March 21, 2018 The Skanner Seattle Page 5
Arts & Entertainment
Kam’s Kapsules: Movies Opening Friday, March 23
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Midnight Sun (PG-13
for partying and sensual-
ity) Bittersweet romance
about a sickly teen (Bella
Thorna) who is allergic
to sunlight and whose
sweet soulmate (Patrick
Schwarzenegger) doesn’t
mind that she can’t go on
a date before dark. Fea-
turing Rob Riggle, Quinn
Shephard and Ken Trem-
blett.
Pacific Rim Uprising
(PG-13 for action, vio-
lence and some profani-
ty) Sci-fi sequel finds Jake
(John Boyega) and Mako
(Rinko Kikuchi) joining
forces with a new gener-
ation of Jaeger pilots to
save humanity from an-
other invasion of alien
sea monsters. With Scott
Eastwood, Charlie Day,
Tian Jing and Adria Ar-
jona.
Paul, Apostle of Christ
(PG-13 for disturbing im-
ages and some violence)
James Faulkner handles
gie Smith, Michael Caine,
Mary J. Blige and Ozzy
Osbourne.
Kam
Williams
Kam’s
Kapsules
Movie
Reviews
Unsane (R for profan-
ity, violence, sexual ref-
erences and disturbing
behavior) Psychological
thriller, directed by Ste-
ven Soderbergh, about
a young businesswom-
an (Claire Foy) forced to
confront her greatest
fear after accidentally
committing herself to a
mental institution while
trying to escape her
stalker (Joshua Leonard).
With Jay Pharoah, Amy
Irving and Juno Temple.
the title role in this faith
-based biopic chroni-
cling the evolution of St.
Paul from a persecutor
of Christians to a pious
disciple of Jesus. Cast
includes Jim Caviezel,
Joanne Whalley and Ol-
ivier Martinez.
Sherlock Gnomes (PG
for some rude and sug-
gestive humor) John-
ny Depp plays the title
character in this animat-
ed sequel which finds
Gnomeo (James McAvoy)
and Juliet (Emily Blunt)
recruiting a legendary
sleuth and his sidekick
(Chiwetel Ejiofor) to in-
vestigate the mysterious
disappearance of Lon-
don’s lawn ornaments.
Voice cast includes Mag-
INDEPENDENT &
FOREIGN FILMS
A Bag of Marbles (Un-
rated) Adaptation of Jo-
seph Joffo’s World War
II memoir, set in 1941,
about a couple of Jew-
ish brothers’ (Dorian Le
Clech and Batyste Fleur-
ial) attempt to survive
during the Nazi occupa-
tion of Paris. With Kev
Adams, Patrick Bruel
‘Pacific Rim Uprising’
and Elsa Zylberstein. (In
French, German, Yiddish
and Russian with subti-
tles)
Final Portrait (R for
profanity, sexual refer-
ences and nudity) Buddy
biopic, set in 1964, chron-
icling the reunion in
Paris of Swiss painter Al-
berto Giacometti (Geof-
frey Rush) and his good
friend, American art
critic James Lord (Armie
Hammer).
Supporting
cast includes Tony Shal-
houb, James Faulkner
and Clemence Poesy. (In
English, French and Ital-
ian with subtitles)
Hichki (Unrated) Bol-
lywood
coming-of-age
drama about a young
woman (Rani Mukerji)
with Tourette syndrome
who turns her weakness
into a strength en route
to landing a teaching
position at an elite prep
school. With Supriya
Pilgaonkar and Ivan Ro-
drigues. (In Hindi with
subtitles)
Roxanne Roxanne (Un-
rated) Chante’ Adams
plays the title character
in this hip-hop drama,
set in Queens in the early
‘80s, about a 14 year-old-
girl well on her way to
becoming a rap legend.
Support cast includes
Nia Long, Mahersha-
la Ali and Beastie Boy
Adam Horovitz.
What We Started (Un-
rated) The electronic mu-
sic craze is the subject of
this documentary featur-
ing commentary by Ed
Sheeran, Louie Vega and
Usher Raymond.
PHOTO BY KYRA SANFORD
Play’s ‘I Want My Ham’ is More Of A Deeper Message Than A Menu Item
James Dixon (Sterling), Jerry Foster (West), Cycerli Ash (Risa), and
Wrick Jones (Memphis) perform a scene in August Wilson’s ‘Two
Trains Running’ on stage in Portland now through April 1.
By Anna Grace
I
t isn’t only on stage
in the dialogue of the
characters that the
themes of August
Wilson’s award-winning
play, “Two Trains Run-
ning,” get explored. The
ideals of determination,
persistence and resil-
ience also revealed them-
selves in the capricious
process of getting this
production ready for its
month-long run at the
Interstate Firehouse Cul-
tural Center.
Four-hour
weekday
rehearsals, which began
Jan. 30, stretched to eight
hours on Saturdays and
six on Sundays. Passi-
nArt: A Theatre Compa-
ny recruited from Texas
the play’s director, Wil-
liam Earl Ray--who has
been directing and per-
forming on stage for 40
years. During rehears-
als, Ray was brutally
honest and relentless in
making sure the actors
met his expectations.
“You need to count-
er her,” Ray instructed
Portland-based
actor
James Dixon, who plays
Sterling, who was just
released from prison
on a bank robbery con-
viction. Throughout the
play, Dixon’s character
clumsily tries to woo the
belittled waitress, Risa,
masterly performed by
experienced film and
stage actress Cycerli Ash
of Atlanta.
Ray continued: “You
need to move quicker
when she says, ‘Go on,
Sterling’ ...and then I
need you to stop fid-
geting. This ping pong
shuffling, you need to get
over that.”
The play, with its pro-
found metaphors and in-
tense language, was writ-
ten to reflect a slice of life
in the midst of the Civil
Rights movement. At
that time, racial tensions
were high. Urban renew-
al programs were forc-
ing black people and the
black-owned businesses
that depended on them
out of their neighbor-
hoods. And, hastily or-
ganized rallies brought
people into the streets to
send up a call for justice
to the new president in
the White House.
And, then there’s now:
2018 and America has a
relatively new president.
Black Lives Matter ral-
lies across the country
are demanding justice
for marginalized com-
munities. And Portland,
where city policies have
endorsed the razing of
hundreds of Black homes
since the 1950s, is now
one of the top U.S. cit-
ies pushing Black and
low-income people out-
side of its core neighbor-
hoods and into the mar-
gins.
“Ain’t nothing gonna
be left around here,”
noted the play’s central
character,
self-made
businessman Memphis
Lee, portrayed by stage
veteran Wrick Jones.
“Supermarket gone. Two
drug stores. The five and
10. Doctor done moved
out. Dentist done moved
out. Ain’t nothing gonna
be left but these (folks)
killing one another. That
don’t never go out of
style.”
The deeper meaning
of the play’s title “Two
Trains Running” refers
to the tracks of life and
death, and how we all,
at one point, ride them
both.
One of the characters,
West, is a funeral direc-
tor and land owner, por-
trayed by Jerry Foster,
artistic director of Pas-
sinArt. “We talk about
gentrification and how it
displaces families, “ Fos-
ter said. “but, it also dis-
places businesses, which
impact the overall health
and sense of community.”
Read the rest of this story at
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