The original script to my 2005 solo show, "You May Now Kiss... My Sass...?" can now be found here:
http://darrenblaney.blogspot.com/p/script-of-my-solo-show-you-may-now-kiss.html
This show was produced in conjunction with the 2005 San Francisco Fringe Festival, and was originally directed by my dear friend Nicole Schlosser. The publicity photography was by Glenna Cole-Allee.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
script and cast photo of UC Santa Cruz production of "What the Hell is Going on Here?", Spring 2003
The original script of "What the Hell is Going on Here?" can be found here:
Sunday, February 28, 2010
My first weekend living in WeHo & "The Color Purple" at The Pantages.
Those of you who know me might be surprised to hear that I now have a West Hollywood address, as this part of the world is a bit more chic than the kinds of neighborhoods in which I've lived previously, Bernal Heights in SF and Park Slope in Brooklyn aside. At any rate, Larry and I have been working our fingers to the nubbins all weekend trying to organize, unpack, and merge homes. Does one home really *need* two hammers, three toilet brushes, and 6 separate Trader Joe's packages of low-sodium roasted almonds, I ask you? The answer is "HELL NO!" but these are the kinds of questions one must face when one has limited space, is over 40, and is trying to merge homes with another man who is 46!
Well, the highlight of our weekend was definitely yesterday afternoon. Larry read a review in the L.A. Times last week and got it in his head to get us tickets to see the musical version of "The Color Purple" at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Needless to say, it was an amazing experience... as much for the fantastic crowd as for the skillful singing and dancing and strong dramatic performances of all the actors on stage. Not to mention the comedic timing of Felicia P. Fields, the actress who played the Sophia character (the one Oprah played in the film). Her delivery alone made the cost of the tickets worthwhile. The entire event was fabulous... where else in L.A. would you find a crowd that was probably 70% gorgeous dark-skinned beauties of both genders, dressed to the nines, and 15% queer women and men of every race, all laughing, applauding, and crying together under one roof??? It was an event that might have made an academic like Jill Dolan blush with glee. The play provided an opportunity for a very interesting cross section of Los Angeles to come together that you probably wouldn't find interacting with each other in many other places... Larry and I found the performance to be extremely emotionally uplifting. Fantasia was unquestionably brilliant: she channeled Whoopie Goldberg and Patti Labelle simultaneously, all the while finding her authentic voice, discovering "the beauty in myself" as the lyrics to one of the songs went. It was, in a word, awesome!!
Seeing the play made me think about what "the classics" in literature might mean to this next generation. Certainly, having a film and now this musical theater piece based off of her work must make Alice Walker take pause. Time has passed. The novel version of "The Color Purple", a phenomenal work written by a black queer feminist in the early 1980s and now read by high school and college students, will be to the next generations what "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" were to our parents and grandparents. That's my hopeful prediction. Seeing this Broadway production in L.A. made me grateful to Oprah Winfrey, Quincey Jones, and all the other producers who are making sure that the talents of the younger generation - like Fantasia - have quality material with which to work.
Well, the highlight of our weekend was definitely yesterday afternoon. Larry read a review in the L.A. Times last week and got it in his head to get us tickets to see the musical version of "The Color Purple" at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Needless to say, it was an amazing experience... as much for the fantastic crowd as for the skillful singing and dancing and strong dramatic performances of all the actors on stage. Not to mention the comedic timing of Felicia P. Fields, the actress who played the Sophia character (the one Oprah played in the film). Her delivery alone made the cost of the tickets worthwhile. The entire event was fabulous... where else in L.A. would you find a crowd that was probably 70% gorgeous dark-skinned beauties of both genders, dressed to the nines, and 15% queer women and men of every race, all laughing, applauding, and crying together under one roof??? It was an event that might have made an academic like Jill Dolan blush with glee. The play provided an opportunity for a very interesting cross section of Los Angeles to come together that you probably wouldn't find interacting with each other in many other places... Larry and I found the performance to be extremely emotionally uplifting. Fantasia was unquestionably brilliant: she channeled Whoopie Goldberg and Patti Labelle simultaneously, all the while finding her authentic voice, discovering "the beauty in myself" as the lyrics to one of the songs went. It was, in a word, awesome!!
Seeing the play made me think about what "the classics" in literature might mean to this next generation. Certainly, having a film and now this musical theater piece based off of her work must make Alice Walker take pause. Time has passed. The novel version of "The Color Purple", a phenomenal work written by a black queer feminist in the early 1980s and now read by high school and college students, will be to the next generations what "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" were to our parents and grandparents. That's my hopeful prediction. Seeing this Broadway production in L.A. made me grateful to Oprah Winfrey, Quincey Jones, and all the other producers who are making sure that the talents of the younger generation - like Fantasia - have quality material with which to work.
Friday, January 8, 2010
In defense of Tony Kushner.
My letter to the editor was published in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 2004, in response to Paul Heller's letter, published January 4, 2004.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/01/25/PKGD546DED1.DTL#ixzz0c2geQWFQ
Editor -- As bizarre as it may feel being an unknown playwright jumping to the defense of a literary titan like Tony Kushner, I can't help but respond to Paul Heller's letter of Jan. 4. First praising "Angels in America'' for its "theatricality," he elaborates his feelings by criticizing its spare writing style and complaining that some of the lines in the play "do not mean much of anything." I would like to remind Heller that even classic American writers like Tennessee Williams, or the more lyrical Eugene O'Neill, composed minimalist lines that, taken out of context, might seem trite at first glance. Perhaps I am missing Heller's point, but I can't help but wonder if he would prefer that Kushner had composed his powerful, image-laden play in Shakespearean iambic pentameter?
While Heller may be correct in suggesting that it's too early to know whether Kushner's body of work will stand the test of time, his critique ignores the overarching theme and scope of the play. Heller's accusation that the text of "Angels in America" "lack(s) substance" is ludicrous at best. From my perspective, with "Angels," Kushner conjured a startling world-view that transcended any of its poetic and theatrically charged two-person scenes. By juxtaposing and intertwining the lives of victims of the AIDS crisis with those of a dysfunctional Mormon family and a corrupt politician, Kushner offered a foreboding political vision of America whose message reverberated clearly through the chaotic din of the latter 20th century. "Angels" is a celebration of the human capacity for compassion, a slap in the face of barbarous American capitalism, and an admonishing plea for the spiritually vigilant.
In our current era, in which continuous destabilization brought on by shameless avarice seems to be norm thanks to our misguided leaders, this message rings truer than ever. In my opinion, the suggestion that Kushner should abase his work in light of "industry needs" (such as the promotion of Hollywood stars or the solicitation of new HBO subscribers) should be offensive to anyone possessing the remotest artistic sensibility.
Heller is asking too much from the dramatic genre. Stating that some lines of the play sound "portentous but lacking," it's almost as if he's looking for a prediction of the future. Maybe he'd be happier searching the texts of Nostradamus than those of our beloved literary shaman, Tony Kushner.
Darren P. Blaney, Aptos
While Heller may be correct in suggesting that it's too early to know whether Kushner's body of work will stand the test of time, his critique ignores the overarching theme and scope of the play. Heller's accusation that the text of "Angels in America" "lack(s) substance" is ludicrous at best. From my perspective, with "Angels," Kushner conjured a startling world-view that transcended any of its poetic and theatrically charged two-person scenes. By juxtaposing and intertwining the lives of victims of the AIDS crisis with those of a dysfunctional Mormon family and a corrupt politician, Kushner offered a foreboding political vision of America whose message reverberated clearly through the chaotic din of the latter 20th century. "Angels" is a celebration of the human capacity for compassion, a slap in the face of barbarous American capitalism, and an admonishing plea for the spiritually vigilant.
In our current era, in which continuous destabilization brought on by shameless avarice seems to be norm thanks to our misguided leaders, this message rings truer than ever. In my opinion, the suggestion that Kushner should abase his work in light of "industry needs" (such as the promotion of Hollywood stars or the solicitation of new HBO subscribers) should be offensive to anyone possessing the remotest artistic sensibility.
Heller is asking too much from the dramatic genre. Stating that some lines of the play sound "portentous but lacking," it's almost as if he's looking for a prediction of the future. Maybe he'd be happier searching the texts of Nostradamus than those of our beloved literary shaman, Tony Kushner.
Darren P. Blaney, Aptos
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/01/25/PKGD546DED1.DTL#ixzz0c2geQWFQ
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