Author Archive
Past, Present, Theater
On Stage involves local students in a closer look at Nina Simone”™s work around racialized violence By JESSIE MERRIAM Don't tell meI tell youMe and my people just about due I”™ve been there so I knowThey keep on saying “Go slow!” But that”™s just the trouble ---Nina Simone “Mississippi Goddam” 1963 On Stage's flyer for Nina Simone: Four Women virtual discussions “When we listen to Simone sing ”˜Mississippi Goddam”™--it could”™ve been written yesterday. Somebody needs to write a ”˜Minnesota Goddam”™ right now,” Twin Cities actress Thomasina Petrus declared to the group, gathered on the morning of April 1 to explore the play Nina Simone: Four Women and Simone”™s reverberating legacy. This gathering was arranged by On Stage: Creating a Community Dialogue Around Live Theater, a Twin Cities nonprofit that brings the [...]
Godzilla vs. Kong
MOVIE CORNER By HOWARD MCQUITTER II Godzilla vs. Kong (2021 Warner Bros.) ★★1/2☆☆☆ Photo: Warner Bros. The last time the two mammoths monsters Godzilla and King Kong - one a reptile, the other a mammal - fought one another was in the 1962 film by Japanese director Ishiro Honda. Back then men dressed as Godzilla and King Kong battled it out, costing thousands of lives. In that film the battle between Godzilla and King Kong climaxes on Mount Fuji. Director Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong, as to be expected, uses plenty of C.G.I. (computer-generated imagery) making the beasts larger than ever. Oh, how Godzilla and Kong have grown in size since their beginnings! Today both beasts are as big as - if not bigger - than the skyscrapers they easily knock over. And the way it looks in Wingard's hyper C.G.I. version, it's Godzilla who is the villain. I think.      What also can be said [...]
Compassion and Courage During the Coronavirus
LETTER TO THE EDITOR By LEE LEICHENTRITT During the month of March, when John Charles Wilson and I came down with the coronavirus, two brave people came to our aid. Marge Beard and Ben Painter brought us food and drinks in a socially distanced manner, which made our COVID-19 ordeal manageable. The fact that these two people showed compassion for us during our illness is something to be lauded. Ben Painter said that his friend Scott H. brought him groceries when he had the coronavirus last year, so in keeping with Scott”™s spirit of selflessness Ben decided to “pay it forward”, in his own words. Marge Beard puts others”™ needs front and center; her compassion and courage comes from her upbringing and faith. I am sharing our story with the readers of the Alley to show our gratitude for the people who helped us. Remember that you can perform socially distanced acts of courage and kindness for people you know who come down with the virus.
