams during the filming of “The Wire,” he made
shoes for both Williams
and Felicia “Snoop” Pearson. He also directed a 2016
documentary film called
“Grace After Midnight
Pain,” about Pearson’s life.
A Timberland boot in his
studio shows the Francis
Scott Key Bridge as part
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan.
19): It will be difficult for
anyone to outperform you.
You have an undeniable
edge in any competition
and encouraging everyone
to look upon you kindly.
You can succeed at almost
anything you put your
mind to presently, so don’t
be shy about showing off
a little.
were killed when a bomb
went off during Sunday
services at the 16th
you’re married and not telling your husband.”
THO GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO
JORDAN COOPER
Given Cooper’s propensity for skewering sacred
cows, it is perhaps not
surprising that religion
takes its share of jabs in “Oh
Happy Day!”
But Cooper differentiates in the play between
the church — a manmade
institution characterized
by human flaws — and his
characters’ faith, which
“Oh Happy Day!” celebrates.
It’s why Lawrence
agreed to write three songs
for “Oh Happy Day!” The
composer, known for such
Christian gospel hits as
“Encourage Yourself” and
“The Blessing of Abraham,”
has collaborated with such
famous folk as Mary J. Blige
and Stephanie Mills. It’s
fair to say he has his pick of
projects.
But Lawrence attended
a workshop of “Oh Happy
Day!” last summer in New
York, and he liked what he
subprime mortgage crisis,
Lehman Brothers filed for
Chapter 11 in the largest
such filing in U.S. history.
saw.
He thought Cooper’s
play was honest. It might
occasionally be profane, but
it was scriptural and spiritual at its very core.
“Religion and God are
not always the same thing,”
Lawrence said. “They
work hand in hand sometimes, and sometimes they
don’t. Jordan’s writing
might sometimes make
us uncomfortable, but it’s
really about the message
for me.”
The play’s message,
Cooper thinks, can be
summed up in two words:
Moses stuttered.
“God uses the people
whom everyone else would
throw away,” he said.
“Writing plays takes all
of me, but it is my sound.
We’re all instruments, and
this is my song to play.”
IF YOU GO
“Oh Happy Day!”runs
Sept. 19 through Oct. 13 at
Baltimore Center Stage, 700
N. Calvert St. Tickets cost
$25-$74 and can be bought
at centerstage.org or by
calling 410-332-0033.
Above: Evans often uses safety pins in his designs in honor
of his late mother, who was a seamstress.
Left: Evans was inspired to create this boot design because
of the Key Bridge collapse.
Akio Evans, a Baltimore artist, filmmaker and shoe muralist,
creates shoe designs for celebrities.
Evans
thing wonderful to offer
you. You can benefit from
your platonic relationships
more than ever. This highlights the allies in your life
that are truly special and
fills them with all sorts of
potential. You can use this
energy in a multitude of
ways.
In 2008, as a result of the
In 1963, four Black girls
In 1935, the Nuremberg
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec.
21): People have some-
BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR/STAFF PHOTOS
of a scene Evans created
to represent Season 2 of
“The Wire,” made after the
bridge collapsed. His shoe
designs, which can be worn
but are intended as art, have
sold for as much as $2,000.
No matter the subject of
his creations, Evans’ own
journey is apparent in his
work. The value he sees in
pictures stems from having
to leave many photos
behind when his family
was evicted from their
home during his childhood.
The name of the clothing
brand he launched almost a
decade ago, AkiO’s Glorious Heroes, is an ode to his
mother, Glorious Taylor,
who died of a heart attack
in 2012.
One of his logos, an
anatomical heart design
wearing a red cape, is also a
nod to Taylor.
“Dr. Dre and all these
celebrities who have my art
… they have a piece of my
mom there,” he said.
“Evans is intentional
with his friends and
with his art,” said Brian
Dawkins, who met Evans
over a decade ago when
the two collaborated on a
music video.
“What he’s doing and
presenting to people,
it’s thoughtful. … Different pieces have different
stories,” said Dawkins, 38,
the owner and founder of
From Baltimore With Love,
a clothing brand with filmmaking and community
engagement components.
“Akio is definitely an
inspiration to the city
and anybody coming
behind him who wants to
do anything similar,” he
said, adding that Evans is
making “a great name for
Baltimore.”
