Words Are Not Enough

Vol. II, No. 25 - January 26, 2012

(This issue is dedicated to Nicholas Taliaferro and Patty Sandoval, a San Diego couple who survived the sinking of the Costa Concordia luxury liner after it ran aground off the Italian coast on Jan. 13. Italian authorities have confirmed 16 are dead and 17 are missing in the aftermath. “When you’re in that type of situation,” Sandoval understated in a published report, “you become a completely different person.”)

Mama Lena Younger dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Her son and daughter, though, have other plans. The prejudices they face form the core of A Raisin in the Sun, one of only three plays by the immensely gifted Lorraine Hansberry. The roots of black solidarity “are no longer ‘predictable,’ as they were in my father's time,” she’d write in 1959 as the play premiered—“they are here.” The show opens in previews Jan. 27 at MOXIE Theatre. For more, see moxietheatre.com.

Who Cares: Cares image Pete Seeger reportedly wasn’t crazy about San Diego Repertory Theatre’s original plan for a musical about his life—so things changed. If you’re looking for something more Seeger-intensive, we may just be able to interest you in a 2007 PBS documentary on the iconic folk singer and union partisan.

What They're Doing: Doing image La Jolla Playhouse has announced particulars on its second Without Walls venture; not to be outdone, the peeps over at the Oscars have hawked this year’s nominees. Meanwhile, the Sundance Film Festival notes a new awareness in black film—and as the San Diego Black Film Festival sets to opening tonight, Jan. 26, we’ve provided a sampler of titles that might reflect that mood.

How They Did: Did image On Stage says The Old Globe Theatre’s Dividing the Estate is death-defyingly bad; not so for Scripps Ranch Theatre’s OK Brooklyn Boy. Meanwhile, ion theater company’s Request Programme re-makes the rounds, while On Screen calls A Separation absolutely terrific.

What We Eat/Drink: Eat image The air at Mission Hills’ Venissimo may be musky, but that’s just because the place knows what it’s doing when it comes to cheese. And the Mirassou Winery’s California Cabernet Sauvignon will make even the most ardent white wine drinker see red.

What You Want: If you go to one of the theater classes listed here, you might eventually be mentioned in Words Are Not Enough—and wouldn’t that be great!