How I Learned What I Learned at Le Petit through May 7
If you’ve enjoyed such plays as Fences, The Piano Lesson or Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and want to learn what went into their creation and, more broadly, what forces shaped playwright August Wilson, head to Le Petit for How I Learned What I Learned, Wilson’s memoir in monologue written and originally performed by the late playwright in 2003.
Growing up in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where many of his plays are set, Wilson battled racism, had some dicey encounters and, after dropping out of school, read voraciously at the local library. Wilson’s sharp intellect shines throughout How I Learned, along with his ballsy personality (a romance with a married woman comes ro mind) and his poetic wordsmithing that infused the scripts of his 10-play Century Cycle.
In this solo work, Lance E. Nichols commandingly holds the stage and does very little “acting” as he embodies Wilson, allowing the anecdotes and insights to speak for themselves. When called upon, however, Nichols seamlessly transforms into various neighborhood people that Wilson sprinkles throughout the script, giving each one a complete individuality.
Director Jade King Carroll paces the production well, aptly moving Nichols around the stage to avoid any sense of static optics yet never making things seem “busy”. How I Learned has been given a handsome production with autumnal lighting by Betsy Chester and projections by Anita Stewart which enhance Wilson’s words.
How I Learned What I Learned remains interesting for its entire 85 minute or so running time but does occasionally slip into philosophizing; it’s at its strongest when Wilson/Nichols simply relates incidents that reveal a twisted morality leaving audience members something to chew on after they’ve left the theater.
My favorite moment came at the very start when Wilson/Nichols wryly stated “My ancestors have been in America since the early 17th century, and for the first 244 years, we never had a problem finding a job.” After a beat he added, “But since 1863, it’s been hell.”
One can only wish that Wilson, who passed away at age 60 in 2005, had had the opportunity to create many more plays with his piercing wit, tremendous empathy, and lyrical voice.
[For tickets and more information about How I Learned What I Learned, go to https://www.lepetittheatre.com/listings/https://www.lepetittheatre.com/listings/events//august-wilson-s-how-i-learned-what.html Next up at Le Petit is the Tony Award-winning play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time about 15-year-old Christopher as he uncovers the mysterious murder of his neighbor’s dog. Details at https://www.lepetittheatre.com/listings/https://www.lepetittheatre.com/listings/events//the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in.html]
Curtain Up
With Jazzfest nearly done for another year, here are some performances that will take us from a racetrack full of entertainment to shows in theaters, museums and even a firehouse.
In 2011, The NOLA Project’s founding Artistic Director Andrew Larimer had the idea to bring Shakespeare to the New Orleans Museum of Art ’s Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. He decided to do A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the result, as I wrote in my review, was “one of the best Shakespeare productions New Orleans has seen in over twenty years.”
Now, The NOLA Project is bringing back one of the Bard’s most entrancing and most popular comedies in which nobles, Fairies and 4 young folks battle over love as an amateur troupe of actors try to put on a show. Brittany N. Williams directs a cast that includes s A.J. Allegra, James Bartelle, Natalie Boyd, Keith Claverie, Monica R. Harris, Ashley Ricord Santos, Matthew Thompson, and Alex Martinez Wallace.
Dream runs May 10-28 in the Sculpture Garden’s Oak Grove. More information can be found at https://www.nolaproject.com/midsummer
On Mother’s Day Sunday, May 14, Letters From Home touches down at the World War II Museum’s Stage Door Canteen as part of its “50 States Tour”. Featuring Erinn Dearth and Dan Beckmann and filled with singing, tap dancing, and knee-slapping jokes, Letters From Home offers a USO-inspired afternoon of theater that begins with a delicious lunch. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.nationalww2museum.org/events-programs/events/130957-letters-home
If Mom was a fan of Pose, you might want to take her Mother’s Day evening to the Saenger Theatre for Billy Porter’s Black Mona Lisa Tour: Volume One, the Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winner’s first career-spanning pop music concert tour: Backed by a full band and video installation, Porter will tell his life story through song in this 90-minute event featuring Broadway hits, a nod to Pose, and performances from his forthcoming new album, Black Mona Lisa. Tickets are available at https://www.saengernola.com/shows/billy-porter
The weekend after Mother’s Day, Intramural Theater (The Cuck, CAVE) hosts a series of six original one-act plays written, directed, and performed by local theater artists. Premiering at the Old Firehouse in the Marigny, One-Act Wonders opens on May 18, runs through May 21, and features a wide range of genres and styles, from a realist comedy to an experimental movement piece. Tickets and more info at https://intramuraltheater.ticketspice.com/oneactwonders
And on Saturday, May 20, at UNO’s Robert E. Nims Theatre, Extraordinarily Ordinary, a love story for our time, will be presented in which fragmented reflections of memory unravel a lifetime of misguided intentions. Poetry, choreography, and performance are by reese johanson. Music composed and performed by harpist Cassie Watson Francillon. Tickets available at https://www.ticketsource.us/reesejohanson
