You might know Michael Graber as a member of the long-running combo Bluff City Backsliders. The picker has a new project called Delta Stardust.
“Delta Stardust began as a studio project,” he says. “We were seeking that alchemical, psychedelic sound from blending acoustic, electric, and digital instruments. We also wanted to capture a haunted, mystical Memphis/North Mississippi vibe even as the music — the song forms and sonic undercurrents — kept expanding. We call the genre ‘roots psychedelic’ music.”
Graber provides vocals, 12-string guitar, electric mandolin, bass, drone box, percussion. Andy Ratliff plays acoustic mandolin and electric guitar. John Kilgore adds harmonium, mellotron, synth, and percussion, while Jesse Dakota plays drums.
Graber describes the first single “Owl in My Backyard” as “part of a talking animal series of ecstatic wisdom poems that I set to music.” It’s the first single off of the album Snakes Made of Light, produced by Graber and Kilgore, which will be released on the Robot Distro label in late October.
The music video by Blackfeather Studios is as charming and handmade as the music. The owls are not only in the backyard, but on a boat and in a kaleidoscope. They’ll help you unwind for five minutes.
If you’d like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
Memphis Tiger football would not be where it is today — and Ryan Silverfield would not be in charge of the program — were it not for Mike Norvell. The Tigers travel to Tallahassee this week for a Saturday confrontation with Norvell’s current team, the Florida State Seminoles. It’s hard to imagine a more poignant game against a former coach in the history of the Memphis program.
Should your memory be unusually short, Norvell arrived in Memphis as a rookie head coach before the 2016 season (with Ryan Silverfield a member of his staff). If you were familiar with the 35-year-old Arizona State assistant then, you frankly spent too much time on college football. But in just four years, Norvell won 38 games, led the Tigers to three appearances in the American Athletic Conference championship game (winning in 2019), and earned the most prestigious bowl berth (the 2019 Cotton Bowl) in Tigers history. That’s how you get the Florida State gig before your 40th birthday. Last season, Norvell’s fourth at FSU, the Seminoles went 13-0 but were somehow left out of the four-team College Football Playoff. (After several players opted out of the Orange Bowl, Florida State was crushed by Georgia.)
Florida State will not go 13-0 this season, having lost its first two games, to Georgia Tech and Boston College. Memphis will not be facing a Top-10 team this weekend, a disappointment for a program favored to win a “Group of 5” league but thirsty for an early-season attention grabber. Blowout wins over North Alabama and Troy go only so far.
Last July, I asked Silverfield about facing his former boss early in the 2024 schedule. “I’m gonna treat it like any other game,” he said. “I’ll see some of my closest friends down there. I’m from Jacksonville. If I didn’t get this job, I might still be sitting next to Mike, coaching his offensive line. But once training camp starts, I won’t give that game a single thought until the Sunday [before].”
To translate, it will be an emotional game for those with fond memories of Mike Norvell in Memphis (read: anyone who saw a game from 2016 to 2019). But for Ryan Silverfield and the current Memphis Tigers, the contest has to be treated like a step — among 12 games on the schedule — toward a higher goal. And the only way to stack wins toward a conference championship (and playoff contention) is going 1-0, week after week. Thus Florida State is “any other game.”
The Seminoles will play better than the 0-2 team they are. The Tigers will likely fall short of the standard they’ve set by outscoring two teams 78-17. But quarterback Seth Henigan is climbing the Tiger and AAC record charts with every contest and the Memphis ground game seems to be in the capable hands of Mario Anderson (125 yards on 17 carries against Troy). This Saturday’s showdown in Tallahassee will be a fun and, yes, sentimental showcase for a Memphis team still rising.
• As for the U of M basketball program, coach Penny Hardaway is once again surrounded by smoke. (Didn’t he ask for this upon taking the job six years ago?) An anonymous letter to the NCAA alleges both financial and academic misdeeds on Hardaway’s watch. You can safely ignore the padding of recruits’ wallets. (See the $20 million it has reportedly cost Ohio State to build its current football roster.) But if academic fraud involving Malcolm Dandridge can be traced to Hardaway, it will be a sad and awkward exit for a local legend. That’s a big “if,” of course. Here’s to a day we can again discuss Tiger basketball without a cloud of scrutiny growing thicker and darker.
Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. (Courtesy Warner Bros.)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s all-time classic from 1988 gets a sequel after 36 years. Winona Ryder returns as Lydia Deets, the goth girl of your dreams now all grown up. She’s the host of Ghost House with Lydia Deets, and the mother of Astrid (Jenna Ortega), a teenager who is just as gloomy as Lydia once was. When they return to their old home in Winter River, Astrid discovers the portal to the afterlife in the family home’s attic, and releases Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). Catherine O’Hara returns as Delia, Lydia’s art dealer stepmother, and Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Justin Theroux are along for the supernatural ride.
The Front Room
Brandy returns to the big screen as Belinda, a mother-to-be who is expecting her first child with her husband Norman (Andrew Burnap). But just as the couple is building their new nest, they have to take in Solange (Kathryn Hunter), Norman’s stepmother who was long estranged from his family. Now, they will realize why she has been estranged, and deal with the shocking consequences. Max and Sam Eggers, brothers of The Northman’s Robert Eggers, direct this A24 suspense film from a short story by Susan Hill.
It Ends With Us
Blake Lively stars as Lily Bloom in this hit adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestseller. Lily is caught between Ryle (Justin Baldoni) an intensely emotional neurosurgeon, and Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), her old flame. Can she stop her family’s generations-long cycle of abuse?
“Mama’s Sundry”
On Thursday, Sept. 12 at Crosstown Theater, a new collaboration between Memphis filmmakers Brody Kuhar and Joshua Cannon will make its debut. “Mama’s Sundry” is a 15-minute documentary about Bertram Williams and Memphis musician Talibah Safiya‘s neighborhood garden project.
This weekend is your last chance to see Crosstown Arts‘ “MANE” and “Hidden Gems.” (Photo: Crosstown Arts)
Alex Warble Art Show West Memorials Friday, September 6, 5-8 p.m. While Broad Ave. is hosting its Sidewalk Sale as part of its First Fridays on Broad, Alex Warble will have an art opening of new works. Warble, who finds inspiration from nature, Memphis, and pop culture, is known for his pictograms with teeny tiny characters lined up on the canvas.
Nick Black Halloran Centre Friday, September 6, 7:30 p.m. Remember when that guy was walking around with a mattress on his back and posting it on the ’gram? Well, he’s having a show to release his newest album, THE MAD ALBUM. We’re not sure how necessary the all caps are, but whatever. We’ll let him do his thing. Tickets are $25, and you can get them here.
10 Minute Play Festival TheatreWorks Friday-Saturday, September 6-7, 8 p.m. | Sunday, September 8, 2 p.m. A lot can happen in 10 minutes. That’s 600 seconds. For Emerald Theatre Company (ETC), 10 minutes is all it will take for one vignette to be performed in the 7th Annual 10 Minute Play Festival, which will have 10 vignettes total. For this year’s festival, all the one-scene plays adhere to a theme, “Remember When,” with each one set in a moment of historical significance. Get tickets here.
Clutter from the Crypt Halloween Market Hi Tone Saturday, September 7, 5-10 p.m. Shop till your jaw drops at this market ’cause goodness knows what you’ll find among all the hard-to-find vintage Halloween and utterly spooky art. Entry is free and this is an all ages event!
Cyrena Wages Overton Park Shell Saturday, September 7, 7 p.m. Music is more than a vanity project for Cyrena Wages. (You’ll get that pun in just a second.) This May, she released her debut album Vanity Project (read about it here), and now she’ll be performing at the Shell for the Orion Free Concert Series.
“MANE” and “Hidden Gems” Crosstown Arts Closes Sunday, September 8 Crosstown Arts presents “MANE” and “Hidden Gems” curated by Najee Strickland and Kiara Sally in the Galleries at Crosstown Arts. “MANE” explores how Southern speech has shaped Memphis artists’ view of community and themselves while “Hidden Gems” includes artists with modest visibility and offers them an opportunity to show up and be uncovered. This is your last chance to see the shows, so hurry fast.
Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories Novel Tuesday, September 10, 6 p.m. Get baked at Novel as bestselling food writer and Nashvillian Anne Byrn celebrates the release of her new book Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories, filled with Southern recipes and the stories behind them. Byrn will be in conversation with Kat Gordon, owner of Muddy’s Bake Shop.
Spillit: Life Is a Festival Theatre South at First Congo Thursday, September 12, 7-9 p.m. Spill the tea at Spillit’s Life Is a Festival — except you only have seven minutes to tell your story AND it has to be about a festival, celebration, or gathering of some kind. AND if you have the best story, you win the night! That’s how Spillit works. Don’t want to talk? Then bring your listening ears. One, two, three, eyes not on you. Admission is $10.
The Crosstown Arts Film Series Presents Mama’s Sundry Crosstown Theater at Crosstown Arts Thursday, September 12, 7 p.m. Crosstown Arts presents a special screening of the new documentary Mama’s Sundry, made by filmmakers Brody Kuhar and Joshua Cannon. The 15-minute film is about Bertram Williams and Talibah Safiya’s collaborative garden that produces not just food but also education and service initiatives. A panel discussion moderated by Tom Shadyac will follow. Admission is $5.
There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.
Legal experts have filed a brief on behalf of transgender youth in the state in hopes of stopping a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors from taking effect.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) said they are urging the Supreme Court of the United States to stop the state from banning hormone therapy for trans adolescents.
Last week ACLU-TN joined the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in filing a brief on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 16-year-old transgender daughter, Dr. Susan Lacy of Memphis, and two families who filed anonymously.
This brief is in response to a June 2024 decision to hear a challenge to Tennessee’s ban. Advocates claim the law is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, staff attorney at the ACLU of Tennessee, said that Tennessee and other Southern states have “become a testing ground for targeted assault on the constitutional rights of trans Tennesseans.”
In September of 2023 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed for the law restricting transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care to remain in effect. The ruling came months after the court initially blocked the law from taking effect in July of the same year.
Governor Bill Lee signed the legislation into law March of 2023, and it prohibits healthcare professionals from administering gender-affirming care to minors. This legislation makes gender-affirming hormone therapy and puberty blockers inaccessible, and trans people in Tennessee will not have access to this care until they reach the age of 18. Similar restrictions have been made in states like Arkansas and Alabama.
“Every day this law remains in place, it inflicts further pain, injustice, and discrimination on trans youth and their families,” Cameron-Vaughn said in a statement. “Make no mistake — if the Supreme Court fails to protect trans Tennesseans’ access to the medical care they need to survive and thrive, local politicians will go even further. They will continue to rewrite the history that our schools teach, discriminate based on what we look like, where we’re from, and who we love, and control if, when, and how Tennesseans choose to start their families.”
Parents of the 16-year-old plaintiff said it has been “painful” to see their child not be able to access “life-saving healthcare,” and they’ve had to travel outside of the state for care.
“We have a confident, happy daughter now, who is free to be herself and she is thriving,” Samantha Williams, mother of 16-year-old L.W., said. “Tennessee’s ban has forced us at great expense to seek routine healthcare visits out of state and may at some point force us to leave Tennessee — the only home our children have ever known. No family should have to make this kind of choice.”
Officials said oral arguments are expected to be heard this term.
Tennessee is working to purchase 5,477 acres of forest land near Grand Junction from the Hobart Ames Foundation. The land is part of the Wolf River watershed. (Photo: Wolf River Conservancy)
About 60 miles east of Memphis near the Mississippi line, verdant hardwood trees and ecologically exceptional streams weave through thousands of acres of rolling hills.
The land is home to a diverse array of aquatic and terrestrial life, decades-old archaeological sites and a watershed that feeds into the aquifer where hundreds of thousands of Memphians source their drinking water.
If all goes to plan, 5,477 acres of this land will soon become Tennessee’s newest state forest, securing its preservation for posterity.
The land is a portion of the 18,400-acre historic Ames Plantation, a privately owned tract in Fayette and Hardeman Counties amassed by Massachusetts industrialist Hobart Ames in the early 1900s.
For the last several decades, the Hobart Ames Foundation has partnered with the University of Tennessee’s AgResearch and Education Center to maintain and study the land and its history. The university’s website calls the center “an 18,400-acre laboratory” home to an archaeology field school, vet school, forestry camp, tree research nursery, row crop research fields and more.
When the roughly 5,500-acre portion of forest hit the market around early 2023, Tennessee’s forestry division rushed to piece together funding to buy it.
Deal cobbled together at ‘breakneck speed’
Work toward the purchase was already underway when State Forester Heather Slayton was appointed to her role this January. After calling her staff to inform them of her new title, “my second act was to call the Hobart Ames Foundation to let them know that we were hustling to get this project off the ground,” she said. “In the relative scheme of forest legacy projects, it was breakneck speed.”
A man paddles down the main stem of the Wolf River in West Tennessee. (Photo: Wolf River Conservancy)
The land was only on the market for a short time before the Hobart Ames Foundation agreed to remove it and allow the state “a little bit of time” to patch together the funds to “keep it protected and conserved in perpetuity,” Slayton said.
News of the project surfaced in August when the state Department of Agriculture brought an approval request to a State Building Commission subcommittee, warning that the land “will be under immediate threat of development if sold to a third party.”
The forest is located near Grand Junction, about 30 miles south of Ford’s new BlueOval City electric vehicle manufacturing plant.
“This tract is important and irreplaceable as it maintains the longest continuous research tree nursery in the country. It also contains one of the best examples of long-term, well-managed bottomland hardwood forest in West Tennessee,” the request states.
Slayton said an initial $16.9 million to secure the purchase will come from Tennessee’s Heritage Conservation Trust Fund, in addition to about $1.5 million in state wetland funding and help from other state agencies. Tennessee’s Division of Forestry applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Legacy Program, which helps keep working forests kept intact. The program would cover 75 percent of the total $22.5 million purchase price, with state funds making up the remaining 25 percent. If the federal grant is approved, the plan is to repay the Heritage Conservation Trust Fund’s contribution, she said. Including additional costs, the total worth of the project is around $24.3 million, Slayton said.
The total worth of the project is around $24.3 million.
The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit conservation group, will act as an intermediary to purchase the land from the Hobart Ames Foundation and sign over the contract to the state.
Zachary Lesch-Huie, Tennessee state director for The Conservation Fund, said the land is valuable for a multitude of reasons. It contains a major part of the upper fork of the Wolf River, which feeds the aquifer system responsible for Memphis’ water supply. It’s home to several species prioritized by Tennessee for protection, and features an “outstanding” forest habitat. There’s potential for future recreational and educational opportunities there, including hunting, river access, hiking, and continued archeological research on more than 40 historical sites on the property.
The purchase is not yet final — Lesch-Huie said the process is going well but could take several more weeks, barring any unforeseen snags. He said he credits the land’s excellent condition to the stewardship of the Hobart Ames Foundation and the University of Tennessee.
“I also want to give credit to … the Hobart Ames Foundation, because their willingness to even do this important deal for the state of Tennessee is what this (project) hinges on,” he said. “All these conservation deals rely on a willing landowner, and they are that.”
The University of Tennessee declined to comment on the pending deal, and the Hobart Ames Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.
Once the sale is complete, the University of Tennessee will continue to manage the property alongside the state and continue its tree nursery research project.
“The information that comes out of the research for tree genetics and how to produce healthier, more resilient trees helps the forests of all the rest of the State of Tennessee as well,” Slayton said.
Safeguarding the Wolf River and Memphis drinking water
The north fork of the Wolf River flows through this portion of bottomland forest — essentially a river swamp or forested wetland — on the Ames property. It meets the Wolf River in Moscow, Tennessee, and the Wolf River then flows into the Mississippi River at Mud Island, north of Downtown Memphis.
Wetlands are really integral to protecting and providing clean water, so this system helps to do that for about 2.8 million people downstream in the city of Memphis area and the surrounding counties.
– Heather Slayton, Tennessee State Forester
Memphis is the largest city in the country that relies fully on ground water, according to the University of Memphis.
Ryan Hall, director of land conservation at the Wolf River Conservancy, said the entire tract of forest land lies within an aquifer recharge zone for the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Rainwater is slowly filtered through layers of sand, purifying the water. Natural sand aquifers are separated by thick clay that protects water from contaminants, according to the University of Memphis. But thinning clay and breaks in its surface in several areas throughout Shelby County pose ongoing pollution concerns.
“Wetlands are really integral to protecting and providing clean water, so this system helps to do that for about 2.8 million people downstream in the city of Memphis area and the surrounding counties,” Slayton said. “So just being able to protect that wetland function of creating clean water for those people is really, really special.”
The Wolf River Conservancy aims to preserve the Wolf River watershed as a natural resource and provide conservation education. The organization is working to build a Wolf River Greenway trail through Memphis. The group has acted as supporters and advocates of transforming this land into a new state forest, Hall said.
“(The property) has been stewarded well for a long time, and now we know it’s going to be stewarded well in perpetuity, so that peace of mind is just — the Wolf River Conservancy and all of our volunteers, donors, we’re very grateful that this is happening,” he said.
A rich cultural site
The Ames property was one of several large plantations located in the area in the 1800s, Slayton said.
“This particular forest block and the larger Ames property has a very rich cultural history of enslaved people in this part of Tennessee,” she said.
The University of Tennessee, in partnership with the Hobart Ames Foundation, has done extensive research on the property, identifying historical artifacts and tracing ancestors who lived there.
The greater Ames property features the Ames Manor, a cabin, and the remains of multiple 19th-century buildings, including houses, stores, churches, schools, cotton gins, and the quarters of enslaved people, according to the university. There are 26 known cemeteries on the property, including up to six burial grounds for enslaved people, some of which have more than 100 graves.
“That’s another part of this project that’s super exciting: keeping it in public ownership so we can protect the cultural significance of the property,” Slayton said.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.
The University of Memphis unveiled its new University Crime Information Center which will operate year-round to enhance campus safety.
In a statement released by the university, the center is “technology infused” and will provide “real-time data” which will allow university police to be proactive in stopping crime. The center will feature 24/7 monitoring, the ability to locate someone on campus by description, issue suspicious activity alerts, and provide virtual escorting.
“The mission of our University Crime Information Center is to provide our agency with the ability to capitalize on a wide and expanding range of internal technologies which allows for efficient and effective policing for our university community,” University of Memphis Police Chief Keith Humphrey said. “The center will be a repository for our technology resources that are utilized to ensure the safety of our campus.”
The center will be staffed 24/7 year-round with security specialists. Humphrey said this will aid in Police Services commitment to being transparent and “delivering unbiased, procedural justice.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) 2023 Crime on Campus report showed a majority of crimes committed on campus were larceny and theft. There were a total of 105 offenses reported to the university and only five of those (4.8 percent) were cleared.
Destruction and vandalism were the second largest category with 98 offenses and a 6.1 percent clearance rate.
Last year, the Tennessee Legislature passed a recommendation from Governor Bill Lee that allowed the University of Memphis to receive $5.488 million for campus safety and security upgrades. This was a non-recurring investment that was to be used during fiscal year 2023.
The university used the money to upgrade and install LED lighting, perimeter fencing, intelligent camera installations and more.
Good Groceries Market & Cafe is good news for foodies.
The business, owned by Leah and Chad Getchel, is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. It’s at 585 South Cooper, where Mo’Bay Beignet Co. previously was located and, before that, a Muddy’s Bake Shop.
“Our grand opening was on July 7th,” Leah says “We had two bands. We had Real Good Dog Rescue. We had the Compost Fairy there. … We adopted out three dogs that day, which was awesome.”
It probably goes without saying, “We love the community,” Leah says.
They began their Good Groceries Mobile Diner food truck during the pandemic. Chad had been chef de cuisine at River Oaks Restaurant. Leah was a personal chef and also did catering. “The food truck is still running. We never stopped. We started that in 2020.”
But, she says, “The food truck is too small to do all the food that we do.”
It was time for a brick-and-mortar. “We needed a commercial kitchen.”
So, Good Groceries now offers breakfast between 7 and 10 a.m. “And that includes a continental breakfast bar, so people can come in and do the breakfast bar or have to-order items.”
The continental breakfast bar includes sage-roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, gravy, and choice of beef or duck sausage. “And we have all our bread items — biscuits, muffins, sometimes croissants.”
Their brick-and-mortar fare is “the same as the food truck menu.” They offer items, including the duck confit sandwiches, the smoked brisket BLT sandwiches, a crispy tofu sandwich, and salmon burger.
Their grab-and-go items are offered all day. “We have premade sandwiches, salads, soups, and take-home make-and-bake-and-eat meals — grab-and-go meals, family-style.”
She describes their menu as “to some degree seasonal, but fairly standard.”
They include gluten-free items because of her health issues, Leah says. “Just about everything is gluten-free.”
People who have to eat gluten-free won’t have to “feel like they’re singled out: ‘Oh, I have to eat from the sides menu.’ Because that’s what I have to do.”
Regular and gluten-free desserts are also featured. Depending on the day, these may include brownies, chess and other pies, and cakes, including Leah’s butter crumble cake and three-layer chocolate cake. “And Chad’s making ice cream. He started that just after we opened. He makes the mix himself and he uses the commercial ice cream maker.”
The Getchels began their first wine pairing dinner August 29th at Good Groceries, and Good Groceries still caters. “We’re doing intimate birthday parties to big parties.” They can do off-site or in-house events.
The name “Good Groceries” came from her former fiancé, Leah says. After he tasted dinners she made for him, he said, “These are some good groceries.”
When she told that to Chad 20 years later, he said, “Oh, that’s good. That’s got potential.”
Now, the name is used for their food truck, cafe, and sauces, which they make. “Mango, pesto, the green tomato relish. And we sell them in the shop.”
They also make their own teas and lemonades, including lavender lemonade made with fresh lavender.
The location between Peabody Avenue and Central Avenue is the perfect spot for what the Getchels want to do. “We’ve got a good mix of neighbors that are like us: parents with kids and folks who just want to come and hang out and play. There’s a big yard out there.”
They also offer “kid-friendly” menu items.
The couple’s 6-year-old twins — Albert and Oscar — also take advantage of the yard. Leah wants to instigate some outdoor events, including movies, this fall. “And just have kids come out and sit and watch and play and do whatever.”
Good Groceries has already become a neighborhood spot. “There are several offices and things around there. We have someone who comes in almost every day from the dialysis center. It’s a nice break for folks who just want to come in. We have some people who come in and study until we close.”
Leah describes the cafe/market as a “homestyle kind of business. And it’s not so mainstream.”
One of the most difficult tasks filmmakers have is catching the complex dynamics of female friendships. From revenge-seeking first wives to teenagers sharing a magical pair of pants, writers have tried to discover how to frame such stories.
It’s not uncommon for these movies to convey the idea that these relationships are essential to tackling adversity, portraying femininity as a bond that can transcend both time and the nature of their unique situations. But these themes are not monolithic; they are dependent on setting, societal norms, and race.
These themes can be more challenging when directors try capturing the magic of Black female friendships — specifically those that have stood the test of time. Director Tina Mabry decides to take on this narrative with no inhibition in Hulu’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, based on a 2013 novel of the same name written by Edward Kelsey Moore.
The film follows a trio whose friendship has withstood 30 years of laughter, transformation, and tragedy. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor narrates the story as Odette, the gutsy, outspoken woman whose fearlessness would not only usher in the group’s bond but also prove to be an inspiring theme throughout the movie. Odette’s power is supplemented across the screen by Clarice (Uzo Aduba, of Orange Is the New Black fame), whose grace and desire to save face can sometimes be detrimental. The friendship is completed when Odette and Clarice decide to welcome introverted Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan) into their fold after intervening in her abusive home life.
Known lovingly as “The Supremes” at their local diner (Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat) due to their inherent glow and beauty, the ladies navigate their complex lives, often pulling strength from each other. With a friendship birthed in the 1960s, the film follows a “now-and-then” structure, told through both flashback and present-day perspectives.
As a Black woman, I was a bit trepidatious, thanks to my former experiences with Black-female focused films. The word “strong” is often used to describe a Black woman’s life experience both on and off the screen. While this term can be used to positively evaluate tenacity, it can also be scary when filmmakers express their characters’ strengths through trauma. I identify with many of the young women in my generation who are still traumatized by Lee Daniels’ Precious, which, it turned out, was not a hopeful story about a teenage girl. Many films and shows seem to compete to find out “How much can we put a Black woman through on screen?”
It’s not to say that we wish for a euphemistic model of storytelling. The beauty of life is enhanced by how we emerge from life’s troubles. Director Mabry, a native of Tupelo, Mississippi, doesn’t shy away from this challenge. Odette says, of Barbara Jean’s trials, that God “is always picking on her,” given everything she’s been through from losing her mother who suffered from alcohol abuse to losing her son to racist violence and hate. She’s faced with the decision either to become a victim of her circumstances, as her mother did, or to grapple with her destiny by intervening on her own behalf.
Part of the beauty in Mabry’s story is that we see the cards these characters are dealt. At times, their fates seem unavoidable. But Mabry’s storytelling is realistic and balanced with joy. These Black women are not solely characterized by hardship.
The director makes aging and growing look appealing, even rewarding. It’s refreshing to see these Black women growing older in a way where they can enjoy life. Odette is set to grapple with the likelihood of having a future, with her inclination to tackle destiny on her own terms, pausing occasionally to touch grass. Clarice learns that it’s never too late to break our own habits, no matter how much we’ve sacrificed. In the end, the movie is a remarkable take on perspective, as life doesn’t necessarily have to happen to us; it grants us the opportunity to take charge.
Mabry has left me hopeful that a new era of more complex storytelling for Black women is upon us, where we are defined by more than just our strength.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat is streaming on Hulu.
These retirees meet to spill the tea. (Photo: Marlinda Shorter | Unspeakable Joy Photography)
Ten years ago, my ex-husband and I lived with his grandfather, a 92-year-old patriarch of the family. He was routine-oriented, and for many years he made a habit of meeting up with friends once a week for coffee and breakfast at a local fast food joint, usually Hardee’s or McDonald’s. The setting of Hattiloo Theatre’s production of Coconut Cake couldn’t be more relatable, as it portrays a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of four retirees who meet every Monday at McDonald’s. Here’s the thing, though, these characters aren’t just meeting up to drink coffee — they’re here to spill the tea.
Coconut Cake is a (mostly) quiet, intimate look at the lives of three Black friends, plus the somewhat out-of-place white brother-in-law named Hank but nick-named “Republican,” played by Bart Mallard. The characters — all men — slowly reveal they are each going through hardships that end up driving them apart, despite the fact that their individual struggles could bring them closer. The event that throws their lives into disarray is the arrival in town of a mysterious woman, who, because of her beauty and sophistication, becomes the subject of fascination for the quartet. The other wild card in Coconut Cake is the unhoused man dubbed “Gotdamnit” because of his penchant for repeating the word. Played by Jesse L. Dunlap, Gotdamnit is the type of character who whirls in and steals the show. He is a source of comic relief, though there are moments of emotion and a struggle with mental health that are poignantly delivered.
While the characters may at first seem like stock characters, a theme becomes apparent as the show progresses: All people contain hidden depths. Mallard has been acting since high school and speaks to the process of the characterization of Hank: “My character is hiding some truths about himself from even those closest to him. So I am asking myself deeply and honestly, what do I keep hidden away … is there a truth that I have not allowed to be seen … is there a truth in my heart, soul, and gut that I need to or could benefit from shining a bright light onto?”
One notable aspect of the play is that, though it is comprised of an entirely male cast, the playwright Melda Beaty is a woman. Watching a play that is about the male experience, but depicted by a woman, was a fascinating experience. I’ve grown up inundated by female characters who are poorly and unrealistically dreamed up by men. The internet is full with memes criticizing how women are rendered by male writers, so I found it refreshing to see a play that flipped the script — pun intended. Beaty’s frank and honest portrayal of these men is what makes the play so gripping. Here is a place where they are allowed to be vulnerable, and it’s obvious how meaningful that refuge is. Symbolism is rife in Coconut Cake, from the sanctuary represented by the innocuous setting of McDonald’s, to the game of life portrayed in a chess board.
Though on the surface Coconut Cake is a simple dialogue-driven play, it is a piece of theater that should not be looked over. Accurately cutting out a slice of life that remains deeply entertaining without ever compromising its realism is no mean feat, but Beaty has managed to do so with success. This play comes with a message that audiences will be hard-pressed to miss, as Mallard puts it, “The deepest intention is to shine some light on the truth that the act of openly, truthfully, and patiently walking your path will allow for you to find your own truth and light and then to honestly stand in it … to take the stage.”
Coconut Cake runs at Hattiloo Theatre through September 8th.
