Dianne Wiest Is Celebrating Beckett's Happy Days

Dianne Wiest

By Darlene Donloe

Samuel Beckett’s classic Happy Days is currently playing at the Mark Taper Forum.

What’s being called Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece, Happy Days stars Dianne Wiest, who plays Winnie and Michael Rudko who plays her out of touch husband, Willie. For most of the story, he’s out of sight. Even though she begs him to communicate with her, Willie instead reads his newspaper or hides away in a hole burrowed into the sand. At one point she asks, “Was I lovable, once, Willie? Was I ever lovable?”

When the play opens Winnie is standing up to her waist in sand. There is a big, black purse near her with makeup, a toothbrush, a music box and more.

As she stands there underneath a blazing sun, Winnie tries her best to stay positive about her circumstances. It’s never revealed just how and why she ended up waist deep in sand, nor why her husband is so distant – in more ways than one. It’s as if the earth was swallowing her whole. Is it because she’s been overcome by life, fear?

Beckett said of this play, “Here all is strange.” 

No truer words were ever spoken. Full disclosure. I was lost for much of the play. It took me forever to figure out what was happening and even after I thought I had a handle on it – I realized I didn’t.

That’s because although Wiest moves very little, there is still a lot going on. Essentially she is performing a monologue about her life – and all the while making light of her precarious situation.

In act one when Winnie is up to her waist in the sand, she moves her upper body quite a bit to reach for her purse, brush her teeth, hold an umbrella, put on her makeup and honor the sun.

When act two opens, Winnie is now up to her neck in sand. What happened?   Why is she now unable to move any part of her body?  None of it is revealed. It’s not wrapped in a pretty little bow. Beckett wants you to figure out some things for yourself.

Michael Rudko

The show, which opened in 1961 at New York City’s Cherry Lane Theatre has been called absurdly funny. I must have missed something. It was interesting, thought-provoking and occasionally humorous – but there was no side-splitting humor. A friend told me it was white people humor.  Hmmmm.  I don’t necessarily buy that. I’m pretty sophisticated, but I must admit I didn’t understand why the audience laughed in certain places.

While she tried her best to see the bright side of her situation, I found Winnie to be a sad character.

That being said, Wiest is a beast. She is incredible. Her tone, inflections, presentation, and articulation make it all look easy as she quite deftly takes us from one story to the next. That being said, I don’t ever have to hear the name Willie spoken ever again.  (once you see the play, you’ll understand) What an amazing performance by Wiest and Rudko.

In the end, I’m still not quite sure what I witnessed, but I’d do it again just to watch Dianne Wiest work her magic!

Happy Days is written by Samuel Beckett, directed by James Bundy and stars Wiest and Rudko. 

(Foreground) Michael Rudko and Dianne Wiest

The design team includes scenic designer Izmir Ickbal, costume designer Alexae Visel, lighting designer Stephen Strawbridge, and sound designer Kate Marvin. Catherine Sheehy and Nahuel Telleria serve as dramaturgs and the production stage manager is Kelly Montgomery.

Happy Days, Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., LA; 8 p.m., Tues.-Fri.; 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sun.; through June 30, 2019. No Monday performances. No performance on June 30. No 1 p.m. performance on Sun., June 2 and June 23. No 8 p.m. performance on June 8. No 2:30 p.m. performance on Sat., June 15; $32-$115; www.CenterTheatreGroup.org; 213 628 2772.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah) and E (excellent), Happy Days gets an O (oh, yeah).

F. Gary Gray Gets Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame

F. Gary Gray

Director F. GARY GRAY received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Grossing more at the box office than any other African American director, his films include Friday, Set it Off, Fast 8, and the upcoming Men In Black: International! Please see below for some photos from today’s festivities. Men In Black International opens in theaters on June 14, 2019. 

Jamie Foxx, F. Gary Gray and Vin Diesel

Ice Cube and F. Gary Gray

LAWTF Presents 'Defining Moments' June 23

  

Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) presents its annual programming in Culver City for a unique performance on Sunday, June 23, 2019, at 7 p.m. at the Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232. The evening takes an intimate look in the personal lives of women in stories written and performed by them.

   Anna Maria Horsford with host the evening of entertainment. Her busy career has spanned motion pictures (Minority Report, How High, One Fine Day), television (Method and Red, The Wayans Bros., Emmy® nominated for The Bold and the Beautiful) and stage (Dancing on Moonlight, A Black Quartet, The Perfect Party). She is also a director and producer.

    Ted Lange is the co-host. Beloved for his 250 episodes of The Love Boat, he is a veteran of Broadway (Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death, Hair), off-Broadway (King Lear), L.A. theatre (National Pastime), and motion pictures (Othello, Prophet Nat). He is a playwright (George Washington’s Boy, Lemon Meringue Façade, Behind The Mask: An Evening with Paul Lawrence Dunbar). He is also a director and producer.

    Four women writer-performers will perform their stories, excerpted from larger pieces.

    Karen. A. Clark in The Women. In this encore excerpt and through music, poetry, and storytelling, Ms. Clark reflects on the women in her family, particularly her mother, who provided a “wow” factor.

    Barbara Cole in Surviving Chrysalis. One woman reconciles aging in her journey toward self-actualization in this funny excerpt.

    Bellina Logan in Confessions of a Mulatto Child. This excerpted piece chronicles a bi-racial child’s life with her acerbic English actor/mother and the deep bond they forged.

    Amy Milano in Dancing with Crazies. In this excerpt from her life experiences, one woman searches for a place to call home after being uprooted from place to place as a child.

Adilah Barnes is executive producer and co-founder. This performance is made possible in part by a Culver City Performing Arts Grant with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Tickets for the performance are $25 in advance, $30 at the door.

Reservations: (818) 760-0408. Online reservations are available at http://www.lawtf.org

Jay Leno and Friends Return To Geffen Playhouse

ONE-NIGHT ONLY FUNDRAISER WILL BENEFIT NO LIMITS AND

GEFFEN’S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR JUNE 24

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 23, 2019) – Jay Leno is returning to the Geffen Playhouse for a special one-night-only fundraiser to benefit No Limits for deaf children, a nationwide non-profit organization that teaches children with hearing loss the skills to succeed in school and in life through its national theater program and after school centers, as well as Geffen’s education and community engagement programs. This marks the thirdtime A Special Evening with Jay Leno and Friends has taken place at Geffen Playhouse.

A Special Evening with Jay Leno and Friends will take place Monday, June 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse. Kathy Buckley, “America’s First Hearing Impaired Comedienne,” will host the evening of comedy.
 
Jay Leno, television late-night show host, stand-up comedian, best-selling children’s book author, voice-over artist and philanthropist, began his career in night clubs before earning widespread acclaim with his own late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1992. By then, he had made a name for himself as a well-respected comedian due to his late-night television appearances: he made a record number of visits to Late Night with David Letterman and served as Johnny Carson’s permanent guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, eventually inheriting Carson’s seat when he retired. Leno’s final show as the host of The Tonight Show in 2014 featured Billy Crystal and musical guest Garth Brooks, along with a few surprise guests including Jack Black, Kim Kardashian, Jim Parsons, Sheryl Crow, Chris Paul, Carol Burnett and Oprah Winfrey.

Leno’s CNBC series Jay Leno’s Garage debuted in October 2015 and delivered CNBC’s most-watched first season in network history. Now in its fifth season, the show explores the world of cars and the real stories of the people behind the wheel.

Leno is committed to using his talents to help those less fortunate. Each year, he hosts numerous benefit performances, including shows for those whose lives were devastated by the 9/11 tragedy, the tsunami in Thailand, hurricanes in the gulf, and the severe economic downturn in Detroit. He leads the annual Love Ride in California to benefit numerous humanitarian organizations serving people with autism, muscular dystrophy, and the Special Olympics, among many others. He has also served as honorary campaign chairman for several years for the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Hollywood’s charitable arm, and he has assisted the Gender Apartheid campaign led by his wife Mavis with the Feminist Majority, helping to free Afghan women of Taliban tyranny, an effort for which Mavis and The Feminist Majority were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Kathy Buckley, Board Member and Spokesperson of No Limits, is a five-time American Comedy Award Nominee for Best Stand-Up Female Comedienne, and the winner of countless other awards for her work. Her television appearances include The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Inside Edition, CNN, HBO, VH1’s Stand-Up Spotlight, Comic Strip Live, Evening at the Improv and Caroline’s Comedy Hour. E! Entertainment named her one of the “World’s Most Intriguing Women.” In addition to comedy, Buckley starred in her own original award-winning PBS special, No Labels, No Limits.

Whether performing in a comedy club, appearing on television, speaking publicly, teaching at camps for children, or appearing in any number of other settings, Buckley bears her message that anything can be achieved when the heart and the mind work together. An active volunteer for No Limits, she dedicates every day of her life to the children and families of No Limits as its spokesperson and has raised more than $1,000,000 over the past 20 years. She is passionate about ensuring all deaf children have the ability to communicate and has dedicated herself to raising awareness for the children and families of No Limits. She has performed alongside No Limits children in theatrical productions nationwide, including sold-out performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall, sharing the message that anything is possible for deaf children.

A SPECIAL EVENING WITH JAY LENO AND FRIENDS
Monday, June 24, 2019
7:30 p.m. Curtain

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are currently priced at $95.00 - $200.00 Available now in person at the Geffen Playhouse box office, by phone at 310.208.5454 or online at http://www.geffenplayhouse.org. Fees may apply.

LOCATIONGil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Filming Is Underway on WB Pictures' 'Tenet'

          Filming has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ Tenet, being directed by Christopher Nolan. 

          Tenet, which is being filmed on location across seven countries, is an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage.

Nolan is directing from his own original screenplay, utilizing a mixture of IMAX^® and 70mm film to bring the story to the screen. 

            The international ensemble cast is led by John David Washington and also stars Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, with Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh. 

            The film is being produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas.  Thomas Hayslip is serving as executive producer.

            Nolan’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Jennifer Lame, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, and visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson.  The score is being composed by Ludwig Göransson.

            Warner Bros. Pictures is distributing Tenet worldwide and has slated the film for a July 17, 2020 release. 

Geffen Playhouse Raises Funds For Initiatives

Harry Belafonte

LOS ANGELES (May 20, 2019) – Geffen Playhouse raised more than $1.3 million for the theater’s education, community engagement and artistic initiatives at its 17^th annual Backstage at the Geffen fundraiser held May 19, it was announced today. Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon franchise, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls) presented the Artistic Impact Award for Harry Belafonte, which was accepted by daughter Gina Belafonte on his behalf, and Jane Fonda (Grace & Frankie, Book Club, 9 to 5) presented the Distinction in Theater Award to Lily Tomlin.

Lily Tomlin

The evening of unscripted, unannounced performers and storytellers was hosted by Julia Sweeney and featured personal behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Ben Affleck (Argo, Good Will Hunting); Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award winner Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes); Rosemarie DeWitt (La La Land, Mad Men); Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Matt Shakman and musician Chris Stills; as well as musical performances by actor and singer/songwriter Matt Doyle; Tony Award and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Holliday; Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Stephen Stills; a performance by lauded spoken word/hip-hop artist Marnino Toussaint; and a special dance choreographed exclusively for Backstage at the Geffen by Emmy Award winner Mia Michaels and renowned dancer Desmond Richardson, also directed by Michaels and performed by Desmond.

Backstage at the Geffen recognizes the accomplishments of leaders in the artistic community, supports the theater’s mission to produce original, quality work and raises funds for its award-winning education and community engagement programs, which bring live theater to more than 15,000 underserved youth, seniors and veterans annually.

City National Bank served as Title Sponsor for its 10^th consecutive year. Presenting Sponsors included Audi of America returning for its 14^th year, and K Period Media returning for its third year.

Serving as Honorary Co-Chairs were Sidney Poitier, Quincy Jones, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Mellody Hobson, George Lucas, and Bette Midler. Event Co-Chairs included Adi Greenberg, Loretta Everett Kaufman, and Linda Bernstein Rubin.

Backstage at the Geffen was produced by Kevin Bright, Gil Cates Jr., and Matt Shakman.

A post-show reception featured spirits and cocktails sponsored by Sipsmith London and Effen Vodka.

Angel Has Fallen Set To Hit Theaters August 23

Lionsgate has just released their newest trailer for their action-thriller centered around the secret service. The film, set for release August 23, stars Morgan Freeman, Lance Riddick, Jada Pinket-Smith, and Gerad Butler. Please see below for links to the trailer and teaser poster. Feel free to share on your site and send any links to me!

Synopsis: Secret Service Agent Mike Banning is framed for the attempted assassination of the President and must evade his own agency and the FBI as he tries to uncover the real threat.