Arts & Entertainment
ABC developing gay pastor drama ‘Grace’
show is based on screenwriter’s family
ABC is developing a drama from Mandeville TV about a gay minister who comes out to his adult children, Deadline reports.
The series will be set in the fictional town of Grace, Missouri and follows a family of adult siblings whose lives are disrupted when their minister father comes out.
Deadline calls the show”ā¦a serialized drama, a grounded, unfolding saga of a 21st-century American family and the everyday challenges they face as members of a community and as individuals, and how their faith both guides and complicates their lives.ā
ScreenwritersĀ Eyal Podell and Jonathon E. Stewart, who have both worked on NBC government drama “The Blacklist” will pen the screenplay. The story is loosely based on Stewart’s family story. His father was also a preacher who came out.
Theater
Second City brings āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā to D.C.
āThe full spectrum of Blackness and queerness representedā
āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā
Through Dec. 22
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
641 D St., N.W.
$40 ā $83
woollymammoth.net
The Second City, Chicagoās famed improv proving ground, makes a timely return to Woolly Mammoth with āDance Like Thereās Black People Watching,ā a humor-loaded and sharp show especially tailored to D.C.
Breon Arzell whoās Black and gay, has been a part of Second City and āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā since 2022, first as choreographer and now as both cast member and choreographer. He says although the show is highlighting Black culture, itās geared for everyone. In short, āif you donāt know about [Black culture], learn about it; and if youāre a part of it, come celebrate with us.ā
He adds, āThere are some things Black audiences will instantly get and appreciate more. But thereās something for everyone to enjoy. Itās rooted in joy and comedy.ā
Performed by six talented and versatile Black actors, the show consists of sketches derived from improvisation, audience participation improv, monologues, songs, and rap solos.
As the title suggests, Arzellās choreography is a vital part of whatās happening on stage, too. The dance (inspired by TVās āIn Living Colorā and its unforgettable Fly Girls) peppers the showās 90 minutes with bursts of backup and transitional moves.
āDance Like Thereās Black People Watchingā was created and premiered in Chicago, and it was āvery Chicago,ā says Arzell, adding āthere were some references that wouldnāt have worked here, so we slotted in some D.C. specific things including political references and thereās a cast member [Julius Shanks II] whoās currently in his senior year at Howard University. He shouts out the school.ā
Itās opening in D.C. at an undeniably hot time, and thereās no guarantee that election results will be settled anytime soon. Arzell says, āWe know nothing will be wrapped up neatly with a bow. We have contingency plans depending on how things go and how that might play into the material.ā
Any queer aspects to the show? āOh, itās so gay in a lot of ways,ā he says without hesitation. āI donāt shy away from queerness at all and I make sure itās infused in my character work.ā
For instance, during songs he changes lyrics, mostly pronouns, and intention. Also, his costuming is gender fluid and close to his preferred real life masc-femme style.
And his funniest bit? He says itās his praise dance, āa good old Black church moment. Itās very fun, comes out of nowhere, and audiences love it.ā
While based in the Windy City, Arzell, 41, is no stranger to Woolly Mammoth. In both 2022 and 2023, he memorably acted in āAināt No Moāā and āIncendiary,ā respectively.
āIām an actor first and foremost,ā he says. āI was a theater major in college [Miami University in Oxford, Ohio] but choreography sort of just happened to me. Iāve always had an affinity for movement. As a kid growing up in Detroit, it was me dancing in front of the TV doing a little show for company. I was that little chubby Black kid.
Watching videos when MTV actually was music television, he learned to dance and developed a vision. Now with regard to professional employment, choreography is on par with acting. His āabsolute jamā is acting in a show that heās also choreographed.
Beyond the comedy and the fun, says Arzell, are the perspective and inclusiveness that come with the work and its troupe of players.
āAs Black people weāre not a monolith; thereās not a specific way to operate as a Black person in this world. And the same goes for queer people.
āAt Woolly, youāll see the full spectrum of Blackness and queerness represented.ā
Books
New book follows 7 trans kids coping with modern political attacks
Author Nico Lang delivers fine work of journalism
āAmerican Teenagerā
By Nico Lang
c.2024, Abrams Press
$30/288 pages
In great-grandma’s day, they hooked.
They were high-topped and dainty, too, to show off a tiny,Ā cheeky-but-demure ankle beneath long skirts. These days, though, they Velcro,Ā tie, strap,Ā or you just slipĀ yourĀ toesĀ into whatever you put on your feet. You gotta wearĀ yourĀ shoes but, as in the new bookĀ “American Teenager” by Nico Lang,Ā you wish someone would walk a mile inĀ themĀ first.
Seven-hundred-plus.
That’s how many anti-gay, anti-trans bills were presented to state legislatures around the country last year, many aimed at minors. As if being a teenager isn’t hard enough. With this in mind, Lang shadowed seven trans kids, to find out how they and their families cope with our current political landscape.
Fifteen-year-old South Dakotan Wyatt is in 10th grade. He knows that the lawmakers in his state “will just keep turning up the boil” on trans bills and it makes him physically sick. When Lang asked Wyatt to describe himself, Wyatt couldn’t do it, as if, says Lang, he was “still in transit, not yet arrived.”
Near Birmingham, Rhydian is a good student at the Magic City Acceptance Academy, the only school in the South that specifically welcomes LGBTQ students, and he enjoys the deep love and support of his parents and grandmother. But he’s frustrated: Rhydian’s been waiting for months for top surgery, which has been put on hold for reasons that are political.
Mykah identifies as gender-fluid, Black, and bi-racial and they desperately dream of a future performing career. In Houston, Ruby’s beloved church held a re-naming ceremony for her when she turned 18. Seventeen-year-old trans boy Clint is Muslim, and has managed to avoid scrutiny from his Chicago mosque.
Jack, along with her mother and nonbinary sibling, Augie, were homeless before their mother finally managed to find housing; in the meantime, Jack lost her health care. And in Los Angeles, Kylie has health care, support, friends, and an activist mother.
She has advantages that most trans kids can only wish for ā and she knows it.
Acne. Peer pressure. Social media. Being a teen has always been difficult, even without anti-LGBTQ legislation. In this fine work of journalism, author Nico Lang shows how a handful of kids in one group are coping with governmental policies and life in general.
Hint: you can expect the unexpected.
“American Teenager” shows the highs and lows of being a teen with the added stress of politics included ā and here, the individuality inside the ordinary is striking and wonderful. Lang is careful to show how these are just typical kids ā good-hearted, smart, funny, sarcastic ā and it rings throughout each profile how much the discrimination they endure affects their lives and relationships. That’s a clarion call, absolutely, but readers who can see between the lines will also enjoy this book’s humor, it’s compassion, and the sheer joy of meeting decent, thoughtful teens.
Parents will like this book for its candor, and that goes doubly for adults who love a trans kid. Start “American Teenager” and before long, you’ll be hooked.
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Movies
The queer Catholic appeal of āConclaveā
A-list cast delivers powerful take on papal election
If you are anywhere in the Queer rainbow and you grew up as a Catholic, itās possible ā if not likely ā that your relationship with that religious institution might be, to put it mildly, conflicted.
Though there are voices within the church establishment today that endorse official acceptance of LGBTQ people and support their equality, for most of its history that has not been the case. Yet, it has also represented a sort of sanctuary for queer people who could avoid the otherwise socially mandated expectations around sexuality and gender by excluding themselves from the conversation ā through ordainment into the service of the church and the convenient vow of celibacy that came with it.
While such a path may not be appealing to most queer spiritual seekers today, the church still looms large in the psyche of those brought up in its traditions, and revelations about the vast record of sexual abuse that has taken place behind its sanctified veil have only complicated things further. Thatās one reason why the queer appeal of āConclaveā ā the buzzy screen adaptation of Robert Harrisās 2016 novel from director Edward Berger ā cannot be denied; perhaps, in some fictionalized story about the inner workings of the church at its highest level, some resolution might be found to the centuries-old struggle between sexuality and religious faith.
Packed into a brisk two-hour running time, it wastes not a single frame in conveying its narrative, which chronicles the election of a new Pope after the sudden death of the old one and explores the labyrinthine politics that underlie that highly secretive process. Tasked by his role as Dean of the College of Cardinals to preside over it all is Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), a stoic thinker whose recent resignation from his position over a crisis of faith was rejected by the late pontiff himself; nevertheless committed to conducting the titular proceedings ā and hoping to advance the progressive vision of his churchās future represented by popular candidate Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) ā he tackles his responsibilities with a full sense of commitment.
Itās a task that will require all his unbiased wisdom to complete. In direct opposition to Bellini is Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto), a reactionary traditionalist who wants to return the church to the policies of its ancient past, with more ācentristā candidates Tremblay (John Lithgow) and Adeyami (Lucian Msamati) bringing additional layers of political nuance to the voting process. With the various contenders trying to manipulate the outcome in their favor and an unforeseen influence rising in the form of newly appointed Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), Lawrence must set aside his worldly concerns and seek the guidance he needs not only from his keen intellect and understanding of human nature, but from the very faith he struggles with, as well.
Constructed like an old-fashioned potboiler, a mystery set in the halls of power and woven through with political intrigue and private ambition, āConclaveā plays like the kind of classic Hollywood āprestigeā movie guaranteed to stir liberal sentiments while couching them in a socially aware yet entertaining yarn. Like most dramas set within a religious context, it invites speculation about the āhidden handā of the Almighty behind the story, providing an entry point for audiences seeking reassurance about their beliefs in the midst of all the skullduggery, and even delivering an ending that allows the devout to remain steadfast to their faith; it blends philosophical and intellectual sophistication into the kind of thriller which, like the stylized āwhodunnitsā of Agatha Christie, unearths all manner of human corruption behind the pomp and decorum of a fiercely protected status quo as it inexorably works its way to a clever and satisfying finish ā shepherded by Lawrence, standing in for the more worldly āmaster detectivesā created by Christie and other authors of her genre thanks to his sharp intellect and shrewd observational skills. As such, it inevitably provides the expected twists, hidden secrets, and clandestine alliances through which the āmysteryā will eventually be traced, and while we canāt always see where itās headed, it steeps us in a comfortable familiarity that feels predictable anyway.
Still, thatās not entirely a bad thing; the sum effect of āConclaveā rises far above its generic structure, and makes it easy to forgive its tendency toward formula-dictated storytelling. Thatās partly due to Bergerās direction, which sculpts the movieās overall impact through its meticulous attention to detail, immersing us in its world with a near-tactile depiction of the rarified Vatican environment ā aided immeasurably by the exquisitely moody cinematography of StĆ©phane Fontaine, who delivers a richly intimate yet tantalizingly dark setting immersed in the kind of deep shadows that seem to invite conspiracy ā while putting an unwavering focus on the internal narrative of its characters and the sometimes murky motives that drive them. Itās also thanks to the screenplay by Peter Straughan, which crafts those characters as much through what they choose not to say as by what they do, while skillfully using them to explore culturally-relevant themes about the corrupting influence of power and the antiquated prejudices that still hold sway within its cloistered walls.
Most of all, however, the filmās ability to grip us and draw us in rests upon its actors, most particularly Fiennes, already an odds-on favorite for this yearās Best Actor Oscar, who gives a career-best performance as Lawrence, turning a character who might easily seem too good to be true into a layered, relatable āEverymanā that has our instinctive loyalty from the first moment we meet him. Tucci, Lithgow, and Msamati all have standout moments, and Diehz shines as the quiet and unassuming Benitez ā but itās Isabella Rossellini who almost walks away with āConclaveā with her largely silent performance as a Vatican nun who says very little but sees and hears everything.
All this A-list quality certainly succeeds in making Bergerās movie into an engaging, intelligent, and visually impressive piece of populist cinema; and even if its twisty-and-interconnected plot developments sometimes stand out as a little too apt to be believable, its strong points far outweigh those mainstream ācompromises.ā Still, what likely has made āConclaveā into the first must-see title of awards season is more about what is happening offscreen rather than off. Much of the Papal election it portrays reflects hard-to-miss parallels with the real-life presidential election (which, at the time of this writing, had yet to take place), from the sharp divide between progressive ideals and regressive conservatism to the entrenched misogyny, racism, and homophobia that inserts itself into the process everything about this fictional Catholic thriller reminds us of the American political campaigns of 2024. And as for specific relevance for queer audiences, we donāt like spoilers ā but we can venture to say that at least a few of the filmās surprise developments have a profound resonance with LGBTQ concerns.
Of course, that might not be enough by itself to add this one to your watchlist; but thereās enough food for thought to be found in it that it is worth your while, no matter what.
āConclaveā is now playing in theaters.
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