Angels in America, Helen Simoneau Danse, David Lubin, and Mary Dalton on Triad Arts Weekend

Angels in America

Frank Rich, formerly of the New York Times, wrote: "A vast, miraculous play... provocative, witty and deeply upsetting... a searching and radical rethinking of American political drama." John Lahr of the New Yorker": A victory for theater, for the transforming power of the imagination to turn devastation into beauty."

And the Philadelphia Inquirer: “An enormously impressive work of the imagination and intellect, a towering example of what theater stretched to its full potential can achieve.” Angels in America, Part One: Millenniem Approaches by Tony Kushner stands on its own as one of Americas truly great plays. What begins as a play about political climate, gay rights and the HIV epidemic, evolves into a story of human survival and the global community. The UNC School of the Arts brings this drama to the Triad through February 28th. Student actor Alex Bodine plays Prior Walter – A gay man with AIDS who experiences various heavenly visions throughout the play. When the play begins, he is dating Louis Ironson. He's joined by Los Angeles-based UNCSA alumnus, freelance producer and director Jeremy Skidmore.

Angels in America, Part One: Millenniem Approaches, the 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tony Kushner, comes to Performance Place on the UNCSA campus Feb. 19-Feb 28^th with matinee and evening performances. The play contains mature themes and content and is not recommended for people under 18. 

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Helen Simoneau Danse

Helen Simoneau Danse, celebrating its 5^th year, is busy creating new works during their residency at UNC School of the Arts this week and next: Untitled Solo, Moonlight Parade, and The Task of Doing, a collaboration with composer Eric Schwartz. 

Helen Simoneau Danse has expanded its UNCSA residency by one week and will be offering an additional show to its run at Hanesbrands Theatre in Winston-Salem March 4^th through the 6^th. On March 10^th the dance company, now in its 5^th season, will perform at the Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance in Charlotte. All shows begin at 7:30 PM. David Ford spoke with professional dancer/choreographer and UNC School of the Arts alumna Helen Simoneau.

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David Lubin and Flags and Faces: The Visual Culture of America's First World War

David Lubin teaches history of art, film, and popular culture at Wake Forest University. When he was an undergrad himself, David studied filmmaking at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema while reviewing music for Rolling Stone. He got his Ph.D. in American Studies at Yale, began lecturing at colleges, universities, and art museums throughout the United States, Europe, China and Australia, and throughout much of that time he's cranked out a number  of noteworthy books like Act of Portrayal, Picturing a Nation, and Titanic.

David always has a unique take on things, for example, his book Titanic was a cultural studies analysis of the blockbuster film. In his Shooting Kennedy, he examines the photographic portrayal of Jack and Jackie Kennedy from their public courtship in 1953 to the events of Dallas ten years later.

In his new book Flags and Faces: The Visual Culture of America's First World War the Charlotte C. Weber Professor of Art chronicles public perceptions about World War I and how they were shaped in large part by American artists, photographers, and graphic designers.

The book's second section, “Fixing Faces,” looks at the devastating facial injuries suffered by soldiers on the battlefield, and their impact on families back home. WWI era sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd is featured in David's book. Using galvanized copper, Ladd created lifelike masks for soldiers horribly disfigured during trench warfare.

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Behind the Scenes with Mary Dalton

Today Mary Dalton discusses American Sniper and Selma - two films that are nominated for Best Picture, but Dalton feels that neither lives up to its potential.