Stand-up guy David Alan Grier talks acting, comedy
Corey Manning
What would you expect to be the first thing to come out of the mouth of “In Living Color” alum and stand-up comedian David Alan Grier in a phone interview? How’s this for a man in tune with his audience-to-be: “Did you watch the Red Sox game last night?”
Grier spoke to the Banner before making his long awaited return to the Comedy Connection at Faneuil Hall for a pair of dates last weekend (and before the Red Sox wrapped up the Rockies in four). The talk was kind of rocky at first because of a bad reception on his end. But Grier was quick on his feet — while most people would tilt their heads or step out of their cars, he moved the whole car, driving around until he found both a clear signal and a safe place to park.
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Morrison’s ‘Bluest Eye’ has dazzling Hub stage debut
Dan Devine
“The Bluest Eye,” Toni Morrison’s landmark 1970 novel, is a hard story. Its sharp emotional resonance makes it difficult to read, difficult to feel, difficult to let inside your head and your heart. But playwright Lydia Diamond’s theatrical adaptation of the book, and local theater group Company One’s fantastic production of it, not only do the legendary author’s work justice — they give it new life.
Set amid racial turmoil in Morrison’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, in 1941, it is the story of Pecola (Adobuere J. Ebiama), an ugly young black girl born to ugly black parents Cholly and Pauline Breedlove (Christopher Long and Talaya Freeman) in an ugly, fractured black marriage marred by drunkenness, violence and the hateful perversion of what once was love.
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A Taste of Film backs Hub minority filmmaking efforts
Bridgit Brown
Don’t get Tracie Heather Strain started about the difficulties in raising money to produce independent films.
Strain talked about her experience with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) during last month’s A Taste of Film fundraiser at the Roxbury Center for the Arts. Strain was able to finish her film, entitled “Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project,” but the process was not without its moments. Full story
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