STN Entertainment JEWISH NEWS OSCAR CONTEST 'I Am A Man' Best Picture ❑ The English Patient ❑ Fargo ❑ Jerry Maguire I he production of Meadow Brook Theatre's I Am a Man is historic. It is a col- laboration between Mead- ow Brook and the Plowshares Theatre Company, which is housed in the Paul Robeson The- atre at the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit — formerly the Jewish Community Center. The play celebrates the tragic 1968 confrontation between the city of Memphis, Tenn., and its African-American garbagemen. A bitter strike — the men worked for $1.10 an hour — called outside forces into the fray. One force was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employ- ees (AFSCME); another, the Philip Locker as the mayor and Lou Beatty Jr. as T.O. Jones in I Am a Man, running members of the black power through March 9 at Meadow Brook. movement; and the last, tragical- ly, Martin Luther King Jr. This is him for his face-saving Episco- frequently, sometimes stopping where and when he met his un- palianism and his racist attitudes; the action dead in its tracks. Then timely death. the tension between Jones and his there's Lou Beatty Jr. as T.O. Playwright OyamO has mar- wife when their children are Jones, who starts out brusque and shaled the historical facts and threatened; and scenes of brutal- full of life, but is worn down, evis- shaped them into a near-epic ity that are just violent enough to cerated as a man until he can panorama of those fateful months tell us the truth. barely move and only, finally, alive in 1968. At the center is T.O. But the show runs nearly three with anguish over King's death. Jones, who led the strike and, hours, and not nearly enough dra- It's a sweetheart performance; near play's end, bitterly and sar- matic propulsion makes this a dull but it is, I think, too natural, not castically calls it "the 8 cents tri- Man. epic enough. We need icon here. umph." That was the Director Gary Anderson Elsewhere performances range amount of the hourly in- does have a sure hand from good to fine with a tip of the THEATER crease finally wrested with his stage: He sets hat to Phillip Locker (mayor), from the good of boy may- parts of scenes behind Robert Grossman (Solomon) and or. scrims, keeps the action believable Michael Jay (Brother Cinnamon This work is diverse: it includes and has an acute awareness of and Reverend Billings). photo montage, dozens of scenes, how using space creates drama. This collaboration and this ven- a singer with guitar and nearly And Peter W. Hicks' set design ture should be nourished. All the two dozen roles played by half as — lit with a painter's hand by touchstones for greatness are many actors. And the play has ef- Reid G. Johnson — is exemplary. here. But the play should be pared fective moments: the clash be- Everything of this quality down, the central performance tween the mayor — a converted should reach dramatic flashpoint buffed up and the directorial force Jew — and the brash Joshua and explode into great theater. made more compelling — frosting Solomon of AFSCME who derides That it doesn't is puzzling. on this rich confection. Too much history? Perhaps. ∎ Michael Margolin writes about OyamO makes some points too — Michael Margolin the arts. Jewish News Oscar Contest Don't forget to cast your votes in our first annual competition. THE RULES • Choose the entry in each cate- gory that you believe will win the Oscar. Check one box only in each category. (You will be disqualified if any categories are left blank or if there is more than one box checked per category.) • Mail your entry form to Atten- tion: Oscar, The Jewish News 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034; or fax to (810) 354-6069 (no phone calls). • Entries must be received no lat- er than Wednesday, March 19. • One entry per person (you must use the entry form, but photo- copies are acceptable). • Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. • If the event there are more win- ners than prizes, winners will be drawn at random from those en- tries with the most correct an- swers. • Winners will be announced in the April 4 issue. • Employees of The Jewish News, Olympia Entertainment, the AMC Maple 3 Theatre and their families are not eligible to enter. THE PRIZES 1 Grand Prize winner will receive: • Concert/Theater Tickets for 4 (concert to be announced) • 8 AMC Maple 3 Theatre tickets • The opportunity to review an upcoming film for our JN Enter- tainment Reviews page. (option- al) 10 Runners Up will receive: • 4 AMC Maple 3 Theatre tickets each ❑ Secrets and Lies ❑ Shine Best Actor ❑ Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire ❑ Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient ❑ Woody Harrelson, The People vs. Larry Flynt ❑ G-eoffrey Rush, Shine ❑ Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade Best Actress ❑ Brenda Blethyn, Secrets and Lies ❑ Diane Keaton, Marvin's Room ❑ Frances McDormand, Fargo ❑ Kristin Scott Thomas, The English Patient ❑ Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves Best Supporting Actor ❑ Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Maguire ❑ Joel Coen, Fargo ❑ Milos Forman, The People Vs. Larry Flynt ❑ Mike Leigh, Secrets and Lies ❑ Scott Hicks, Shine Best Foreign Film ❑ A Chef in Love, Georgia ❑ Kolya, Czech Republic ❑ The Other Side of Sunday, Norway ❑ Prisoner of the Mountains, Russia ❑ Ridicule, France Best Screenplay (written directly for the screen) ❑ Ethan Coen, Fargo ❑ Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire ❑ John Sayles, Lone Star ❑ Mike Leigh, Secrets and Lies ❑ Jan Harcli & Scott Hicks, Shine Best Savenplay (based on material previou produced or pubi ❑ Arthur Miller, The Crucible ❑ Anthony Minghella, The English Patient ❑ Kenneth Branagh, Hamlet ❑ William H. Macy, Fargo ❑ Armin Mueller- Stahl, Shine ❑ Edward Norton, Primal Fear ❑ Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade ❑ James Woods, Ghosts of Mississippi ❑ The Birdcage ❑ The English Patient ❑ Evita ❑ Hamlet ❑ William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Best Supporting Actress ❑ Joan Allen, The Crucible ❑ Lauren Bacall, The Mirror Has Two Faces ❑ Juliette Binoche, The English Patient ❑ Barbara Hershey, The Portrait of a Lady ❑ Marianne Jean- Baptiste, Secrets and Lies Best Director ❑ Anthony Minghella, The English Patient ❑ John Hodge, Trainspotting Art Direction Cmernatography ❑ The English Patient ❑ Evita ❑ Fargo ❑ Fly Away Home ❑ Michael Collins Sound ❑ The English Patient ❑ Evita ❑ Independence Day ❑ The Rock ❑ Twister Sound Effects kiting ❑ Daylight ❑ Eraser ❑ The Ghost and the Darkness originaiSOM ❑ "Because You Loved Me," from Up Close and Personal ❑ "For the First Time," from One Fine Day ❑ "I Finally Found Someone," from The Mirror Has Two Faces ❑ 'That Thing You Do!" from That Thing You Do! ❑ "You Must Love Me," from Euita Costume ❑ Angels and Insects ❑ Emma ❑ The English Patient Hamlet ❑ ❑ The Portrait of a Lady Pim Editing ❑ The English Patient ❑ Evita ❑ Fargo ❑ Jerry Maguire ❑ Shine Makeup ❑ Ghosts of Mississippi ❑ The Nutty Professor ❑ Star Trek: First Contact Visual Effects ❑ Dragonheart ❑ Independence Day ❑ Twister TIEBREAKER Documentary Feature ❑ The Line King: The Al Hirschfield Story ❑ Mandela ❑ Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse ❑ Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press ❑ When We Were Kings Name . 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