Author: Jon W. Sparks

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News News Feature

Civil Rights Museum Hosts King Family

From left: Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King Photo Courtesy United Nations

It’s never easy for the King family to come to Memphis. 

Martin Luther King III was only 10 when his father was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel. It would be another 40 years before he would visit the site to place a memorial wreath. 

This week, he’s back with his family: his wife Arndrea Waters King and daughter Yolanda Renee King. “This is the first time that we’ve done this as a family,” Arndrea says. “We felt that it was important to do so this year and we wanted to acknowledge those people that we feel are continuing, in their own way, the work of Martin Luther King Jr.”

As difficult as it is to make the journey, it’s also a testament to that work that compels the King family to gather here and encourage the efforts of those who share a dream of battling the “three evils of society: racism, poverty, and violence.”

On Thursday, April 4th, the National Civil Rights Museum will welcome the King family to the event “Remembering MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment.” The commemoration will be in the museum’s courtyard at 4 p.m. with a musical prelude followed by the commemorative service at 4:30 p.m. Mr. King will deliver the keynote address with a focus on the most significant social justice issues facing the nation today. (The event will be streamed via the museum’s website, YouTube, and Facebook platforms.)

The Drum Major Institute (DMI) is the nonprofit founded by Dr. King in 1961 to pursue social justice. Arndrea King is president of DMI and Mr. King is chairman and they are bringing the cause to the National Civil Rights Museum. They are also bringing their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, who is already making her mark as an activist and children’s book author. 

Arndrea says that the need for social change is just as compelling as it ever was, and in some ways more so. “We feel that in some ways there’s a backward movement from the dream,” she says. “Laws are being passed where our daughter — Dr. King’s only grandchild — has fewer rights now at 16 than the day that she was born.”

The occasion of the 56th anniversary of Dr. King’s death gives DMI the opportunity to remind the nation of the continuing struggle. “It’s very important for us to be there to be assembled and a reminder of the sacrifice that so many people made,” Arndrea says, “but also to rededicate ourselves and hopefully for all people of goodwill to join us and rededicate themselves to the eradication of racism and bigotry and poverty and violence, and to dedicate themselves to peace and justice and equity.” 

DMI will announce a number of grants for work being done by several organizations around the country toward that end. Those groups are working in various areas, such as voting rights, justice inequity, and more. Arndrea says, “We feel people are on the front lines of the same issues that Martin Luther King Jr. worked on. And I always remind people that he told us to give us the ballot before he told us about his dream. It’s also important to remember that Dr. King was not only a scholar and minister, but an activist. He saw what was wrong and helped organize change.”

With 2024 a major election year and with the nation seriously divided, Mr. King reflects on what more needs to be done. “It is daunting because of the mechanisms that are in place to divide,” he says. “That could be social media to some degree, that could be some elements of mainstream media and obviously a lot of individuals who may be influencers. Certainly, the megaphone that the former president has is probably doing the most damage, and people seem to be in denial or blind to it, seeing only what they think are the good things. We have to be very thoughtful and very direct intentional is what I would say.”

Mr. King believes the country wants to move in a different direction. “Even the people who are angry and frustrated and hostile at everyone — I can’t believe you want to stay that way. That is just not who we are as human beings. When a crisis comes, we find a way to come together, and I want us to operate the way we operate in those crises. We don’t ask, well, who is the victim? Who’s in trouble? What caused it? It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Christian or not, it doesn’t matter. All we come to do is to help you get out of that situation and help you get to the other side.”

What he hopes for, and is working toward, is creating a climate where there can be discussions without rancor, but instead, “with an understanding that there are far more things that we have in common than we have apart. We call ourselves the United States of America, but we are not operating as a United States. We are operating as a fragmented, dysfunctional, very tragic society.”

And here, he cites his father. “My dad would’ve said that we must learn nonviolence or we may face nonexistence. We are not engaging in nonviolence and where we are, it’s not promoted. We must teach how to live together without destroying person or property and how to live in a civil society. You have to intentionally do that.”

Sometimes, though, it’s difficult. “That may be part of why my wife and I and our daughter chose to come to Memphis on this actual anniversary. It is a hard kind of scenario for us. But I also remember that Dad was killed on April 4, 1968, and then on April 8th, my mom and the three older ones of us, my late sister Yolanda and my late brother Dexter and I, along with Mom all came to Memphis for her to continue in the tradition of my father leading that demonstration so that sanitation workers could be treated with dignity and respect and paid a fair and decent wage.”

The involvement of Mr. King and his siblings, thanks to their mother, Coretta Scott King, was a lesson that continues today in that young people are a force to be brought in to help with the struggle. The Martin Luther King III Foundation has begun a five-year initiative called Realize the Dream that involves youth. As Arndrea says, “We’re going to ignite a movement where young people will come together, stand together, work together, serve together in whatever capacity that they choose, and collectively commit and complete 100 million hours of service by the 100th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It’s very important for young people, particularly those who were born post-Civil Rights Movement and went through the pandemic and racial awakening — they’ve also now gone through the backlash of that. They can see how they can be a part of doing something to create the world in which they want to live in a very tangible and real way. Dr. King said that everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”

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News News Blog

Society of Entrepreneurs to Induct Five New Members

(Clockwise from top left) Chris Brubaker, Stacy McCall, Justin, Brett and Fred Grinder. Image courtesy Society of Entrepreneurs.

The Society of Entrepreneurs (SOE) has selected five new members to join the organization. The inductees are: Chris Brubaker of Progressive Technologies; Fred, Brett, and Justin Grinder of Grinder, Taber & Grinder, Inc.; and Stacy McCall of ServiceMaster by Stratos.

Brubaker, born and raised in Memphis, is a 1988 graduate of Christian Brothers High School and a 1992 graduate of Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. From 1992 to 1996 he was with Deloitte & Touche as a Certified Public Accountant in the audit department. In 1997, he purchased Progressive Technologies from his father, David Brubaker. The company installs and services systems dedicated to communications, life safety, and security across the United States.

Grinder, Taber & Grinder, Inc. is a full service commercial and industrial construction firm in its sixth decade of continuous operations in the Memphis area. Fred Grinder and his two sons Brett and Justin have led the firm as managing principals for the past three decades. The Grinders handle commercial building for private, public, and non-profits. They expanded the company into every sector of the commercial building market including private schools and colleges, automotive, medical, and manufacturing industries, municipal sports, and large public projects.

McCall has developed a strong internal culture at ServiceMaster by Stratos through open communication channels based on core values like integrity, accountability and respect. She continues to lead Stratos to new heights, through continued growth and the introduction of technological advancements throughout the organization, while servicing venues in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi.

They will be officially inducted into SOE at the 32nd Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet April 20, 2024 at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms.

SOE was formed in 1991 to recognize the historical importance of the contributions of individuals who have, over a prolonged period, demonstrated a gift of entrepreneurship to create or build a successful business, and also to serve the community.

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Film Features Film/TV

WLOK Black Film Festival

Viola Davis stars in The Woman King as General Nanisca, leader of the all-female Agojie warriors.

With its daily programming of music and information, WLOK has long been committed to community outreach. Since the mid-1970s, it has also offered the popular free Stone Soul Picnic around Labor Day.

The station expanded its cultural outreach with the WLOK Black Film Festival, which brings together both the local art community and Hollywood films.

This year will be the seventh cinema festival, presenting four features plus a collection of short films by new filmmakers. The festival runs from September 13th through September 19th at venues around town.

Opening night, Wednesday, September 13th, is “New Filmmakers Production” with several short films being screened at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The winning filmmaker will be awarded a $1,000 prize.

On Thursday, September 14th, is 2022’s The Woman King at the Museum of Science & History (MoSH). Starring Viola Davis and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the project dominated the 2022 Black Reel Awards and the film categories of the 2022 NAACP Image Awards. The presentation includes a red carpet and a buffet dinner with food from local restaurants.

On Friday, September 15th, the 2022 biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody will be screened. It stars Naomi Ackie and was directed by Kasi Lemmons. That will be shown at Crosstown Theater, which is particularly good for this film: “We found that Crosstown has a great sound system, great acoustics, so we tried to get a place that had strong musical quality,” said Art Gilliam, president and CEO of WLOK.

Each year, the WLOK Black Film Festival honors a cinema luminary who has recently passed away. Saturday, September 16th will serve as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who plays Jackie Robinson in the 2013 film 42, directed by Brian Helgeland. The screening will be at Malco’s Studio on the Square, and a former player with the Negro League is expected to introduce the film.

The final day of the festival, Sunday, September 17th, will be at the National Civil Rights Museum with the 2022 film Till directed by Chinonye Chukwu. The screening will be introduced by a recorded interview with Myrlie Evers-Williams and Danielle Deadwyler, who plays Mamie Till in the film. There will be a panel discussion after the film.

The festival reinforces Gilliam’s vision for the station that he owns and operates. “The future is determined by ourselves in terms of what we do and how we do it,” he says. “That’s not just for us, but for any station — you have to have your identity. The benefit we have is that we understand who we are. And then we can do other things — it doesn’t have to be just radio.”

The film festival is meant to put a spotlight on a developing area for local creatives.

One of the board members of the Gilliam Foundation Inc. is Levi Frazier, a longtime playwright and educator. Frazier, Gilliam says, believes that “the opportunity for films in Memphis is tremendous.” With incentives being offered to local filmmakers, Gilliam says that part of the evolution of WLOK’s new filmmakers program has been to encourage talent.

Encouraging filmmakers is nothing new for WLOK. In 2002, the 25th anniversary of Gilliam’s acquisition of the station, he called on Joann Self Selvidge of True Story Pictures to create a documentary about the enterprise. The project, Selvidge says, set her on the path to filmmaking. “It kind of became a classic in the sense that they still played it from time to time on WKNO. When I look at it and realize the nuances that she was able to bring into that, it shows how very observant she is. So, we recognize the potential for the film industry in Memphis.”

It’s reflective of the programming of WLOK, but the station goes well beyond playing gospel tunes.

“We consider ourselves a community station,” Gilliam says. “We play gospel music, but there’s a difference. Some people think of us as a Christian station, and of course the majority of our listeners are Christian churchgoers. But as a community station that has a gospel music format, we delve into areas that the Christian stations aren’t necessarily going to. In our talk programs, we deal with legal issues, with health issues, with controversial and political issues. Most Christian stations don’t deal with these issues, or if they do, it’s strictly from one point of view. We deal with all points of view.”

WLOK Black Film Festival runs September 13th through 17th. For more info, visit wlok.com.

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Ostrander Awards Cap the 2022-2023 Theater Season

Ruby O'Gray at the Ostrander Awards. Photo by Jon W. Sparks.

The local stage community celebrated another season by honoring the best cast, crew members, and productions at the Ostrander Awards ceremonies Sunday, August 27th. 

The annual event brought play lovers to the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education at the Orpheum. The numbers favored Theatre Memphis and its Next Stage, which combined to win 21 categories. The top award-winning production was TM’s zany The Play That Goes Wrong, which took seven honors, including top play and ensemble, and awards for director Ann Marie Hall, supporting actress Amy Rush, supporting actor Bruce Huffman, choreographer Courtney Oliver, and scenic designer Jack Netzel-Yates. 

The most honored in the musical category was TM’s Mary Poppins with five awards: Russell Lehman for leading actor, Tracy Thomas for feature performer, and Buddy Hart and Rence Phillips for hair, wig, and makeup. Jack Netzel-Yates pulled in two awards for props and scenic design.

The previously announced winner of the 2023 Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award was Ruby O’Gray, who has acted, directed, and produced shows in local theater since 1977. She is the first Black woman to receive the honor. Among her achievements is the Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis, an event celebrating women’s contributions to the local stage.

Jared Johnson, who directed the musical The Scottsboro Boys at Playhouse on the Square won the plaque for best musical production. The critically acclaimed performance was based on the 1931 story of nine falsely accused Black teenagers, and the profound injustices that followed fueled the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the grim subject matter, the musical is staged as a vaudeville-style variety show. During the production, Johnson described it as “fun, makes you laugh, and is entertaining so it hides the ugly truth in plain sight.”

The Ostrander Award reflects the powerful approach taken to carry the message across. After Sunday night’s award, Johnson said, “It means so much for folks to understand what we were trying to do, which is really communicate about not just how much we should embrace our history, but also about how we should love on it and to just enjoy it even when it’s hard and painful. The beauty in our history is it makes us who we are, but more importantly, it makes us stronger. It makes us wiser so that we can move on. And guess what? If we have that one little conversation, we can mend a lot of the fences holding us back from being able to just love each other. This win, where we celebrate Black artistry and Black brilliance, makes me feel like we’re in a new world where we can recognize all the talents and it just makes me so happy.”

Ostrander Award winners:

DIVISION I

Props Design, Play: Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ D’Arcangelo Calvert; Clyde’s; Circuit Playhouse

Props Design, Musical: Jack Netzel-Yates; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Scenic Design, Play: Jack Netzel-Yates; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Scenic Design, Musical: Jack Netzel-Yates; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Lighting Design, Play: Nicole Northington; Sherlock’s Last Case; Theatre Memphis   

Lighting Design, Musical: Nicole Northington; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis   

Sound Design, Play (two winners): Joe Johnson; Sherlock’s Last Case; Theatre Memphis; and Josh Crawford; Pass Over; Circuit Playhouse

Sound Design, Musical: Joshua Crawford; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Hair, Wig, & Makeup: Buddy Hart & Rence Phillips; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Costume Design, Play: Amie Eoff; Macbeth; Next Stage

Costume Design, Musical: Amie Eoff; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis

Music Direction: Dustin Pappin; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Choreography/Fight Choreography, Play: Courtney Oliver; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Choreography, Musical: Christi Hall; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis

Featured Performer, Play: Caroline Simpson; Macbeth; Next Stage

Featured Performer, Musical: Tracy Thomas; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actor, Play: Bruce Huffman; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actress, Play: Amy Rush; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Supporting Actor, Musical: Daniel Stuart Nelson; Jersey Boys; Playhouse on the Square

Supporting Actress, Musical: Haley Wilson; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Leading Actor, Play: Cristian S. Nieves; Clyde’s; Circuit Playhouse

Leading Actress, Play: Natalie Jones; Macbeth; Next Stage

Leading Actor, Musical: Russell Lehman; Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis

Leading Actress, Musical: Nichol Pritchard; Guys and Dolls; Theatre Memphis

Ensemble, Play: The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Ensemble, Musical: The Scottsboro Boys; Playhouse on the Square

Direction, Play: Ann Marie Hall; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis

Direction, Musical: Dave Landis; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square

Original Script: Ann Perry Wallace; Live Rich Die Poor; Like Bamboo Productions

Production, Play: Ann Marie Hall; The Play That Goes Wrong; Theatre Memphis; Elizabeth Perkins, Stage Manager

Production, Musical: Jared Johnson; The Scottsboro Boys; Playhouse on the Square; Tessa Verner, Stage Manager

DIVISION II

Props Design: Emily Matusik; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Scenic Design: Justin Asher & Richard Logston; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Lighting Design: Melissa Andrews; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Sound Design: Kaitlin Starnes; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Costume Design: Newman Jones; Sense and Sensibility; University of Memphis

Music Direction: Tammy Holt; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Featured Performer: Rachel Adkins; Sense and Sensibility; University of Memphis

Supporting Actor, Play: Bryan Kenton; Triangle; Three Diamonds Productions

Supporting Actress, Play: Epiphany Aiken; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Supporting Actor, Musical: Will Draper; The Rocky Horror Show; University of Memphis

Supporting Actress, Musical: Nichol Pritchard; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Leading Actor, Play: Adam Remsen, Wakey Wakey; Quark Theatre

Leading Actress, Play: Kathryn Dressel; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Leading Actor, Musical: Nic Luter; Elf: The Musical; Harrell Theatre

Leading Actress, Musical: Maggie Emmendorfer; Once Upon a Mattress; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Ensemble: Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Direction: Julia Hinson; Wire in the Garden; Rhodes Theatre Guild

Production: Justin Asher; Titanic: The Musical; Harrell Theatre; Taylor Daniels, Stage Manager

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Ostrander Nominees Announced

Ruby O'Gray. Photo by Don Perry.

The nominations are out.

The 39th Ostrander Awards will be held Sunday, August 27th, to celebrate the best work in local collegiate, community, and professional theater. 

Changes have been made to the structure of the awards to allow for wider consideration of the variety of productions and the presenting organizations. 

Division I includes Circuit Playhouse, Germantown Community Theatre, Hattiloo Theatre, New Moon, Playhouse on the Square, Theatre Memphis, and Theatreworks @ the Square.

Division II is Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group, Duke’s Eye Productions, Harrell Theatre, Like Bamboo Productions, Quark Theatre, Rhodes Theatre Guild, Three Diamonds Productions, and University of Memphis.

The primary distinction is whether the theater company has a full-time artistic or technical staff. Those companies without a full-time staff and educational institutions are categorized as Division II.

This year’s recipient of the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award is Ruby O’Gray. The Ostranders organization says that O’Gray’s devotion to local theater since 1977 “represents the spirit of change and evolution. Her work has been primarily in self-created companies, events, and institutions.”

In 2012, she created The Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis, Inc., a festival celebrating women’s contributions to theatre, honoring them, and creating an opportunity for their works, performances, networking, and development.

The Ostranders ceremony will be at the Halloran Center Downtown. Lobby doors, with cash bar and light refreshments, open at 6 p.m. There will be performances from the lead nominees and nominees for Outstanding Overall Musical Production. Get tickets at memphisostranders.com beginning July 30. Tickets will be $15 in advance or $20 at the door. All prior Eugart Yerian recipients are admitted free of charge. 

39th Ostrander Nominees (2022-2023 Season)         


Props Design, Division II

  • Emily Matusik, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Mary Thomas Hattier, Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Summer Gallagher, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, University of Memphis
  • Summer Gallagher, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis

Props Design, Play, Division I

  • Gabrielle “Gabby” D’Arcangelo Calvert, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse
  • Marques Brown, Wit, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Jack Netzel-Yates, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Laurie Boller, Misery, New Moon Theatre

Props Design, Musical, Division I

  • Jack Netzel-Yates, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Jack Netzel-Yates, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Kaylyn Nichols, Something Rotten!, Playhouse on the Square
  • Melissa Andrews, Evil Dead the Musical, New Moon Theatre
  • Natalie Ervolino, Sistas the Musical, Hattiloo Theatre

Scenic Design, Division II         

  • Brian Ruggaber, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, University of Memphis
  • Brian Ruggaber, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Chad Rhodes, Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions
  • Natalie Ervolino, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Justin Asher & Richard Logston, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre

Scenic Design, Play, Division I

  • Chris Sterling, Misery, New Moon Theatre
  • Ekundayo Bandele, Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Jack Netzel-Yates, Sherlock’s Last Case, Theatre Memphis
  • Jack Netzel-Yates, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Lex von Blommestein, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse                                                  

Scenic Design, Musical, Division I

  • David Galloway, Evil Dead the Musical, New Moon Theatre
  • Jack Netzel-Yates, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Jack Netzel-Yates, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Marques Brown, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Phillip Hughen, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square                      

Lighting Design, Division II     

  • Anthony Pellecchia, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, University of Memphis
  • Becky Caspersen & Olivia Caspersen, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Chris Hanian, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Chris Hanian, Starting Here, Starting Now, University of Memphis
  • Melissa Andrews, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Lighting Design, Play, Division I

  • Louisa Koeppel, Misery , New Moon Theatre
  • Nicole Northington, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis
  • Nicole Northington, Sherlock’s Last Case, Theatre Memphis
  • Phillip Hughen, Pass Over, Circuit Playhouse
  • Sheric Hull, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse   

Lighting Design, Musical, Division I

  • J.D. Hopper, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Matt Webb, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Nicole Northington, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Nicole Northington, Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis
  • Trey Eikleberry, Jersey Boys, Playhouse on the Square                    

Sound Design, Division II          

  • Carl Caspersen, Live Rich Die Poor, Like Bamboo Productions
  • Eric Sefton, Wakey, Wakey, Quark Theatre
  • Kaitlin Starnes, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Mike O’Nele, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, University of Memphis

Sound Design, Play, Division I

  • Gene Elliott, Misery, New Moon Theatre
  • Joe Johnson, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis
  • Joe Johnson, Sherlock’s Last Case, Theatre Memphis
  • Joe Johnson, Small Mouth Sounds, New Moon Theatre
  • Josh Crawford, Pass Over, Circuit Playhouse                                           

Sound Design, Musical, Division I

  • Jason Eschhofen, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Jason Eschhofen, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Jason Eschhofen, Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis
  • Joshua Crawford, Jersey Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Joshua Crawford, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square

Hair, Wig, & Makeup Design, Division I

  • Amie Eoff, Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis
  • Buddy Hart & Rence Phillips, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Buddy Hart, Kelly McDaniel & Rence Phillips, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Ellen Ring, Arsenic and Old Lace, Theatre Memphis
  • Kathleen Kovarik, Sherlock’s Last Case, Theatre Memphis                                                

Costume Design, Division II   

  • Ann Perry Wallace, Live Rich Die Poor,  Like Bamboo Productions
  • Cole Hudson, Starting Here, Starting Now, University of Memphis
  • Heather Duzan , The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Lucia Hall, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Newman Jones, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis

Costume Design, Play, Division I

  • Amie Eoff, Arsenic and Old Lace, Theatre Memphis
  • Amie Eoff, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis
  • Marsena Sellers, School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Rekitha Morris, Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Waverly Strickland, Pass Over, Circuit Playhouse                                

Costume Design, Musical, Division I

  • Amie Eoff, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Amie Eoff, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Amie Eoff, Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis
  • Lindsay Schmeling, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Lindsay Schmeling, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square                                              

Music Direction, Division II    

  • Matthew Morrison, Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Nathan Thomas, Starting Here, Starting Now, University of Memphis
  • Nathan Thomas, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Tammy Holt, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre                                              

Music Direction, Division I

  • Dustin Pappin, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Gary Beard, Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis
  • Jeffery Brewer, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Jeffery Brewer, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Tamatha Holt, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square

Choreography/Fight Choreography, Play, Division I

  • Courtney Oliver, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Emma Crystal, Shakin’ the Mess Out of Misery, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Six Carolino, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis                                         

Choreography, Musical, Division I

  • Christi Hall, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Courtney Oliver, Jersey Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Daniel Stuart Nelson, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Emma Crystal,  The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis

Featured Performer, Division II (Only One Nominee)                                  

Featured Performer, Play, Division I

  • Art Oden & Lindsey Roberts, Much Ado About Nothing, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis
  • Cameron Massengale,   Shanktown, POTS@TheWorks
  • Caroline Simpson, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis
  • Hugh Raup, Arsenic and Old Lace, Theatre Memphis
  • Jaclyn Suffel, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis                                         

Featured Performer, Musical, Division I

  • Courtney Sage, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Dorian Davis, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Karl Robinson, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Marvin Holt, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Tracy Thomas, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis                                                   

Supporting Actor, Play, Division II     

  • Bryan Kenton, Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions
  • Jeremiah McDonald, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Leland Odom, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Marvin Holt, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Prince Djae, Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions

Supporting Actress, Play, Division II                  

  • Charisse Mackey, Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions
  • Epiphany Aiken, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Lauren Mathews, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Madilyn Mobbs, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Nolita Palomar, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Supporting Actor, Play, Division I

  • Bruce Huffman , The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Christopher Tracy, Macbeth, Theatre Memphis
  • Gabriel Kestrel, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Jesse Dunlap, Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre
  • J.S. Tate, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse                                               

Supporting Actress, Play, Division I

  • Amy Rush, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Annie Freres, Pride and Prejudice, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Hiawartha Jackson, Immediate Family, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis
  • Donita Johnson, School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Jessica “Jai” Johnson, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse                  

Supporting Actor, Musical, Division II               

  • Aiden Saunders, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Caleb Bryant, Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Jacob Mohler, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Kent Fleshman, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Will Draper, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis                       

Supporting Actress, Musical, Division II          

  • Amy P. Nabors, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Ashleigh Williams, Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Axyl Langford, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Eliana Mabe, Once Upon a Mattress, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Nichol Pritchard, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre

Supporting Actor, Musical, Division I

  • Daniel Stuart Nelson, Jersey Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Jimbo Lattimore, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • John Maness, Something Rotten!, Playhouse on the Square
  • Nathan McHenry, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Stephen Garrett, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Germantown Community Theatre      

Supporting Actress, Musical, Division I

  • Brooke Papritz, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Caroline Simpson, The Wizard of Oz, Playhouse on the Square
  • Haley Wilson, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Lynden Lewis, Something Rotten!, Playhouse on the Square
  • Rebecca Johnson, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square                 

Leading Actor, Play, Division II             

  • Adam Remsen, Wakey, Wakey,  Quark Theatre
  • Christopher Tracy, Lungs, Quark Theatre
  • J.S. Tate, Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions
  • Marques Brown, What Happens to Hope at the End of the Evening, Quark Theatre
  • Nathan Kruse, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild                               

Leading Actress, Play, Division II        

  • Ann Perry Wallace, Live Rich Die Poor, Like Bamboo Productions
  • Bianca McMillian, Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions
  • Eileen Kuo, Lungs, Quark Theatre
  • Emily Seatvet, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Kathryn Dressel, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Leading Actor, Play, Division I

  • Cleavon Meabon IV and Marc Gill, Pass Over, Circuit Playhouse
  • Cristian S. Nieves, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse
  • Kellan Oelkers, Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Kevar Maffitt, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Paul “PA” Arnett, Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre                                                     

Leading Actress, Play, Division I

  • Alice Rainey Berry, Wit, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Courtney Noisette, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse
  • Courtney Oliver, Who’s Holiday, Circuit Playhouse
  • Kim Justis, Misery, New Moon Theatre
  • Natalie Jones, Macbeth, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis                                       

Leading Actor, Musical, Division II     

  • Garrett Whitworth, Starting Here, Starting Now, University of Memphis
  • Jacob Greer, Once Upon a Mattress, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Johnathon Lee, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Marvin Holt, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Nic Luter, Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre                           

Leading Actress, Musical, Division II                  

  • Axyl Langford, Starting Here, Starting Now, University of Memphis
  • Campbell Williams, Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Christina Hernandez, I Love You Because, Duke’s Eye Productions
  • Jasmine Gillenwaters, The Rocky Horror Show, University of Memphis
  • Maggie Emmendorfer, Once Upon a Mattress, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Leading Actor, Musical, Division I

  • Bruce Huffman, Evil Dead the Musical, New Moon Theatre
  • Cristian Nieves, Something Rotten!, Playhouse on the Square
  • John Brenton Strauss, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Justin Raynard Hicks, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Russell Lehman, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis                                                

Leading Actress, Musical, Division I

  • Cassie Thompson, Evil Dead the Musical, New Moon Theatre
  • Katy Cotten, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Lynden Lewis, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Nichol Pritchard, Guys and Dolls, Theatre Memphis
  • Patsy Detroit, The Wizard of Oz, Playhouse on the Square

Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award: Ruby O’Gray  

Ensemble, Division II                   

  • Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Starting Here, Starting Now, University of Memphis
  • Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Triangle, Three Diamonds Productions
  • Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Ensemble, Play, Division I

  • Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse
  • Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre
  • School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play, Hattiloo Theatre
  • Small Mouth Sounds, New Moon Theatre
  • The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis                                        

Ensemble, Musical, Division I

  • Five Guys Named Moe, Hattiloo Theatre
  • I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis
  • The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square

Best Original Script     

  • Ann E. Eskridge, If Pekin Is A Duck? Why Am I In Chicago?, Theatreworks @ The Square
  • Ann Perry Wallace, Live Rich Die Poor, Like Bamboo Productions
  • Marques Brown, One Man’s Christmas Carol. Germantown Community Theatre
  • Cesar Montelongo, So, You Are Dating a Latino … Now What?, Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group
  • Eliana Mabe, You’ll Grow Into It: A Collection of Short Plays, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Excellence in Direction, Division II    

  • Holly L. Derr, Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis
  • Julia Hinson, Wire in the Garden, Rhodes Theatre Guild
  • Justin Asher, Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre
  • Tony Isbell, Lungs, Quark Theatre
  • Tony Isbell, Wakey, Wakey, Quark Theatre

Excellence in Direction, Play, Division I

  • Ann Marie Hall, The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis
  • Claire D. Kolheim, Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse
  • Garry Yates, Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre
  • John Maness, Arsenic and Old Lace, Theatre Memphis
  • Thomas L. King, Immediate Family, Next Stage, Theatre Memphis

Excellence in Direction, Musical, Division I

  • Dave Landis, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Playhouse on the Square
  • Jaclyn Suffel, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Germantown Community Theatre
  • Jared Johnson, The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square
  • Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley, Mary Poppins, Theatre Memphis
  • Whitney Branan, Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis                                        

Outstanding Overall Production, Division II                                   

  • Elf: The Musical, Harrell Theatre; Director: Chris Luter; Stage Manager: AK Lewellyn
  • Lungs, Quark Theatre; Director: Tony Isbell; Stage Manager: Leslie Lee
  • Sense and Sensibility, University of Memphis; Director: Holly L. Derr; Stage Manager: Luke Dabney
  • Titanic: The Musical, Harrell Theatre; Director: Justin Asher; Stage Manager: Taylor Daniels
  • Wakey, Wakey, Quark Theatre; Director: Tony Isbell; Stage Manager: Kristi Wong

Outstanding Overall Production, Play, Division I      

  • Clyde’s, Circuit Playhouse, Director: Claire D. Kolheim; Stage Manager: Emma White
  • Master Harold and the Boys, Hattiloo Theatre, Director: Garry Yates; Stage Manager: Sherronda Johnson
  • Misery, New Moon Theatre, Director: Justin Asher; Stage Manager: Mystie Watson
  • Pass Over, Circuit Playhouse, Director: Jared Johnson; Stage Manager: Cydnie Trice
  • The Play That Goes Wrong, Theatre Memphis, Director: Ann Marie Hall; Stage Manager: Elizabeth Perkins                                            

Outstanding Overall Production, Musical, Division I

  • I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Germantown Community Theatre; Director: Jaclyn Suffel; Stage Manager: Meredith Serna
  • Mary Poppins; Theatre Memphis; Directors: Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley; Stage Manager: Chelsea Robinson
  • Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812; Playhouse on the Square; Director: Dave Landis; Stage Manager: Tessa Verner
  • Sondheim Tribute Revue, Theatre Memphis; Director: Whitney Branan; Stage Manager: Taylor Daniels
  • The Scottsboro Boys, Playhouse on the Square; Director: Jared Johnson; Stage Manager: Tessa Verner
Categories
Art News News Blog

The Brooks Digs In

Barbara Hyde brought a gift to the groundbreaking of the future Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

Speaking before a crowd of dignitaries and press under a tent at Union Avenue and Front Street Thursday morning, she announced that she and husband Pitt were making a $20 million commitment toward the completion of the facility that is expected to open in 2026.

That contribution brings the total raised to 75 percent of the $180 million fundraising goal for the project.

Zoe Kahr, the Brooks’ executive director, said she was confident that the museum will reach its goal. “Memphians invested $100 million in their new art museum before seeing a single rendering,” she said. “Tennesseans committed another $35 million to their oldest and largest art museum before construction began.”

Groundbreaking for the Brooks on the Bluff, June 1st. Photo by Jon W. Sparks

Four years ago, the museum had an event on the site to announce that renowned design firm Herzog & de Meuron of Basel, Switzerland and New York, would collaborate with Memphis-based archimania, the architect of record.

Occupying the site that day was a fire station and parking garage. In recent months, those have been razed and plans are proceeding to do seismic work and construction.

The new 122,000 square-foot building will feature nearly 50 percent more gallery space than the museum’s current home in Overton Park. The space will be used to to exhibit Memphis’ growing permanent art collection, as well as new spaces for education and art-making for all ages. Officials said the new Brooks will include “600 percent more art-filled public spaces than the current facility.”

The new Brooks will have a restaurant and gift shop, highlighting Memphis markers and artists. A community courtyard in the heart of the building will be 10,000 square feet, the size of two full NBA courts. The rooftop will provides visitors with an expansive green-space: an art park in the sky with an event pavilion. The courtyard and the rooftop will be open to the public without museum admission. 

The museum campus will include a new pedestrian plaza shared by the museum and Cossitt Library as well as connecting the Bluff Walk, which now ends behind Cossitt Library, and the River Walk on Union Avenue.

The museum’s wide open areas will afford views of the Mississippi River. Pedestrians on Front Street will have a view into the gallery level. The other side facing the river will be more closed off to minimize the effects of sunlight, but there will be two windows.

Brooks executive director Zoe Kahr faces the media at the museum groundbreaking on June 1, 2023.

“Our architects did a beautiful job of thinking about the site and how to optimize that pedestrian experience where you look into the museum and you understand what’s in there so you’re not intimidated,” Kahr said.

She also noted that the entire rooftop will be a garden. “It will have art, it’ll have programs, it’s going to have a beautiful event pavilion. I think it’s going to be the best place to get married in Memphis, but I may be biased.”

Kahr said that the museum is intentional about its art spaces. “We’re creating discrete moments where you’re immersed in the art and then you’re brought back to the river. Its public spaces are all about the river.”

When she arrived to take over at the Brooks last November, Kahr knew that changes and challenges would be in the mix, and she was looking forward to it.

“It’s so unusual to get the chance to reexamine and reinstall your permanent collection,” she said. “I’d say we’re leading with that as a set of projects, and our curatorial team has really been spending a lot of time thinking about what stories we can tell from our collection.”

They’re also looking at what objects are not in the collection. “What do we need to tell those stories that we think are important? That’s been a primary focus. But then we’re also thinking about what will be on view here in terms of loan exhibitions.”

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater Theater Feature

Director Of Ink On How to Stage A Show With No Heroes

From left: David Hammonds as Larry Lamb, S.A. Weakley as Sir Alick, and Michael Kinslow as Rupert Murdoch in "Ink." (Credit: Collin Baker)

Rupert Murdoch is 92 and has an unusually active existence in real life — in the last year alone he’s continued wielding power as a media tycoon, has given depositions and will likely testify in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News, he divorced Jerry Hall, he announced his engagement to someone else, and then called it off (apparently due to her religious zealotry). 

And then there’s what’s going on not in real life, particularly the popular HBO series Succession that is based on him and his media empire and family — although the fictionalized account seems to bother the real family quite a lot. Another dramatic work involving him is the play Ink by James Graham, which is closing this weekend at Circuit Playhouse. 

The play is fiction but is based on one of the key events in Murdoch’s ascension in the media world when he acquired a failing newspaper in England in 1969 and turned it into a brash tabloid that broke rules aplenty and set a tone in journalism that we still witness today.  

The story is about how Murdoch hired a friend of his, Larry Lamb, and charged him with beating the circulation numbers of the competition. The result was a crass mix of sensationalistic news reporting, goofy diversions, pictures of scantily-clad women, and low common denominator entertainment. The Sun diminished the practice of journalism and won the circulation war.

Ink is helmed by Warner Crocker, a Chicago-based director who has done plays in Memphis before. He was fascinated by the play and was eager to do the production.

“I’ve read a lot of scripts all my life,” he says. “You read good ones and you read not so good ones, and every now and then you stumble on one you get an opportunity to direct where you go, ‘this is a story I have to tell.’ This was a piece that talks about a moment in time that not only affected what journalism was going to become, but the changes we have experienced in culture, in politics, and just about every facet of our life.”

Crocker says Murdoch “is one of those individuals who, if the planet is still around 200 years from now, they’ll look back and say, he had an influence on everything and changed everything, for better or worse.”

He says that in his discussion with the cast, he likened the story to Frankenstein. “Murdoch in many ways is Dr. Frankenstein and Larry Lamb becomes the monster,” he says. “Graham presents Murdoch as a product of the moment in time who had this idea about change and didn’t necessarily understand the personal consequences of that. He certainly understood the financial consequences, and that’s what he was reaching for.”

When the changes Murdoch set in motion are underway, he finds that it’s not all a thrilling game and that there are terrible downsides. The cocky publisher is forced to reckon with tragedy. “You wouldn’t think of him as a very vulnerable individual,” Crocker says.

But neither is Murdoch a hero. In fact, as Crocker notes, there are no heroes in this play. “We watch them all take this journey together,” he says. “For example, the newsroom staff that you meet in the play come into it and there’s hesitation to begin with, but then they fall in love with the excitement and the romance of creating something new and the success that they’re having.”

It’s thrilling to break the rules and have so much fun, but before long, the staff’s “journalistic morals are challenged by some of the things that their boss is asking them to do to drive circulation. And then decisions have to be made. Do I compromise who I am and what I believe to hang on to this job? Or am I going to move on?”

Key to the effectiveness of the play is the pacing — snappy dialogue, barbed banter, and wisecracks are blended in with newsroom chaos, pressroom drama, slamming of phones, and tales told literally on multiple levels. 

“You have to create a sense of momentum where the show is always going,” Crocker says, “because if you stop and think, give the audience the opportunity to stop and think too much about what they’ve just seen, they’re gonna miss the next beat. It’s history unfolding before your eyes and history doesn’t usually give us a chance these days to pause and think about it. I like to put that on the stage.”

Ink runs April 14th through 16th at Circuit Playhouse. Tickets and info here.

Categories
Art Intermission Impossible Theater Theater Feature

Murdoch’s Legacy: Fast-Paced Ink Delivers at Circuit Playhouse

Michael Kinslow as Rupert Murdoch and David Hammons as Larry Lamb in the Circuit Playhouse production of Ink. (Credit: Collin Baker)

If you think journalism has gone to hell, you won’t get an argument from me. 

I don’t hate it — I still practice it and am grateful for the income — but the idea and execution of the industry has morphed over the decades from town criers to scandalous broadsheets to principled news organizations to scandalous tabloids to mindless aggregators. Print ruled for ages, but then radio and TV came in to further reshape it, but in any medium, journalism ultimately has to give the public what it wants — and will pay for. 

James Graham’s Ink, now playing at Circuit Playhouse, brilliantly describes one of those defining shifts in the newspaper era when, in 1969,  a 38-year-old, pre-tycoon Rupert Murdoch bought a failing British rag. To run The Sun, he hired his friend Larry Lamb away from a competitor and challenged him to boost the numbers to surpass the fusty broadsheet that had long led in circulation in the UK. 

There’s plenty of newsroom energy in the Circuit Playhouse production of Ink. (Credit: Collin Baker)

The play visits all the topics that journalists talk about — newsworthiness, ethics, objectivity — and one of the key insights into the thinking of the new endeavor from Murdoch/Lamb comes in a discussion of the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why. 

But Lamb challenges the need for that last W: “The only thing worth asking isn’t why — it’s: what’s next?”

That philosophy isn’t deep, but sets the stage for how storytelling in newspapers would be trending along with the clearly understood primary goal of making money. Its duty to inform the public would be done by entertaining and titillating readers, not by crafting thoughtful stories for the civic minded. And The Sun would show how a news organization could shape what was next.

The Circuit staging is helmed by Chicago-based Warner Crocker, who keeps the action snappy whether its dialogue between Murdoch (Michael Kinslow) and Lamb (David Hammonds), or chaotic newsroom scenes with the entire cast throwing newspaper bundles, barking into phones, typing furiously, posing for pictures, cracking wise, and arguing tirelessly.

Graham’s script is crisp and purposeful, propelling the story, revealing the characters, and amping up the stakes. It doesn’t set up Murdoch or Lamb as good guys or bad. They have their dreams and in Act One, you may well find yourself pulling for their audacious enterprise to succeed — they are, after all, trying to stick it to the power structure. Act Two keeps the energy but gets inside the consequences of their newspaper’s brashness. How flippant can you be in a life-or-death situation?

The Circuit cast is solid and the production smartly executed. It’s entertaining from the get-go and stirs up enough issues to provoke discussions long after the final bows.

More than 50 years later, Murdoch is still around and still intent on making money from the news business — hence his multi-billion-dollar company named News Corp. His publishing legacy will include taking bold risks and shaping global news coverage as well as shamelessly pushing lies, agendas, and the lowest common denominator. 

Ink runs through April 16th at Circuit Playhouse. For info and tickets, go to playhouseonthesquare.org.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter from an Editor: Helping in Ukraine

Tim Scalita (Photo: Jon W. Sparks)

Tim Scalita was pretty sure he had died.

He was, after all, in a war zone in Ukraine. The Memphian had gone there this spring to be a combat medic with the idea of saving fighters who were casualties in battles against the invading Russians. But his reckoning with his own mortality was not from incoming artillery or hostile gunfire. “It was an allergic reaction to something combined with a bacterial infection,” he said. “It was just a mess. I couldn’t open my eyes to see. I was breathing fire. Everything was pain.”

I did a Memphis Flyer cover story on Scalita in May, about a month after he’d arrived. He’d joined a multi-national medical evacuation outfit and was kept busy training Ukrainian soldiers on combat life-saving techniques and battlefield tactics. He was still angling to get into the field, but bureaucracy was holding things up.

In the months since, Scalita has had to change the groups he’s been with for various reasons. For a while, he was with Dnipro-1, an equivalent to the national guard. “But they got hit. They had a spy in their midst, and it ended up that we lost about 15 guys, and another 40-something wounded. I have no idea which of those guys passed away or were wounded. There were people on the front page of the Memphis Flyer who are no longer with us, but I couldn’t tell you who that is.”

Scalita, a filmmaker and writer who was a corpsman in the U.S. Navy, continues to look for ways to get meaningfully involved. There was a time he and several other Westerners were ready to donate blood, but the offer was foiled by bureaucracy.

He continued giving training to the Ukrainians. “It’s fine, you know, good to train everybody,” he said. “But as time went on, there was just more and more of nothing happening. A whole lot of standby.”

A Ukrainian officer told Scalita that there wasn’t much prospect of getting around the bureaucracy. Unless he joined Dnipro-1. “I couldn’t do that. I’m not joining the Ukrainian military. I’m not swearing allegiance to another country. And as a veteran, I lose all of my benefits if I take active-duty orders from another country.”

There has been another problem that he hadn’t imagined until he saw it when he got there: Americans. “It’s totally understandable,” he said. “Some of us are good. Some of us came as professionals with great intentions in our hearts and we’ve come to help and we’ve been very good. Then there are those other Americans, not as many as you think, but they’re loud and they’re rude and they stand out. I was in Lviv because of volunteer opportunities and a lot of people to talk to, but Lviv was also where everyone comes into. There were a lot of loud, problematic Americans. And I’m like, yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and leave. I’m gonna go to Kyiv.”

He was able to do some teaching, but that wasn’t entirely useful. “In a classroom setting, it’s absolutely calm,” he said. “But in the field, we teach how to set up tourniquets. I’d tell them to thread it and put it on that person. I got a loaded rifle and when they’d go to thread it, I start popping on the ground. And they can’t do it.”

He spent some time in Kyiv and some time closer to the action. He was with a group working out of a hospital in Dnipro when he got sick. But the presence of his outfit was proving to be a danger to the staff and patients at the hospital, so they decided to relocate to a safe area. “They all moved out and forgot about me,” Scalita said. “For 24 hours, I can’t see, and no one speaks English. I was absolutely alone, no food, no water. I’d given myself over to the void because I had an insanely high fever. The next morning one of the guys wakes me up and he goes, ‘Hey, we’re gonna take care of you, buddy. It’s gonna be okay.’ I look at him and I say, ‘I’m pretty sure I died, man.’”

In his time over there, he’s made and lost friends, gained an appreciation of the Ukrainians, got a splendid tattoo for his birthday, lost at least four phones, and refined his ability to read the people in a bar. He’s had good times and hardship.

Scalita hopes to be back home around Christmas. “Do not forget there is a great war happening. Do not forget that we are doing our best to keep it here. The Ukrainians are a wonderful people and worth fighting for. Never stop supporting them regardless of popular politics. The future is here.”

Last month, he wrote: “The Russian propaganda machine has me as a Ukrainian Nazi. I’m not sure if I should be offended by the accusation or proud that I am on their radar. Not a Nazi. Hate fascism. Love democracy and equal rights for all. Also, fuck you Russia for the attempt.”

Last weekend he wrote: “I was in the attack this morning. First time I’ve ever run for my life. They killed civilians. A married couple expecting. It’s 10:41 p.m. and they’re coming at us again. Ukraine is wonderful. Their people sweet.”

Come home safe, Tim.

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Quark Theatre Revived

Quark Theatre’s show opening this weekend isn’t exactly opening this week. It opened a while back but has been on something of a hiatus. For two and a half years.

The show — what happens to the hope at the end of the evening — had its Memphis debut in March of 2020. It was performed twice before Covid-19 shut it down.

“We thought we’d be back to finish the run in two or three months,” said Tony Isbell, director of the production and a founder of Quark. “Well, two or three months turned into almost two and a half years, but here we are, we are finishing the run.”

The pandemic was an effective crash course in the virtues of patience. Quark, being small and able to quickly adapt, bided its time until it could get back to its mission of doing “small shows about big ideas.” 

“We try to produce shows that no other theater in Memphis would produce,” Isbell said. “Not because they’re bad shows, but because people maybe haven’t heard of them or they could not guarantee that they would be able to get enough of an audience to make a profit. Quark doesn’t have to worry about that.”

Isbell got to do this unconventional show in an unconventional way.

“I found the playwright’s email address,” he said. “I emailed him and said, ‘Do you ever license your shows for other people to do?’ He said yes and sent me the script, and I said that we wanted to do it.”

There are actually two playwrights. Isbell had communicated with Tim Crouch, who has had a long involvement with the other writer, Andy Smith.

“Smith writes very kind of cerebral, intellectual, presentational plays where he talks directly to the audience and he invites them to think about what theater is and how it can affect the lives of people who see it,” Isbell said. “Crouch’s plays are more about how people can become involved in the theatrical process.”

The two characters in the play reflect the two playwrights and their approaches. Marques Brown plays Andy and Isbell’s character is known only as Friend. And the plot is pretty simple, dealing with two old friends who haven’t seen each other in a few years.

“They reunite and they find out that each of them has gone in different directions, and neither of them could have expected what the other one is doing,” Isbell said.

But don’t be fooled by that somewhat conventional description.

“The thing that I found really interesting about it was that it’s also about two different styles of theater,” Isbell said. “Andy is a character based on a real person. He sits, literally sits, on a stool on one side of the stage. He reads all of his lines from the script — he doesn’t act them in the traditional sense. My character comes into this world and wants to have what we consider a ‘realistic’ encounter. As the play goes on, my character says several times, ‘Come join me. Come over here, be with me.’ And Andy’s character keeps saying, ‘I’m fine. I don’t want to come over there. I don’t want to get involved.’ It leads to whole lot of humor because there are these clashes between these two different kinds of theater, the kind of abstract intellectual presentational and the very emotional, active kind of wound-up theater.” 

The show, Isbell said, is funny, very poignant, and kind of sad.

“It’s like many Quark shows,” he says. “We want people to come and be entertained. We also want them to think about what they’ve seen and think about the ideas in each show that we do.”

In August, Quark came back on the scene with a remount of its 2019 production of Wakey, Wakey with Adam Remsen. That recent production, as well as this one of what happens, are on the stage at Germantown Community Theatre. But Quark’s usual home is TheatreSouth at the First Congo Church and it will stage two more shows there this season, one in January and another in April. 

Performances of what happens to the hope at the end of the evening are September 29th and 30th, October 1stand 2nd; and then the following week on October 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th. The 6 p.m. performance on October 9th is pay what you can. Tickets are available at quarktheatre.com.