He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
The main reason I'm writing this blog today is to promote a wonderful theatrical production down at the Fisher Theatre this weekend. Playing today and tomorrow, "August: Osage County" plays a limited run here in Detroit and impressed me greatly. Written by Tracy Letts (the same guy who was written 2 recent Ringwald productions, 'Killer Joe' and 'Bug', which are some of my favorite plays in recent memory), the play centers on the reunion of the Weston family soon after the disappearance of their father Beverly. The play starts with Beverly hiring a young Native American woman to help around the house. At this stage we learn he has issues with alcohol and his wife has cancer and is relying heavily on pills. We are given some hints to the hidden demons in the house which are soon realized after he disappears and his three daughters with their families return to help in the search. The plays deals with many serious issues such as family dysfunction drug abuse, generational change, alcoholism, generational changedeath, incest, infidelity and many more as we see what years of lack of communication can bring to the forefront. However when all is said and done, the play is tied together ultimately by love in it's many forms. This is not the feel good play of the year as some things are too broken to be fixed, but it stays in touch with the complexities of family life, both the good and the bad. A powerhouse play that won the 2008 Tony for best drama which is very richly deserved. I'm glad this play made it too Detroit and I hope people go out and support it. Oner of the 5 best plays to have hit Detroit in the past 5 years. My grade is a A+. The plays features the wonderful Estelle Parsons who is best known as the Roseanne's mom in the hit TV show "Roseanne" but she has the distinction of also being the first woman to do reporting for a TV network as she was an original member of NBC's "Today Show" though the show is stolen by Shannon Cochran as the eldest daughter Beverly. If you miss this play, you will be sorry.
Went to see the new Martin Scorsese flick this week entitled "Shutter Island" in hopes that it would be as great as his recent films but I must admit to being disappointed. The movie is set in 1954 and two US Marshalls, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), go to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane. Teddy has an alternative aganda on the island as he wants to expose what he believes are some secrets of human experiements run by the doctors. The marshall's run into trouble when they are deceived by the hospital's chief administrator Dr John Cawley (Ben Kingsley) as well as a massive hurricane which decmates the island. Their is a twist in the movie which reminds me of the the play "Mindgames" (currently playing at Meadowbrook Theatre) where we are allowed to doubt if anyone is really who they say they are in the movie. Is Teddy really a US Marshall or a delusional mental patient at the hospital? Now, I do like movies that play games with reality but this movie tends to be about 1/2 hour too long in getting to the conclusion. Maybe I'm just jaded that this movie's plot is so similar to the play which I just recently saw or that the 138 minute run time just seems to take forever to get to a point. The ending is up for discussion between you and your friends, but don't be surprised if you find this thriller less thrilling than expected. My grade is a C-.
Lastly, I would like to bring up the Census. It is very important that everyone fills out the Census forms when they come in the mail next month, esp if you live in communities like Detroit or Pontiac. There is still some testing going on for some temporatry positions but you better act fast if interested. In Oakland County they are ramping down and consolidating testing sessions. There is the risk they could stop testing at any time, so interested job seekers should call 1-866-861-2010 right away if you think this is something you want to pursue. Next week is the last week for testing as it stands now.
