Make haste! Shakespeare saves a life at the Folger

Jacob Ming-Trent talks to God in Folger Theatre's How Shakespeare Saved My Life/Photo by Erika Nizborski

Jacob Ming-Trent wants to save another life, like Shakespeare saved his, to inspire at least one person, one artist to create, to make, to help, to forgive.


At the Folger Theatre, it's the world premiere of How Shakespeare Saved My Life which Mr. Ming-Trent wrote and performs in the most energetic, gripping solo show I have seen.


In a fast 90 minutes, the actor/playwright describes his youthful struggles for survival, his encounters with the law, with teachers, men on the street, men in the pulpit.

Jacob Ming-Trent in Folger Theatre's How Shakespeare Saved My Life/Photo by Erika Nizborski.

He portrays several different characters, his parents, a preacher man, the guys under the bridge, and many more, all realistically presented with distinctive mannerisms, vocal pauses and inflections. 

Director Tony Taccone has Mr. Ming-Trent moving from stage right to stage left and back again, speaking non-stop, leaving the audience breathless and hungry for calm which they hope he (and they) will find.

When he was a teen, his mother threw him out of the house, refusing to let him back in despite his many pleas over the years, she, a cruel and heartless person who told her only child at his father’s funeral, that she felt absolutely nothing, nothing for her son when he was born. 

One can't help but wonder how she feels now or where she is, if she'd let him back in the house since he's found success, but her story is not his or this story which includes forgiveness.

His dad told his son that the best thing for a man to be was a good listener, and his child followed his advice, quoting Shakespeare in his show: ”To thine own self be true.”

Shakespeare rescues Mr. Ming-Trent from a life of crime, from homelessness, despair, thoughts of suicide.

Combining his script with hip hop, and the fantastic music by Jake Rodriguez, Takeshi Kata's rapidly changing scenics and Alexander V. Nichols' projections, and it’s another greatness thrust upon Mr. Ming-Trent’s canon, with a supporting cast, the audience becoming the congregation in Mr. Ming-Trent's church, hungry for inspiration and the hope he bestows.

This Life ends abruptly before we hear about Mr. Ming-Trent’s star rising, his many shows listed in the program attesting to his success.

"Play on," Jacob Ming-Trent, play on.

Other Life creative team members are Tiffany Rachelle Stewart, choreographer; Danielle Preston, costumes; Alan C. Edwards, lighting; Taylor Kiechlin, production stage manager; Miranda Korieth, assistant stage manager.


The Folger and Red Bull theatres commissioned the play with co-production by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

In an interview with American Theatre this year, Mr. Ming-Trent said: “Shakespeare is a rule-breaker, and I’m a rule-breaker. I love tearing down the classical theatre’s ivory tower and using the scaffolding and bricks to rebuild a place where we all are welcome.”


Who: Jacob Ming-Trent

What: How Shakespeare Saved My Life

When: Evenings through July 5 at 7:30 p.m. (8:00 p.m., Friday) plus matinees Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. No performance on July 4.

Where: Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003

How much: Tickets start at $20 with discounts for military members, veterans and their families; those 35 and under; public servants; seniors; students; first time Folger attendees; pay-what-you can; groups of ten or more; and rush tickets at half price, if available, one hour before performances. Check the website.

Closest Metro stations: Union Station and Capitol South

Recommended for ages 13 and up. Mature language and adult situations and conversations.

For more information: folgerboxoffice@folger.edu or 202-544-7077

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Make haste! Bold 'Othello' departs June 28

 

From left, Ben Turner is Iago and Wendell Pierce is Othello at Shakespeare Theatre Company/Photo by Theresa Castracane


The acting is as superb as all that’s been told.

After the performance, a father and daughter told me that they couldn’t wait to bring other family members to the show.

Wendell Pierce is the Broadway star who is Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Othello, a bold showman whose role in the first act is moderate compared to the demands of the second.

And whatever act it is, the dastardly Iago (Ben Turner) commands the stage, a forceful and stronger villain than other Iagos I have witnessed.

Casting director Danica Rodriguez took no shortcuts choosing the actors for one of the bard's best.

Iago is angry that he’s been overlooked for a promotion by General Othello who chooses Cassio (Lucas Iverson) for the position, and what’s this? Has the general has been trifling with Iago’s wife, Emilia (Melanie Field)?

All the more reasons to act on Iago’s suspicions!

Says Iago to Othello: "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."

Iago unceasingly feeds hints of imaginary betrayal to Othello by his wife, Desdemona (Olivia Cygan), a frail and delicate flower who never professes anything but faithfulness to her husband.

She has eloped with Othello, much to the shock of her father, Brabantio (Joey Collins) who disowns his daughter and hints of future infidelity to his new black son-in-law.

Alas! When it came to the marriage bed, I did indeed think Othello had smothered Desdemona in the lifelike murder scene when Desdemona fights for life under the sheets, kicking her legs and wailing, Othello’s heart having turned to stone.

Melanie Field is Emilia the handmaid for Desdemona (Olivia Cygan) in Othello at Shakespeare Theatre Company/Photo by Theresa Castracane

The victim’s handmaid, Emilia, in a spellbinding delivery, comes to the aid of her mistress too late! Emilia berating her deplorable spouse, she soon to be slain when the truth is revealed before the star kills himself.

So little time, so many murders.


Scenic designer Susan Hilferty places the few props in strategic locations, more, unnecessary since the play’s jealousy and revenge are all consuming, leaving audience members who eavesdrop on Iago’s plans, breathless and tense, most already aware of the outcome.


Daniel Velez, Todd Schofield, Derek Garza, Giovanna Drummond are other cast members with the Ensemble: Jon Beal, C.J.Craig, Sofia Hernandez-Morales, Claire Hilton, Anna Marzullo, Vish Shukla, Cole Sitilides, James Whalen, Em Whitworth.

STC's artistic director, Simon Godwin, directs the play in a tight presentation.  It's Othello, after all.


The artistic team includes Shiloh Coke, composer; Hilferty and Sarita P. Fellows, costume designers; Amith A. Chandrashaker, lighting; Christopher Shutt, sound; Jonathan Goddard, choreographer; Everett Judd, assistant director; Laura Smith, production stage manager; Robb Hunter, fight choreographer.

Heritage Foundation presents Marxism v. Conservatism

Dr. Paul Kengor at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie

The program was billed as "Communism at America 250," the third annual Lee Edwards Lecture in Conservative Leadership at the Heritage Foundation.

Dr. Paul Kengor spoke on the principles of Marxism versus Conservatism.

He rarely used the word "communism" other than to say (a couple of times) that communists do not permit elections.

Dr. Lee Edwards's daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, the chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, served as moderator.  

Dr. Paul Kengor and Dr. Elizabeth Edwards Spalding at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie

Dr. Kengor is the author of 20 books, including The Devil and Karl Marx, and teaches separate classes on Marxism and Conservatism at Grove City College, both, quite popular classes, it seemed from his remarks.

He began his talk with Gallup statistics which says that 67% of American college students have a positive or neutral attitude towards socialism while only 40% have a positive view of capitalism. 

Dr. Paul Kengor at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie

No two philosophies present a clearer contrast than Marxism and Conservatism, he said, describing Marxism in one sentence: “the abolition of private property” requiring “gulags and guns to take away."

He presented a 10-point plan of Marxism, and said, with the assistance of a student, he had conducted a content analysis of the Communist Manifesto. 1998  was the 150th anniversary of its publication.

In their study, they never found the word "love," but they found the most popular word to be "abolition" as in, Marxism seeks to take away inheritances and spread population so that people are equally distributed between town and country. 

Marxism requires a forcible withdrawal of all existing social conditions to achieve its goals, including the necessity of separating children from parents.

“Communism begins where atheism begins“ and "it's hard to be a conservative if you are an atheist."

He featured Ronald Reagan and the principles of conservatism which is the opposite of progressivism. 

While conservatives believe in an enduring moral order, progressives believe in an evolving moral order.  The principles of conservatism are unchanging.

Reagan believed that “every person is a sacred reality and the individual is superior to the state.”

Republicans are grounded by moral laws.

Reagan was pictured on the big screen with some of his famous quotes, followed by photos and quotes of Russell Kirk, Edmund Burke, and G.K. Chesterton.

In the question and answer session, Dr. Spalding said conservative curriculum has been developed for elementary through college level students.

That's where the Heritage Foundation comes in, according to Kengor, because it comes down to "education and education and education." 

The first time Trump’s name came up was when Kengor talked about the likeability of Ronald Reagan and how happy he was. Reagan was not an angry man; he was not hated by the majority and he carried 49 of 50 states in 1984.

Trump’s name came up again when Kengor quoted Reagan‘s “peace through strength“ which he said Trump uses a lot.

Surprisingly, the speaker devoted quite a bit of time to Pope Leo XIV whom he called a Republican but, when it comes to peace and the pope's opposition to war, well, maybe he's a liberal in that aspect, after all.  

He said 108 of the 133 electors voted for Pope Leo (a confidential number, he said). The Catholics wanted a return to normalcy, while the Italians favored Leo because he was “the least American of Americans.”

Dr. Paul Kengor at the Heritage Foundation, June 4, 2026/By Patricia Leslie

Dr. Spalding invited all present to a candlelight vigil and the third sponsored anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre at Massachusetts and New Jersey avenues at 8 p.m. that night (June 4).

A reception with beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres followed the presentation. Security was tight.

From its press release: "The Heritage Foundation established the annual Lee Edwards Lecture in recognition of Dr. Edwards’s long service as a Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought at The Heritage Foundation, during which he wrote most of his 25 books about the leading individuals and institutions of the modern conservative movement. In addition to biographies of President Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley Jr. and Edwin Meese III, Dr. Edwards wrote histories of The Heritage Foundation, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and the conservative movement."

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Recommended (with reservations): 'Surreal: The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dali'

Oh, the places they went! The people they saw! The people they knew! The oohs and the ahs!

Readers:  You may think you've known a wild life but I doubt you’ve experienced anything like the lives of Gala (1894-1982) and Salvador Dali (1904-1989).  If so, you must be in an unusual contest. 

What fun is was to read about the young in Paris during Dada!

Except for all the many confusing names and sometimes helter-skelter mixed-up paragraphs and subjects which jump all over the place and the need for better (or some) editing, this is a good read by Michele Gerber Klein for art enthusiasts.  

Gala's nickname was bestowed on her by her first husband, Paul Éluard, whom she met at a sanatorium in Switzerland when they both were 17 and she was being treated for tuberculosis.

They married in 1917 and their only child, a daughter, Cecile was born in 1918 (d. 2016); Gala was never a good mother and did not like the role. 

Her relationship with Dali began while she was still married to Paul (1917-1929), but she remained close to Paul for the rest of his life (1895-1952), he providing her with financial advice. 

Paul became a renowned poet and was one of the founders of Surrealism.

Meanwhile, Dali was ten years younger than Gala and a virgin (at age 25).  His father disinherited him because Gala was born a Russian and married.  Father and son did not speak for five years. 

Salvador Dali credited Gala with most parts of his artistic life, his life support, he called her whose name he signed to his paintings, she, the subject of many.

She was much more than his business manager:  She edited and skillfully marketed his works, monetizing every product she (and they) could conceive, much like Trump markets his name today on many and various things. 

Gala taught Dali how to dress, take the stairs (!), how to eat without throwing chicken bones to the ceiling, how to recognize enemies and how to stop losing money. 

The Dalis traveled all over Europe and the U.S., visiting in the homes of friends, often during the late 1930s as Hitler began his invasion of Austria.

Their bizarre lifestyles made them Paris‘s hot couple and when they came to the U.S. for the first time in 1934, “the cameras went wild” (p. 123). After all, Gala wore two lamb chops on her shoulder which were tied to Dali's coat.

They socialized with the very rich, but they struggled financially, a condition Gala tried to hide. 

The designer, Chanel, with whom they remained lifelong friends, recognized a good model when she saw one and loaned Gala clothes to wear and to market.  (The trio is pictured on p. 61 in this month's copy of Elle.) 

It was not surprising to read that Dali “always made work in order to disturb as many people as possible" (p. 120) and he and Gala delighted in novelty.

 Some have called them, the inventors of performance art.

Despite their open marriage especially in later years, they maintained a strong relationship and Dali had her remains interred in a Spanish castle he bought for her 14 years before her death, he outliving her by seven years. 

If you can wade through all the names or just ignore many of them and the confusing editing, you'll get through this like I did.  

It seems like another good movie in the make!  A book sure to open eyes and wonder about what all you've missed. 

patricialesli@gmail.com 

Film review: 'Andre is an Idiot' and so was I

The movie poster reminds me of art by Salvador Dali

To think this was a comedy!

Well, kinda sorta if you can take the ride to death with André Ricciardi as he makes light of his colon cancer discovered at Stage 4, several years before he succumbed. 

André Is an Idiot opened at the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2025 when the film received several awards and strong reviews, says Wikipedia. Since then, the film, directed and produced by Tony Benna, has received more awards and nominations.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics gave it a 97, my reason for going.

André is a lot darker than I anticipated, watching the comedy gradually die with André who failed to get a colonoscopy in time. 

Stupid!  Said his mother and a whole lot more.

André is a very funny, funny guy, but it’s painful to see his physical state decline after so many months. His mental state never withers (except for a saddened emotional state, natch) but there goes the comedy with his death. 

André, his brother, André's wife Janice, his close friend Lee Einhorn (who's also the executive producer), and more are interviewed extensively, along with André's daughters.

The film also presents an example of a happy, long-term marriage that was happenstance!  

Imagine.  It happens.

A shortened version of André, say 15 to 20 minutes or so, would be valuable for all those community centers with senior programs.  

But getting a colonoscopy should happen well before you become a senior citizen, like at age 45 to start. 

Message:  Get one.

Location: San Francisco 

patricialesli@gmail.com

'Michael' and 'Elvis,' the films

EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2025)

I liked EPIC Elvis (in concert) better because it was authentic, a documentary with lots of actual film of the king performing, talking, and background scenes, while the story of Michael is acted, fairly much a hagiography endorsed by the Jackson family. (Michael's son, Prince Jackson, was the executive producer and on set a lot.)

As with books, I prefer non-fiction.

Peopl

Juliano Valdi is young Michael and Larenz Tate is Berry Gordy in Michael/photo by Glen Wilson/Lionsgate

Jaafar Jackson, Michael's nephew and the son of Jermaine Jackson, one of the Jackson 5, is the star who does sing the songs which was surprising to me, expecting lip syncing, but some of the numbers are his voice on Michael's tracks, according to his remarks on the Today show April 2, 2026.

Nevertheless, he and Juliano Vardi as the young Michael did incredible jobs, but they were not "Michael." Elvis was "Elvis."  (See my review of EPIC Elvis at the link above.) 

Jaafar Jackson is Michael Jackson in Michael/photo by Glen Wilson/Lionsgate

Whereas Elvis has many more of his top hits included in the film, almost all of Michael's are shortened and it's not until near the end of Michael that we get even close to a full version of one of his songs.

Colman Domingo is Joe Jackson, the father, in Michael/photo by Glen Wilson/Lionsgate
 

Colman Domingo is Joe Jackson, the father, and every bit as despicable as rumors have him to be, but spectacular here whom I hope will be nominated for an Oscar. 

Nia Long is Michael’s mother, rather weak and maybe she was in real life.  

The negative parts of Michael's life are generally ignored with the film ending abruptly, lamely with “to be continued." I'll say.

Save your IMAX money for something better than Michael since an IMAX screen is not as vital as it was for Elvis, but who's to know on the front end?  I am here to tell you. 

I'm glad I took the advice advertised at Cinema Arts Fairfax to see Elvis on IMAX.  What a difference it made!  

I tried to see it again on IMAX the following weekend, but alas, could find no area theatres screening it. 

Later, I rushed to see Michael at the same IMAX (Tysons, VA) where most of the seats were sold on the first Saturday afternoon after its release, but IMAX for Michael was not necessary and besides, it set me back $33+!  Even with my senior rate and a 15 % discount for an afternoon show, admission was $19.99. Add a small popcorn and drink for a grand total of $33.  Yikers!

Take me to the bank.

patricialesli@gmail.com

Highly recommended, the book and audio: 'Tanqueray'

 

This is a great audio to listen to (read by the author) and the book has fascinating photos to see, both editions, available at libraries. 

 

 

In 2019 a blogger, Brandon Stanton whose series, Humans of New York was followed by millions, was attracted to an unusually dressed woman in fancy gear

along the streets of Chelsea in New York City. 

Mr. Stanton stopped for a chat which led to a friendship which led to a column in his series, which led to the book Tanqueray, the expose of Stephanie Johnson’s life and one of her last life's chapters before a stroke felled her last October at age 81. 

Her obituary led me to the audio and book.

 

Ms. Johnson was a famous burlesque dancer in the Big Apple in the 1960s and 70s, and she lays it all out straight, everything, rather like a rip-roaring escapade of edgy New York life, kinda gangster style, a strip club and more (a life most of us only hear or read about and maybe, wish we’d experienced a trifle of it?).

 

She was a self-made woman whose mother threw her out when Ms. Johnson was 17 and pregnant.  On her own, she made her way from Albany, N.Y.  to New York where she built her reputation.

 

Her name “Tanqueray” came from a bottle of gin sitting near a conversation. 

Mr. Stanton helped her write her bio in which she speaks in highly entertaining fashion (of which she was an excellent seamstress, attending classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology, making sparkly costumes for herself and many others).  

She had lots of boyfriends, was married twice and prided herself on not sleeping around or drinking.  She had two sons and gave up her daughter for adoption. The book Mr. Stanton wrote of their many conversations drew millions of readers and helped restore her relationship with an estranged son.

She was lonely, very, very lonely.

 

When serious illness struck, Mr. Stanton spearheaded a GoFundMe campaign for Ms. Johnson which produced about $2.6 million for her medical needs and solved her money worries. Leftover money went to the Association to Benefit Children.  

 

Ms. Johnson and Mr. Stanton speak in the postscript, not to miss!

 

It’s a short 192 pages, hard to put down; a (very) fast read and wow!  I want to see this movie.

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