Born in Manhattan, but raised in Lake Charles, LA, Tony Kushner was surrounded by artistic expression for most of his early life. His father left to conduct the Lake Charles Symphony for the next 30 years. His mother was a bassoonist and star actress. When he moved back to New York City to attend Columbia University, he worked as a liquor store stock person while learning the art of writing for the stage and directing. Post-graduate work at the prestigious Tisch School of The Arts at nearby NYU was the first place for his original plays to be staged.
Kushner's best-known works are much more prominent in scope (the jaw-dropping sadness and beauty of "Angels in America" premiered off-Broadway over two years - living on as miniseries from director Mike Nichols) and size (writing or co-writing the last four Steven Spielberg films including "Munich," "Lincoln," and "The Fabelmans"). While all of those are brilliantly staged with fantastic dialogue, we thought a more simple and funny early play might serve as a great introduction to Kushner's playwriting.
By adapting Pierre Corneille's "L'Illusion Comique," Kushner displays his sleight of hand by incorporating modern comedic tropes into a work bursting with comparisons to Moliere and Shakespeare. Set in 17th Century France in a darkened cave, "The Illusion" works from the angle of a "play-within-a-play" making the audience observant of both the action and reaction of those on stage. Kushner once said that there was not "enough magic" on stage anymore and that it was "almost like everyone could see all the wires."
"The Illusion" opens darkly funny as the attorney Pridamont travels all the way from Avignon to seek the services of a conjurer who will help him find his lost son. Alcandre, the illusionist, has no trouble bringing the story of his son's current whereabouts to life. From this point, as viewers, we have no trouble tearing ourselves away from the ridiculous love story as his son, named in this "waking dream" Calisto, has fallen in love with the beautiful yet unavailable Melibea. In the midst of their uncommon love being sewn together with the help of an outside party (the smart friend/maid Elicea - who displays some magic of her own,) For example, after the first meeting between the immediately lovelorn Calisto and the immediately recoiling Melibea, it is Elicea who comforts and builds the confidence of Calisto, much like Alcandre, working between two worlds.
ELICIA: But she didn't. I would have. She didn't.
You're alarming. Wild. How can she resist you?
You have such pretty teeth. Each one
like a little kernel of white corn.
Here she comes: hide in the bush;
She's on the brink: I'll give a push.
(Aside) She's ready to fall for him head over heels;
And why am I helping? I know how he feels.
When passion possesses, you freeze and you burn,
Your bedsheets get knotted; you toss and you turn;
Your laundry gets soiled, you tear out your hair,
So I'm helping out; and why should I care?
This is theatre not letting you accept that it is theatre. In one fell swoop, Kushner is borrowing from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and Moliere's "Tartuffe." "When passion possesses" inserts the classic French form of a twelve-syllable line known as an alexandrine" as a direct nod to the days when this more skeptical humor was commonplace. The pre-Romantic gaze upon "love" here is wide-ranging. It seems to be a term that confuses everyone. From the vision in Alcandre's cave, Pridamont sees the same look that Elicia sees in his son's eyes as one that says "danger to me," In addition, it makes "his blood run cold" and is like a "feral stare." This pattern of different levels of observation resulting in different interpretations is thrown an even bigger loop when you discover that the story is told through three "visions" each with the actors playing other characters and seeking out opposing allegiances.
The complexity of these layers of organization is beautifully aided by Kushner's dialogue. Characters breathe life into these lines and like all good comedies, the escalation of hyperbolic actions shields you from how ridiculous they are. For instance, when Calisto (after being given confidence by Elicia) meets his chief rival Pleribo, they engage in a "Princess Bride"-level exercise in who would cut off their hand for Melibea and why - until they both lose sight of the joy of being able to actually hold or caress their sought-after love.
Kushner's "The Illusion" is often billed as "meta" or even "postmodern" because of how it shakes up the elements of the past and lends it to modern voices. However, the real illusion here is how Kushner's love of the theatre is the prize that he like Alcandre in bringing to us in the darkened caves of our workday lives.
Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
New music this week
FOO FIGHTERS - But Here We Are [LP/CD/CS](RCA)
It is very rare that your humble reviewer does this. However, I feel that we must. While I freely admit that the last few Foo albums have been calculated and quite underwritten in places, "But Here We Are" gets an automatic pass because this is clearly a record that is about a band sorting out loss (the harmonious "Show Me How,") and fond memories ("Under You.") The Cheap Trick-ish "Rescued" is a classic example of the raw emotion this band is capable of summoning and committing to tape. Here's hoping for more of those on the release.
BOB DYLAN - Shadow Kingdom [LP/CD](Columbia)
On the cusp of turning 83, Dylan dives back into his early catalog with the help of a big new band including T-Bone Burnett, Don Was, and slide wizard Greg Leisz. Dylan (especially in the Sixties) was a huge believer in changing his backing bands to try to fit the songs that he had written. The source material for "Shadow Kingdom" alone ranks as some of Dylan's best-written and least-played songs ("Queen Jane Approximately" and "Tombstone Blues") plus a couple of late-period finds ("What Was It You Wanted" from 1989's "Oh Mercy.")
REVIVALISTS - Pour It Out Into The Night [LP/CD](Concord)
When the world slowed down for the last two years, New Orleans' Revivalists used that time to look within. So, "Pour It Out" documents the changes in their personal lives ("Kid") and tries its hardest to make a Rock ("The Long Con" is far more revved up than their usual AAA-ready fare) album that is infused with hope.
ROGER WATERS - The Lockdown Sessions [LP/CD](Legacy)
Over 2021-22, Roger Waters worked from home like so many others. These six songs from his career with Pink Floyd ("Mother," "Vera/Bring The Boys Back Home" and the underrated "The Gunner's Dream") with solo material. With his touring band, help from Jonathan Wilson and Lucius, and strings from Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, "Lockdown" is as detailed and cinematic as his shows were before the world slowed down.
BULLY - Lucky For You [LP/CD/CS](SubPop/AMPED)
Singer/songwriter/producer Alicia Bognanno is back with her band Bully. "Lucky For You" Her spiky Pop is tempered with a little more wild production this time out ("Lose You" with Soccer Mommy) but where her hooks are the tightest ("Hard To Love.") Like 2020's stellar "SUGAREGG," Bognanno remains front-and-center for the band drumming out driving Nineties-inspired grinding hard/soft/hard rock ("Days Move Slow.")
RANCID - Tomorrow Never Comes [LP/CD](Epitaph/AMPED)
Six years later, Rancid is again reunited with Epitaph founder/producer Brett Gurewitz for standard-issue Nineties Punk RAWK. Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen seem to be out to prove that they both understand growing old (the blazing title track) and yet refuse to concede ("Don't Make Me Do It.")
Reissue of the week
TINA TURNER - Private Dancer [LP](Parlophone/Rhino)
Remembering Annie Mae Bullock is to remember a female artist who had to fight for nearly every inch of respect she could. To have it all taken away at the hands of all of those around her is the definition of true heartbreak. With her husband Ike from 1958-1976, Tina Turner weathered the storms and emerged unshakable. In 1976, Ike and Tina secured a major deal from CBS and began negotiating for a new record contract as well. Then, just days before signing the contracts, the inevitable happened. Tina left Ike in Dallas, hiding out in a Ramada Inn with a gas card and just 36 cents to her name.
When she got back on the road again as a solo act (even appearing on TV shows for short-money gigs like "Hollywood Squares,") her money was taken back to the label for debts accrued by Ike's cancellation of shows and unfulfilled contract projects. Disco Tina failed miserably. With a new manager at the helm, Tina made another bad decision, headlining for five weeks in South Africa at the height of apartheid.
Friends were there to help her out. In November 1981, Rod Stewart invited her to duet on "Hot Legs" on "Saturday Night Live." A month later, Tina was opening for the Rolling Stones on their 1981 American Tour. A 1982 re-recording of the Temptations classic "Ball of Confusion" with members of Heaven 17 as B.E.F. became a hit in Europe. The video that accompanied it made Tina the first African-American performer to reach regular rotation on MTV. Since 1979, Turner had been considered a "nostalgia act," but she wanted to change that. Recording another single with B.E.F., a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" provided her first American solo hit in November 1983.
Her new home Capitol Records was so impressed they gave Tina two weeks to record an album. Using four different production teams and the previous singles, "Private Dancer" established Tina Turner as a force of nature. No stranger to covers (and again with very little time) Turner took on two more, synth-based covers of David Bowie's theatrical "1984" and Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" which sounded custom-built for her biting vocal style. Channeling her Bluesy/Gospel/Soul rasp into a Pop album was a huge risk. The only way it would truly work is if the quality of the songs rose above what many might characterize as "slick" production.
The fact was Tina had all the drama to sell ANY song. "I Might Have Been Queen" was written for her by producer Rupert Hine and Fixx guitarist Jamie West-Oram in a modern "Nutbush City Limits" style. The strutting "Show Some Respect" could only stand upon those famous legs. While the Dire Straits' refusal of Mark Knopfler's song turned into Tina's signature song, it remains a testament to Turner's ability to channel all of her life experience post-Ike into a moment of triumph (even if Knopfler hated this version and said the late Jeff Beck ruined it with his solo.)
However, there was only one song that can truly exemplify the ongoing impact and experience of "Private Dancer." The track from songwriters Terry Britten and Graham Lyle had already been rejected by Cliff Richard, Phyllis Hyman, and Donna Summer. The UK Pop group Bucks Fizz actually recorded in February 1984, but Tina smartly grabbed the song and released it first. When MTV started airing the video opening with Tina walking down the street with all legs, a leather miniskirt, and a jean jacket - an icon was born. "What's Love Got To Do With It" went on to be the second-biggest selling single of 1984. "Private Dancer" was lodged in the Top Ten from August 1984 to May 1985, going five times platinum with three Top 10 singles.
Annie Mae Bullock from simple living in Nutbush, rose to prominence and then had it all taken away piece-by-piece by an industry that never did her any favors. Tina Turner beat all the odds and never gave up or truly sold out. "Private Dancer" may seem a little dated production-wise 40 years later, but Tina's soul is alive in every track. This is how we will always remember Tina.
