The 17th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Let Freedom Ring Celebration, presented by Georgetown University in collaboration with The Kennedy Center, began with an accusation of inequity. Over an original gospel-inspired song entitled “American Dream/American Myth,” Messiah Ramkissaan performed a piece of spoken word poetry about the legacy and practical failure of the Fair Housing…
Ghosts come alive at the start of Arena Stage’s production of Indecent, the dust rising from the actors’ heavy overcoats in poetic plumes. Lemml (Ben Cherry, bearded and earnest) serves as our narrator, introducing the audience to the ashen bodies that drift to center stage as he sets the scene. In those first few minutes,…
In this episode, Leisure writers Dajour Evans, Katie Randolph, Amy Guay, and Caitlin Mannering discuss the film A Star Is Born. They talk Oscar prospects, hot takes, and Georgetown alum Bradley Cooper. Image Credits: imdb
Beneath layers of starched pleats and prim petticoats, the trio of well-stationed women who animate the ornate corridors of director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest have claws. But this is no mere cat fight: the ladies of Queen Anne’s England are obliged to stay sharp in the scheming context that Lanthimos constructs, a well-bred past wherein the…
Brooklyn-based band Lake Street Dive will bring their soulful blend of jazzy pop to The Anthem on Friday, Nov. 9. With a retro energy that translates into irresistible concerts, the foursome (plus keyboardist Akie Bermiss) merge rock and folk with exuberant performances suited for their playful take on genre-hopping. Free Yourself Up, the band’s second…
In this episode of Taste Test, Devon O’Dwyer, Claire Goldberg, Caitlin Mannering, and Amy Guay taste and rank an assortment of Trader Joe’s fall items. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Four months out from playing a genre defying set at Tennessee’s Bonnaroo (where she was the only lead performer with a Latin radio hit), Colombian-American singer-songwriter Kali Uchis will return to the 9:30 Club with her unique blend of R&B, funk, reggaetón, and West Coast soul. Known for her versatility, Uchis earned acclaim long before…
Late into the final act of A Star Is Born, a character observes, “There’s only 12 notes, and the octave repeats. All an artist can do is offer the world how he sees those 12 notes.” That’s exactly what Bradley Cooper does in his directorial debut—the third remake of the 1937 film following the arcs…
There is a scene in Sorry to Bother You — the much hyped debut film from multihyphenate screenwriter-director Boots Riley — wherein our protagonist Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) is obliged to perform for wealthy, coked out partygoers. At first, expectations deflate around Cash’s lame attempt at freestyling until he begins half-rapping, half-shouting the n-word over…
All conscious Broadway lovers can agree that the 2015-2016 season belonged to a scrappy little show called Hamilton. At the 2016 Tony Awards, musicals with the unfortunate luck of debuting the same year as the genre-smashing juggernaut had to either put their best Cynthia Erivo forward or sit back empty-handed and watch history happen. Waitress,…