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Bronzeville: Culture Clash in War-time Los Angeles

CeCelia Antoinette, as Mama Janie, and Dana Lee, as Nahoma Tahara, in Bronzeville.

So, while we were in Los Angeles this summer, we saw the play Bronzeville with Danny Glover.

And by ‘with Danny Glover’ you don’t mean to say he was in the play.

No, I mean he was sitting next to us watching the play.

Ho-hum, just another day in the glamorous life of a blogging dog.

We should mention that Mr. Glover is a co-founder and longtime sponsor of the Robey Theater, which staged the production, and it was a bit of a coincidence that he sat next to us.

Sherry got a little schmoozy with ol’ Danny, huh?

Hmph! We had a very nice chat. He was so warm and funny–he treated everyone who came up to him like they were dearest friends.

Yeah, it was a real privilege to meet him.

Needless to say, you guys are hoping he does one of your scripts.

Needless to say.

Shall we talk about the play?

I’m for that. Bronzeville was written by Tim Toyama and Aaron Woolfolk, who were brought together by director and Robey co-founder Ben Guillory to realize Toyama’s idea for a play set in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo during World War II. According to the  Robey website, Toyama felt he needed to partner with an African American writer to bring authenticity to the story of a  black family from Mississippi who moves into the abandoned house of a Japanese family that has been evacuated to a concentration camp.

The collaboration really worked, because one of the strengths of the play is the rich portrayal of the two families and their contrasting cultures.

Right. The play has color and nuance that couldn’t be picked up just by reading a history book.  The story was inspired by incidents that occurred from 1942 to 1945, when Japanese-Americans were evacuated from communities throughout the West Coast, supposedly because they were suspected of loyalty to the Emperor.

That image looks like something from the Jim Crow South, but the anti-Japanese feeling in the country was deep and pervasive.

Even Dr. Suess got in on the act:

He deeply regretted this cartoon later, but it illustrates how racist attitudes aren’t necessarily limited to the stereotypical bigot.

Most Americans have some knowledge of this shameful period in our history, but what few think about is what happened to the houses,  businesses, and neighborhoods the Japanese evacuees left behind. In the case of Little Tokyo, they were rented out by whites to black families who had migrated west to find work in factories during the war effort. Once blacks had repopulated the area, they semi-officially renamed the community ‘Bronzeville.’

The way the old-timers describe it, it was like a little piece of Harlem, right there on the west coast, complete with jazz and blues clubs.

The play opens with young Hide, or Henry, Tahara, whose father was taken away weeks before as a spy. He tells a friend he won’t be joining him on the bus to Manzanar.

It seems Henry has been reading a little thing called the U.S. Constitution, and he refuses to bow to the injustice of forced removal. The friend, who is sifting through the remaining inventory of his camera store, can’t talk Henry out of his rash move, but he consoles himself by giving Henry one of his best cameras for safe keeping.

With a nice use of historic slides and audio, we transition to the Goodwin family–Jodie and Alice, their daughter “Princess,” Jodie’s brother Felix, and his mother Mama Janie. Just off the truck from Mississippi, they can’t believe their good fortune at finding a fully furnished, two-bedroom house.

Although they are a bit bemused by some of the furnishings–silk wall hangings, paper lamps, and what we later learn is a Shinto shrine to Henry’s deceased mother.

Aw, you gave it away. Their biggest surprise comes when Henry, almost starved after two months of hiding in the house, comes tumbling down the stairs.

The moral dilemma is whether to help Henry by allowing him to stay in what is really his house, or to protect the family by turning him in to the law.

Jodie, as the “man” of the house, wants to turn Henry in, but Mama Janie, who was born into slavery, reminds Jodie of the family history. She tells the story of an uncle who escaped slavery, only to be turned in by a law-abiding citizen so, in the end, he could be lynched.

Jodie acquiesces to his mother’s wishes, of course, and he gets one of the best laughs of the play when he complains that he can never win an argument with his mother because she always trumps him with some story bout slavery.

Yeah, there’s actually a lot of humor in the play, considering the heavy subject matter. The cast is as good with the comic moments as they are with the dramatic ones.

Another point of contention is the traditional shrine, mentioned earlier, to Henry’s mother. It’s quite prominent in the living room, and it doesn’t sit too well with the very Christian Mama Janie, or her daughter-in-law, Alice. Mama Janie gets a little freaked-out, too, when Henry performs one of his father’s favorite prayers to help the garden grow. But these apparent differences also highlight the similarities between the two families–the love of gardening, the respect for elders, and the deep religious feeling.

Henry becomes a part of the family, even contributing to the household when Felix gets him a job as photographer at the jazz club where he plays. But this causes problems, too.

Iman Milner & Jeff Manabat.

Princess becomes a little too close with Henry for Jodie’s comfort, and when she, Henry, and Felix get mixed up in a big fight at the club, Jodie does what he wanted to do from the beginning–he turns Henry in.

Ultimately, Henry can only avoid the concentration camp–and show his loyalty to America–by volunteering for one of the Japanese war units, many of which, like Henry’s, saw action in Italy.

The play builds to the tragedy we feared from the beginning–Henry’s death. But the really heart-rending moment comes when, after the war is over, Henry’s father returns to reclaim his home.

No blacks were allowed to buy the houses they moved into during the war, so once the Japanese were released from the camps, the blacks were evicted. This is when many African-Americans in Southern California moved to Compton and Watts.

The Goodwins are packing as fast as they can to avoid any confrontation with Mr. Tahara, but when he arrives–bent and shuffling like a man older than his years–instead of anger, he comes with gratitude for all the kindnesses the Goodwins showed his son, which Henry had written to him about.

The guilt the Goodwins feel over the betrayal is as unbearable as the sadness Mr. Tahara feels over the death of his son. As good as the rest of the cast is, when Dana Lee comes in for that final scene, he steals the show.

And that’s saying something, because CeCelia Antoinette as Mama Janie, Jeff Manabat as Henry, and all the rest of the cast are excellent. But when Dana Lee breaks down and cries, “I just want my boy back!” that was the moment for me.

May I add my two cents?

Please.

You know, generally, I prefer movies to the stage, but this performance showed me that a movie is no match for a really good stage production. When Henry’s father turns his back to the audience and prays–chanting and clapping his hands for all he has lost and gained–though his prayer is unintelligible to us,  we in the audience really feel it because, in being there, we are eye witnesses in a way we can’t be watching a movie.

And we’re with the Goodwins as, one by one, they join in–even the guilt-ridden Jodie–clapping and rubbing their hands in unison with Mr. Tahara.

Metaphorically, we can never see things the same again.  Just as the actors have tuned their backs on the audience, we too must turn our backs on the old way of seeing things.

Well said!

Unfortunately, Bronzeville’s run at the Robey has come to an end, and I don’t know of anywhere else in the country that it might be booked. So, yeah, you’ve read this long review, and now you can’t even see the play. But we were so moved by the performance, and so taken by the history it reveals, that we wanted to share it. We hope other theater companies will pick it up, because it is a story that needs to be told, and a story that any person with a heart will want to see.

Karen Black, Icon of the ’70s, Will Be Missed

We lost actress Karen Black yesterday, who died at age 74 after a long struggle with cancer. Although for today’s audience she may stir only vague recognition as a character actor, she was a defining figure of 1970s Hollywood, with key roles in such important films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Nashville, and Alfred Hitchcock’s last picture, The Family Plot . Although she worked with the biggest names in Hollywood and appeared in everything from prestigious failures like The Great Gatsby to commercial blockbusters like Airport 1975, ask anybody my age what they remember her most for, and you will likely hear of a little made-for-TV thriller called Trilogy of Terror. Written by sci-fi master and Twilight Zone alum Richard Matheson, Trilogy featured Black in four roles in three separate tales. The first two segments are little remembered, but the third, which had Black trapped in her apartment with a toothy African doll animated with the murderous spirit of a dead Zuni warrior, was the talk of the school cafeteria the next day. It was such unusual, and genuinely frightening, fare for TV of those days that I can still play back in my head the image of that little, knife-wielding warrior jumping out from under the sofa. It was ludicrous, of course, but Karen Black’s terrified responses to a little puppet on a stick sold it. RIP.

Land of the Lost

There’s nothing funny about a lost pet…

But these flyers are worth a chuckle…

 

Must Love Dogs; Hating ‘Avatar’ Optional

Okay, so we’re pretty sure we saw James Cameron the other day, walking his dog on Beverly Drive.

It was amazing. The little fur-ball saved his life.

What are you talking about? All the dog did was walk along beside him on a leash.

Which I assume is why you didn’t run Cameron down with the car. You couldn’t risk hitting the dog.

Oh, come on, I don’t have anything against James Cameron. In fact, I’m working on a sci-fi script that would be perfect for him. It’s about a little Javanese boy who dives for pearls for a native fisherman who is being exploited by an international mining corporation. The boy once saved a dolphin he found stuck in a tuna net, and one day, when the boy is overcome by oil spewed from from a leaking offshore drilling rig, that very dolphin rescues him and takes him to the only place on Earth with the advanced medical knowledge to revive his lifeless body–the dolphin city under the sea!

Oh, man…

I should mention that the dolphin city is sustained by nutrients that flow into the sea from a river that has its source in the Javanese rain forest–which is being clear-cut by the very same corporation!

Wait, I thought it was a mining company.

Actually, they’re a pearl-mining, lumber-cutting, tuna-fishing, non-sustainable energy conglomerate.

I really hate what Hollywood is doing to you.

Look, making movies is tough, and everybody I’ve ever met out here gives it their all. I’m not into knocking anybody.

Titanic…

A movie with some terrific sequences. When the water starts overwhelming the ship–

The ‘Star of the Sea’…

And James Cameron really has his finger on the pulse of the movie going–

‘Unobtainium’…

All right! I hate Avatar and Titanic with the heat of a thousand Pandoran suns! They are fatuous, over-blown, effects-laden, monuments to lowest-common-denominator filmmaking.

But with some effective sequences and cutting-edge special effects.

But with some effective sequences and cutting-edge special effects. In any case, they are undoubtedly the two most overrated films in history.

Are we forgetting Shawshank Redemption is the highest-rated movie on IMDB?

That’s a rant for another day. And while we’re on it, Terminator II was no great shakes either.

The Abyss had some really intense sequences–and then the goofy aliens showed up.

Yet another two-and-a-half hours of my life I’ll never get back. But come on, James Cameron is clearly a very talented guy who supports some noble causes. And he obviously loves his dog.

And Jerry Lewis says…

So did Hitler!

That’s a nice shot. It has a real Nazis-next-door quality.

It’s amazing how many photos of Hitler and his dog are available online.

Which should tell you something about dogs.

Oh, like you wouldn’t suck up to anybody with a can of tuna. And not even dolphin-safe tuna!

Tab Hunter sucks up to no man. I would take the tuna, though. And the dolphins are on their own.

See? There’s a cat for you!

Oh, go eat a dog biscuit.

Oh, yeah? Well, I–uh–you know, a dog biscuit would be good right about now.

Stupid dog.

Actually, I think Tab has a point–

No! Tab never has a point!

I won’t go so far as to say that dogs always see the good in us, but they do see the human in us, and I think anyone who can relate to a dog must have some semblance of humanity in them, no matter how inhuman, or inhumane, they may be otherwise.

But who wouldn’t like a dog?

Ahem…

Hate to burst your bubble, buddy, but try Googling ‘I hate dogs.’

What?! They’ve even got a Facebook page!

And a logo:

Oh, that’s heart-breaking.

Well, consider the source. Here’s a sample post: “Its just a page i love animals ess Dogs i hv just created it for likes and nothing else dont get centi  :-p  Love Gods Creation  🙂 “

Oh, so even more so than dogs, they hate good grammar.

Interestingly, in two totally unscientific surveys on amplicate.com, 27% of respondents say they hate dogs, compared to 35% who say they hate James Cameron.

Come on! It can’t be that close!

I wouldn’t put much stock in either one of those numbers.

May I put in my two cents?

Hi Sherry–please do.

I know plenty of people who like Avatar, and plenty who hate Avatar, and they’re all perfectly lovely, but I don’t trust anybody who doesn’t like cats or dogs.

Amen.

And by the way, I’m not so sure that was James Cameron.

Really? You didn’t think he had that smug, king-of-the-world look about him?

Allowing for the fact that it was Beverly Hills, all I saw was a perfectly nice-looking man out for a morning walk with his dog.

You know, now that I think of it–James Cameron or not–that’s what I saw, too.

Television Academy to Zombies: “Drop Dead.”

What’s a zombie got to do to get a little love from the folks who dole out the Emmy nominations?

Apparently, affect a lubricious Southern accent and talk directly to the camera, if House of Cards is any indication.

Yeah–hey, wait a minute. did you just say ‘lubricious’?

No.

You did. You said ‘lubricious.’

Did I? We must have our lines mixed up.

Arf!

Oh, har-de-har.

Anyway, for the 10th year in a row, The Walking Dead has been snubbed by the Emmys, and the people are outraged.

10th year? The show’s only been on three seasons.

Really? What am I thinking of?

Susan Lucci, maybe?

Gaaah! Just hearing that name gives me the willies!

While the show tends to clean up in the technical categories, like make-up and sound, it has yet to receive a single nomination for writing, acting, or best dramatic series.

Which, to me–and I’m really no fan of the zombie genre–is ridiculous. If shows like American Horror Story and Game of Thrones can rack up the nominations–and even claim some prestigious wins–why not Walking Dead?

Of course, the first season of American Horror Story was pretty awesome.

Sure, but what the heck was going on this season? It seemed like Shutter Island and The X Files put in a blender with Nunsense. I couldn’t stay with it.

But Jessica Lange is fantastic.

Sure, so is James Cromwell. Look, I don’t mean to take anything away from anybody who was nominated, but The Walking Dead is consistently brilliant in my book and deserving of recognition. The first season, I grant you, was shaky, but seasons two and three have been at a level few other shows ever attain. The acting, for one thing, is not only great, sometimes it is downright heroic.

   Yeah, I’d like to see Kevin Spacey make his little speeches to the camera while covered in zombie guts.

Not only that, but Andrew Lincoln does a more realistic Georgia accent!

I wonder if KS is really going for realistic, though. I mean, the character is half Richard III and half Foghorn Leghorn.

We should probably mention here that we love Kevin Spacey and think he’s great in House of Cards.

We do!

Again, it’s not about knocking anybody else.

No, that’s just our way to be a little–

Meow!

Stop that! I was going to say ‘snarky.’

Back to Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick. I was so convinced he was the real southern deal that I almost fainted the first time I heard him interviewed and out came the British accent. So points for that. Plus look what the character has been through: Losing his family, then finding them, then losing his wife, then going crazy, being the hero for so long only to become an object of contempt for his son–

And don’t forget, he had to kill his best friend–twice!

It has been a truly epic portrayal, but then, so has virtually every performance in the series, from Stephen Yeun, as Glen, to Sarah Wayne Callies, as Lori, to David Morrissey, as The Governor. And Norman Reedus, and Michael Rooker, and Laurie Holden–I could go on and on. The changes these characters go through beat anything we’ve seen on virtually any other show.

And don’t forget Chandler Riggs, as Carl.

Oh, my God! That kid deserves a special Emmy for Outstanding Portrayal of a Kid in the Apocalypse.

Of course, you have to give a lot of the credit to the writers.

And how. Critics love to talk about how David Chase and James Gandolfini (God rest) made a sociopathic mobster into a sympathetic character in The Sopranos, but in the justly famous ‘barn full o’ zombies’ episode from season 2, they make you feel sorry for the zombies!

Hey, I can top that. When Michonne ran you-know-who through the head with her sword, they made me feel sorry for the Governor!

And the moral debates–first Shane and Dale and Rick, and then Hershel and Merle and Rick–come on! No doubt, it’s a great show.

So what’s your theory on why it’s never gotten any nominations?

Well, it is about zombies.

Yeah, there is that.

Honestly, the show puts a little too much emphasis on the many different ways a zombie’s head can be pureed like a tomato.

Sometimes I have to cover my eyes with my wittle paws.

The zombies are the weakest link for me. It’s the characters that make the show, and too often when the zombies pop up it’s just–yawn. You get the sense even the creators are tired of them, the way the characters dispatch them so easily now.

Didn’t Glen take one out with his baseball cap?

And I think the Governor waylaid that one group by using his eye-patch as a slingshot.

Maybe the show would do better if the zombies dressed in narrow suits and swizzled scotch.

Yeah, and talked about how floor wax makes you pine for lost youth.

Mad Zombies!

“Good morning, Sterling, Cooper, Draper–Oh, my God! It’s Pryce! He’s ba-a-a-ck! Aaarrgghh!

Say goodnight, zombie.

Good night, zombie.

INFERNO-2033!

Nice teaser, huh? Mike & Sherry’s latest film project is entitled–can you guess? Inferno-2033. It’s a sci-fi adventure set on a super-massive prison ship in the not-to-distant future. The story involves government conspiracies, nuclear war, steel cage death matches, an intrepid hero, a beautiful political prisoner, a daring escape, and–well, just watch the trailer:

 

For more information, you can go to the Inferno-2033 website. Be sure and click on “About Us” to see bios for Mike & Sherry and our buddy, producer Allan Walsh. As you can see, the project is in development. We’re starting off with a CGI web series, which will ultimately become a feature film. The target date for our Kickstarter campaign is August 15. Let us know what you think!

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