Howard Stern had another epic appearance on David Letterman, and true to form, he bashed Jay Leno, followed by an objection to Letterman’s new found friendship with his once foe. Stern said he feels like “a Vietnam veteran that’s still in the jungle fighting [his] war and [Letterman’s] made up with Vietnam.” He also recounted his own former friendship with Letterman, which Stern single-handedly tanked when he ran his mouth on his radio show in the early days. Watch the king of all media make nice with the king of late night television.
The legendary Whoopi Goldberg visited a Dutch television program called College Tour, and I recently stumbled across a very moving moment from an audience member who expressed his gratitude for her role in Star Trek, which he revealed helped him to move beyond his autistic barriers. Watch the video below to see Whoopi’s tearful reaction.
For such a sexual song and dance, it’s ironic that Lady Gaga and R. Kelly have the sexual chemistry of mating snails. In fact, R. Kelly looked like he’d prefer not to touch Lady Gaga’s ass but thought, “Well, why not, it’s right in front of me.” Watch the very hilarious performance of ‘Do What You Want’ on Saturday Night Live.
(L-R) Gregory North, Adam J. Smith, Bradford Tatum, Robert Picardo, Jason George. Photo by Jim Cox.
For those unfamiliar with the film and television production of ’12 Angry Men,’ the legendary plot all takes place in the jury room, as each juror deliberates the fate of a young man accused of murder. While 11 of the jurors enter the room convinced of his guilt, one is not. The lone juror slowly persuades the pool to pick apart the evidence piece-by-piece, and what follows is fascinating.
Director Sheldon Epps stayed true to the original production, except for casting six black actors on the jury, including lead actor Jason George, who is known mostly for his television work (see ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Mistresses’). George’s approach to the role was less subtle and more determined than his predecessors, almost bordering on smug. It’s a near impossible task to portray subtlety on stage, especially when the lead is fighting for something with consistent conviction. I would have preferred a more understated performance, but he certainly had a steep hill to climb. As for Gregory North, he was nothing short of brilliant. He’s the antagonist to George’s character, and his unwavering insistence of the defendant’s guilt is simultaneously dogmatic and effortless.
There’s a few things of note in this production. First, it was a bold choice for Sheldon Epps to cast six black jurors, most notably Jason George as the lead. Though I applaud the monumental idea, it warrants some changes to the play that he didn’t make. For example, many of the jurors are unequivocally convinced of the young man’s guilt because of his race. Their racist stereotypes are at times boisterously expressed, a choice that seems unbelievable when surrounded by 6 other minorities. Even racists are rarely that bold about their bigotry, especially in this type of setting. If it were me, I would have kept the lines, but had one character whisper it to another, rather than yelling it in front of the others. The other option is to have the character look directly at one of the minorities when saying lines such as, “You know how those people are.” Without that change, the dialogue seems odd.
The other issue is the stage blocking and pacing. There needs to be pauses in the dialogue to build the necessary tension for which this story is known. Without that, some of the biggest reveals in the play are blurred, and the epic reaction from the audience is lost.
Despite some minor failings, this play is worth seeing. It’s a classic story that is also unfortunately timeless. The same racist ideas and sad jury failings are just as prevalent today as they were many years ago, and the story is engaging throughout.
The play runs now through December 1st. Get your tickets HERE.
It’s no secret that the judges are supremely critical of Derek Hough, who consistently steals the show yet never gets credit for it. Watch his last two performances for the show.
The Dishmaster loves nothing more than when power players poke fun at themselves, and Saturday Night Live accomplished just that with Kerry Washington as its host. Washington’s skit addressed the often maligned SNL black-woman-casting-drought in a skit that forced her to play numerous black characters back-to-back. Watch below to see her spot-on Michelle Obama and Oprah, followed by some hilarious subtitles from SNL during her time off screen.
It’s almost cartoonish how far superior Derek Hough is to the rest of the professional dancers, and that includes his choreography. In fact, I wonder if his skills are almost distracting to the performance, given that I can’t take my eyes off of him. Watch him and Amber Riley perform the Pasodoble below.
In a move The Dishmaster never saw coming, the notoriously humorless Edward Norton will be hosting Saturday Night Live on October 26th, with special guest Janelle Monae. I’m actually elated by the decision, and I think it’s an incredibly strategic career move for Norton, who I predict will do well. It’s always the serious ones who surprise you.
