Arts & Entertainment
JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar lead diverse 2018 Grammy nominations
Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga also land nominations
(Screenshot via YouTube.)
The 60th Annual Grammys Awards announced its 2018 nominees with rap and R&B artists making their mark on the top four major categories.
Singer Audra Day announced the nominations for the four major categories of record of the year, song of the year, best new artist and album of the year.
JAY-Z leads this year’s nominations with a total of eight nominations including album, song, and record of the year. His album “4:44,” which includes his mother’s coming out, will battle against Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic, “Damn” by Kendrick Lamar,” “Melodrama” by Lorde and “Awaken My Love!” by Childish Gambino.
Kendrick Lamar is close behind with a total of seven nominations for his album “Damn.” Lady Gaga also scored nominations for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Million Reasons” and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Joanne.”
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards will air from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday Jan. 28 on CBS.
Album of the Year
“Awaken My Love!,” Childish Gambino
“4:44,” JAY-Z
“Damn,” Kendrick Lamar
“Melodrama,” Lorde
“24K Magic,” Bruno Mars
Song of the Year
“Despacito” Ramón Ayala, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Erika Ender, Luis Fonsi and Marty James Garton, songwriters (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber)
“4:44” Shawn Carter and Dion Wilson, songwriters (JAY-Z)
“Issues” Benny Blanco, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, songwriters (Julia Michaels)
“1-800-273-8255” Sir Robert Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Alessia Caracciolo, Khalid Robinson, Drew Taggart, songwriters (Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid)
“That’s What I Like” Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars
Record of the Year
“Redbone,” Childish Gambino
“Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“The Story of O.J.,” JAY-Z
“Humble,” Kendrick Lamar
“24K Magic,” Bruno Mars
Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Lil Uzi Vert
Julia Michaels
SZA
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Love So Soft,” Kelly Clarkson
“Praying,” Kesha
“Million Reasons,” Lady Gaga
“What About Us,” P!nk
“Shape Of You,” Ed Sheeran
Best Pop Vocal Album
“Kaleidoscope EP,” Coldplay
“Lust For Life,” Lana Del Rey
“Evolve,” Imagine Dragons
“Rainbow,” Kesha
“Joanne,” Lady Gaga
“÷ (Divide),” Ed Sheeran
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Something Just Like This,” The Chainsmokers & Coldplay
“Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“Thunder,” Imagine Dragons
“Feel It Still,” Portugal. The Man
“Stay,” Zedd & Alessia Cara
Traditional Vocal Album
“Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version),” Michael Bublé
“Triplicate,” Bob Dylan
“In Full Swing,” Seth MacFarlane
“Wonderland,” Sarah McLachlan
“Tony Bennett Celebrates 90,” Various Artists
Best Rap Album
“4:44,” JAY-Z
“Damn,” Kendrick Lamar
“Culture,” Migos
“Laila’s Wisdom,” Rapsody
“Flower Boy,” Tyler, the Creator
Best Rap/Sung Performance
“Prblms,” 6lack
“Crew,” Goldlink featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy
“Family Feud,” JAY-Z featuring Beyoncé
“Loyalty,” Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna
“Love Galore,” SZA featuring Travis Scott
Best Country Album
“Cosmic Hallelujah,” Kenny Chesney
“Heart Break,” Lady Antebellum
“The Breaker,” Little Big Town
“Life Changes,” Thomas Rhett
“From a Room: Volume 1,” Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“It Ain’t My Fault,” Brothers Osborne
“My Old Man,” Zac Brown Band
“You Look Good,” Lady Antebellum
“Better Man,” Little Big Town
“Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland
Best Country Solo Performance
“Body Like a Back Road,” Sam Hunt
“Losing You,” Alison Krauss
“Tin Man,” Miranda Lambert
“I Could Use a Love Song,” Maren Morris
“Either Way,” Chris Stapleton
Best Rock Album
“Emperor of Sand,” Mastodon
“Hardwired…to Self-Destruct,” Metallica
“The Stories We Tell Ourselves,” Nothing More
“Villains,” Queens of the Stone Age
“A Deeper Understanding,” The War on Drugs
Best Rock Performance
“You Want It Darker,” Leonard Cohen
“The Promise,” Chris Cornell
“Run,” Foo Fighters
“No Good,” Kaleo
“Go to War,” Nothing More
Best R&B Performance
“Get You,” Daniel Caesar featuring Kali Uchis
“Distraction,” Kehlani
“High,” Ledisi
“That’s What I Like,” Bruno Mars
“The Weekend,” SZA
Best R&B Urban Contemporary Album
“Free 6lack,” 6lack
“Awaken, My Love!,” Childish Gambino
“American Teen,” Khalid
“Ctrl,” SZA
“Starboy,” the Weeknd
Best Dance Electronic Album
“Migration,” Bonobo
“3-D the Catalogue,” Kraftwerk
“Mura Masa,” Mura Masa
“A Moment Apart,” Odesza
“What Now,” Sylvan Esso
Best Dance Recording
“Bambro Koyo Ganda,” Bonobo featuring Innov Gnawa
“Cola,” Camelphat & Elderbrook
“Andromeda,” Gorillaz featuring Dram
“Tonite,” LCD Soundsystem
“Line of Sight,” Odesza featuring Wynne & Mansionair
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
“Baby Driver,” (Various Artists)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2,” (Various Artists)
“Hidden Figures: The Album,” (Various Artists)
“La La Land,” (Various Artists)
“Moana: The Songs,” (Various Artists)
Best Song Written For Visual Media
“City of Stars,” Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone)
“How Far I’ll Go,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho)
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker),” Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift)
“Never Give Up,” Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia)
“Stand Up for Something,” Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common)
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
“Arrival,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“Game of Thrones: Season 7,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
“Hidden Figures,” Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers
“La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz, composer
Best Music Video
“Up All Night,” (Beck) Canada, video director; Laura Serra Estorch & Oscar Romagosa, video producers
“Makeba” — (Jain) Lionel Hirle & Gregory Ohrel, video directors; Yodelice, video producer
“The Story of O.J.” — (Jay-Z) Shawn Carter & Mark Romanek, video directors; Daniel Midgley, video producer
“Humble.” — (Kendrick Lamar) The Little Homies & Dave Meyers, video directors; Jason Baum, Dave Free, Jamie Rabineau, Nathan K. Scherrer & Anthony Tiffith, video producers
“1-800-273-8255″ — (Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid) Andy Hines, video director; Andrew Lerios, video producer
Best Music Film
“One More Time With Feeling” (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers
“Long Strange Trip” (The Grateful Dead) Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff & Justin Kreutzmann, video producers
“The Defiant Ones” (Various Artists) Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers
“Soundbreaking” (Various Artists) Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers
Best Spoken Word Album
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry,” Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Born to Run,” Bruce Springsteen
“Confessions of a Serial Songwriter,” Shelly Peiken
“Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In (Bernie Sanders),” Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo
“The Princess Diarist,” Carrie Fisher
Best Comedy Album
“The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas,” Dave Chappelle
“Cinco,” Jim Gaffigan
“Jerry Before Seinfeld,” Jerry Seinfeld
“A Speck of Dust,” Sarah Silverman
“What Now?,” Kevin Hart
Best Musical Theater Album
“Come From Away” — Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
“Dear Evan Hansen” — Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
“Hello, Dolly!” — Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer (Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Theater
José Zayas brings ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ to GALA Hispanic Theatre
Gay Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca wrote masterpiece before 1936 execution
‘The House of Bernarda Alba’
Through March 1
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th St., N.W.
$27-$52
Galatheatre.org
In Federico García Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba,” now at GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights, an impossibly oppressive domestic situation serves, in short, as an allegory for the repressive, patriarchal, and fascist atmosphere of 1930s Spain
The gay playwright completed his final and arguably best work in 1936, just months before he was executed by a right-wing firing squad. “Bernarda Alba” is set in the same year, sometime during a hot summer in rural Andalusia, the heart of “España profunda” (the deep Spain), where traditions are deeply rooted and mores seldom challenged.
At Bernarda’s house, the atmosphere, already stifling, is about to get worse.
On the day of her second husband’s funeral, Bernarda Alba (superbly played by Luz Nicolás), a sixtyish woman accustomed to calling the shots, gathers her five unmarried daughters (ages ranging from 20 to 39) and matter-of-factly explain what’s to happen next.
She says, “Through the eight years of mourning not a breeze shall enter this house. Consider the doors and windows as sealed with bricks. That’s how it was in my father’s house and my grandfather’s. Meanwhile, you can embroider your trousseaux.”
It’s not an altogether sunny plan. While Angustias (María del Mar Rodríguez), Bernarda’s daughter from her first marriage and heiress to a fortune, is betrothed to a much younger catch, Pepe el Romano, who never appears on stage, the remaining four stand little chance of finding suitable matches. Not only are they dowry-less, but no men, eligible or otherwise, are admitted into their mother’s house.
Lorca is a literary hero known for his mastery of both lyrical poetry and visceral drama; still, “Bernarda Alba’s” plotline might suit a telenovela. Despotic mother heads a house of adult daughters. Said daughters are churning with passions and jealousies. When sneaky Martirio (Giselle Gonzáles) steals the photo of Angustias’s fiancé all heck kicks off. Lots of infighting and high drama ensue. There’s even a batty grandmother (Alicia Kaplan) in the wings for bleak comic relief.
At GALA, the modern classic is lovingly staged by José Zayas. The New York-based out director has assembled a committed cast and creative team who’ve manifested an extraordinarily timely 90-minute production performed in Spanish with English subtitles easily ready seen on multiple screens.
In Lorca’s stage directions, he describes the set as an inner room in Bernarda’s house; it’s bright white with thick walls. At GALA, scenic designer Grisele Gonzáles continues the one-color theme with bright red walls and floor and closed doors. There are no props.
In the airless room, women sit on straight back chairs sewing. They think of men, still. Two are fixated on their oldest siter’s hunky betrothed. Only Magdelena (Anna Malavé), the one sister who truly mourns their dead father, has given up on marriage entirely.
The severity of the place is alleviated by men’s distant voices, Koki Lortkipanidze’s original music, movement (stir crazy sisters scratching walls), and even a precisely executed beatdown choreographed by Lorraine Ressegger-Slone.
In a short yet telling scene, Bernarda’s youngest daughter Adela (María Coral) proves she will serve as the rebellion to Bernarda’s dictatorship. Reluctant to mourn, Adela admires her reflection. She has traded her black togs for a seafoam green party dress. It’s a dreamily lit moment (compliments of lighting designer Hailey Laroe.)
But there’s no mistaking who’s in charge. Dressed in unflattering widow weeds, her face locked in a disapproving sneer, Bernarda rules with an iron fist; and despite ramrod posture, she uses a cane (though mostly as a weapon during one of her frequent rages.)
Bernarda’s countenance softens only when sharing a bit of gossip with Poncia, her longtime servant convincingly played by Evelyn Rosario Vega.
Nicolás has appeared in “Bernarda Alba” before, first as daughter Martirio in Madrid, and recently as the mother in an English language production at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh. And now in D.C. where her Bernarda is dictatorial, prone to violence, and scarily pro-patriarchy.
Words and phrases echo throughout Lorca’s play, all likely to signal a tightening oppression: “mourning,” “my house,” “honor,” and finally “silence.”
As a queer artist sympathetic to left wing causes, Lorca knew of what he wrote. He understood the provinces, the dangers of tyranny, and the dimming of democracy. Early in Spain’s Civil War, Lorca was dragged to the the woods and murdered by Franco’s thugs. Presumably buried in a mass grave, his remains have never been found.
Cupid’s Undie Run, an annual fundraiser for neurofibromatosis (NF) research, was held at Union Stage and at The Wharf DC on Saturday, Feb. 21.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Sweat DC is officially expanding to Shaw, opening a new location at 1818 7th St., N.W., on Saturday, March 28 — and they’re kicking things off with a high-energy, community-first launch event.
To celebrate, Sweat DC is hosting Sweat Fest, a free community workout and social on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m. at the historic Howard Theatre. The event features a group fitness class, live DJ, local food and wellness partners, and a mission-driven partnership with the Open Goal Project, which works to expand access to youth soccer for players from marginalized communities.
For more details, visit Sweat DC’s website and reserve a spot on Eventbrite.
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