Mark Taper Forum
PROFILE
Kimberly Senior
Guest
FROM Kimberly Senior
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
'Disgraced' Explores Muslim Life in America in Surprising Ways The play Disgraced explores what it means to be Muslim in America today. The playwright, Ayad Akhtar, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for it in 2013, and yet the themes are still incredibly relevant in 2016. Over ninety minutes, four main characters at a dinner party grapple with identity, politics and racism in unpredictable ways. The main character, Amir, is a secular lawyer of Pakistani-Muslim descent. His wife is an artist who happens to be white. They host a dinner party for her Jewish art dealer and his African American wife, who’s a lawyer in Amir’s law firm. The characters both adhere to and undermine stereotypes. And the play raises more questions than it answers.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
The Treatment
Lucia Micarelli: An Evening with Lucia Micarelli Violinist and actress Lucia Micarelli visits The Treatment to discuss her emotive performances as she prepares for PBS' An Evening with Lucia Micarelli.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gov. Jerry Brown: California and China will fight climate change together President Donald Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and he’s expected to announce a decision soon. California Governor Jerry Brown heads to China to strengthen climate and clean energy ties.
The Business
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."