MAN ON STAGE

Name: Equiano Mosieri

What part of the city do You call home?: Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way.

Occupation:

Professional human being that knows how to bartend when needed.

What’s project are you currently working on?:

I am currently in the latest installment of the psychological World War One story, 'In Fields Where They Lay'. It's being put up by New Ohio Theatre 12/5 to 12/27 at 154 Christopher St. 

Favorite spot in the city that most New Yorkers’ don’t even know?:

Barricou... A little French bar in Brooklyn that has Hot Toddy's that warm your heart, Irish Coffees that sing and crunchy French toast with berries that force you to wonder why you haven't heard of the place till now.

Why do You love what you do?:

Well, I try to enjoy everything I do, whether it be acting, making music, or going to the beach. I suppose the main joy from acting is the work that goes into building a well-oiled ensemble; one that share ideas with each other to achieve a common goal. Plus the amount of time it takes to get to the finished product, makes the experience a little more treasured than my going to the beach. Though if I could do theater on the beach and incorporate the music my collaborators and I come up with, then we're cooking with gas!

Give us your Best subway story!  If you got one— :

Last year, around midnight on a January night, freezing cold outside, the A-train I was taking home was packed. Everyone was glum, as one is at midnight in the middle of a New York winter. The car doors opened up and a guy gets on and begins his pitch to receive money. He says his name is A-train, because he sleeps on the A-train. At first people have this 'oh not again" expression in their bodies, except A-Train has a certain spin on his woes. He is telling jokes on the train; and he is hilarious! He talks to everyone, not one person is left out of his improvisational ramble, and not one face is without a child-like smile. He even tells jokes in different languages: Mandarin, German, French. It's incredible! People are missing their stops so they could continue hearing his bit. I miss my Nostrand Ave stop and finally get off at Euclid Ave! He was a bloody riot. 
At the end people are trying to give him $20 as a donation, but he refuses that much money and settles for $5 as the ceiling. One of the great sets and done on a moving train... underground.

What’s in your Netflix cue?:

Peaky Blinders season 2, Lilyhammer season3, A Fish Called Wanda, 20ft From Greatness, Juice 

What’s on your book shelf?  Do you prefer hard cover books or digital?:

Revolution by Russell Brand
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

... and so many others.
I prefer hard covers over digital, because digital hurts my eyes. What can I say, I'm a sensitive type.

Three favorite songs?:

Right now I'm vibing with Les Nubians, James Blake, William Onyeabor, Gill Scott-Heron, Ghostpoet, Spleen and a good friend introduced me to Stromae.

Dream job?  (Example: would you like to be Mayor of NYC?):

The CEO of my own hammock, on my own patio.

Finish this sentence “when I grow up, I want to be?":

... laughing at a great joke I just heard.

Finish this line - New York has my heart because ….?:

Haha I have a 6 year running joke with a friend over which city is the "greatest city in the world". As a fellow New Yorker he would love that you asked me this question. Now, I love New York, but she's more of a loyal and passionate friend with quirky mood swings than the owner of my heart. 

If you could plan a dinner party for 15 of the coolest folks in the industry, Who would be at your table?:

Only because they're cool: Liz Morgan, Jarrett Key, Lisa Maree Dowling, CJ Wilson, Kevin O'Donnell, Steve McQueen, Johnny Lee Davenport, Zillah Glory, Ariana Natale, Vivek Tulsee, Tamiko Robinson, Anastasia Frenkel, Adrian Brody, Idris Elba, Isabella Rossellini and Cillian Murphy

What are you eating and drinking?:

Nigerian food from Buka. Desert from Sweet and Shiny. Drinks from Pouring Ribbons

Whose entertaining?

We're entertaining ourselves with conversation, stories, live music and DJing.

What’s Your New Years’ Resolution?:

No more resolutions, just a better life style.

 

Social Media Information:

www.mrequiano.com

https://twitter.com/Equianinios

https://www.facebook.com/equianomosieri

http://instagram.com/unitedkingdomofafrica

Links to any projects:www.mrequiano.com

Remembering Theater's Grand Dame Marian Seldes

Marian Seldes, who passed away after a three-year slide into darkness, told me once: "One of the most enthralling moments for me in every play I do, is crossing from Stage Left to Stage Right, or vice versa, depending on where the stage door is, and ravishing a moment there - just me and the ghost light."

For anyone who knew Miss Seldes, and for hundreds of you who may have just run into her on the street or in a supermarket aisle and said, "Hello," you can hear her dulcet whisper as she spoke, not at a distance, but really up-close- and-personal as if you were one of her beloved friends.

One evening in November, 2005, Miss Seldes was walking across West 12th Street, on her way to dinner at a friend's apartment. On my way there, I ran into her on the corner of Sixth Avenue as she was embroiled in a lengthy conversation with a tall, elegantly clothed woman in colorful tribal African fabrics and the most amazing turban. I stood aside to escort Miss Seldes the rest of the way. The woman had seen her that summer opposite Nathan Lane in Primary Stages' production of Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams at 59E59.

The conversation didn't seem to be winding down. I gently nudged Miss Seldes who greeted me, as often was the case with anyone she met, even total strangers, effusively. I told her that we were going to be late. They exchanged long goodbyes and Miss Seldes gave one of her customary curtesies. As we walked away, Miss Seldes said, "Darling, I'm sorry I didn't introduce you, but I don't know her." I replied, "You don't?" "No," she replied, "but she knew me." [BTW, this play was the one in which Miss Seldes famously uttered the F-word.]

Miss Seldes was so fond of Lane that she very much wanted to see him in TheAddams Family. It was November 2010, during a period when Miss Seldes wasn't always having an easy time getting about. Tickets were arranged and a note was left for Lane, who was known to frequently sneak out the lobby doors. As we left Miss Seldes' building on Central Park South, I ran ahead to hail a cab. No luck there. Miss Seldes tapped me on shoulder and said, "Darling, here comes the Number Seven bus." We boarded, and then I found there was no stop at 46th Street.

While Miss Seldes animatedly chatted away with people on the bus, a number of whom recognized her, I asked the driver if there was a way he'd left us off there. He wasn't sure who she was, but said she was a Number Seven regular. He let us exit at the 46th Street corner, but it wasn't so easy to get Miss Seldes off, as she was in the midst of entertaining her fans.

We were greeted warmly by the Lunt-Fontanne house manager, who escorted us to the seats, even brought refreshments at intermission. She told us she'd have us escorted backstage. As the curtain calls ended, we were being taken to the far right exit door, where the BC/EFA bucket brigade was collecting. I pulled out my wallet to donate. Not to embarrass myself in Miss Seldes presence, I went to donate a fiver. Miss Seldes turned to me aghast, handed me her purse. "Darling, grab a twenty. I'm on the board!"

The ensemble member collecting was so excited to meet Miss Seldes, who joined her in rapturous conversation, that she forgot she was colleting. Finally, out the door, where the stage doorman was waiting for her, Miss Seldes was recognized by a number of people in the line. In a New York minute, it was like Miss Seldes was the star of the show. She was being photographed and signing autographs. We finally were able to get her into the Green Room, where she was seated in quite the regal chair that befitted her. Members of the cast came by to visit.

Marian Seldes, Nathan LaneIt was explained that Lane was taking a shower and would be down soon. When he arrived, it was a love feast. As he embraced Miss Seldes and knelt before her, she appraised his performance, actually one of the saving graces of the show, as if he was Olivier/Gielgud/Lunt reincarnated. Lane was unabashedly moved and seemed in no hurry to run.

Afterward, Miss Seldes announced she was hungry. The reservation I made was scratched in favor of going to Sardi's, where, when we entered, it was like one of Miss Seldes' opening nights.

In his appraisal of her career, Ben Brantley wrote inThe New York Times: "When Marian Seldes served ham, it always tasted like caviar. More than any stage performer of her generation, this enduringly vital actress ... made overacting feel like a deeply elegant craft, wrought in carefully carved flourishes and filigree."

I have a feeling Miss Seldes would have thought that to be a supreme compliment.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marian Seldes: Career Highlights

Studied acting under renowned acting instructor Sanford Meisner, New York's Neighborhood Playhouse;
1949, Featured in TV production, Macbeth;
1954, Film debut, The Lonely Night, a TV docudrama produced by the U. S. Public Health Service on mental health;
1963, Obie Award, The Ginger Man;
1967 to 1991, faculty member, Juilliard School of Drama, where her students included Christine Baranski, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Kline, Laura Linney, Patti LuPone, Kevin Spacey, Robin Williams;
1967 Tony Award, Best Featured Actress, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance;
1970s, Recurring guest on CBS Radio's Mystery Theater;
1971, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations, Actress (Play), Father's Day;
1974, Equus;
1977, Obie Award, Isadora Duncan Sleeps with the Russian Navy;
1978, Co-starred in Deathtrap, never missing a performance over five years - an achievement that won her entry into the Guinness Book of World Records;
1978, Tony Award nomination, Best Featured Actress, Play, Deathtrap;
1978, Published autobiography, The Bright Lights;
1983, Outer Critics Circle Award, Painting Churches;
1994, Co-starred in Albee's Three Tall Women, Outer Critics Circle Award;
1996, Inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame;
1998, Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Featured Actress, Ivanov;
1999, Tony Award nomination, Best Actress, Play, for the revival of Ring Round the Moon;
2001, Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Actress (Play), Albee's The Play About the Baby;
2000, The Madge Evans & Sidney Kingsley Award for Excellence in Theater;
2001, Obie Award for Sustained Achievement.
2001 and 2005, Fordham University faculty;
2003, Nominated for her fifth Tony Award, Best Featured Actress, Play, for LCT's Dinner at Eight [2002; a last-minute replacement for ailing Dorothy Loudon in the role of Carlotta Vance];
2003, Beckett/Albee, opposite Brian Murray;
2003, Edwin Booth Award;
2004, The first annual Seldes-Kanin Fellowship Awards;
2005-2007, Honorary Chair, Theater Hall of Fame;
2005, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams, opposite Nathan Lane
2006, Co-chair, 35th Anniversary, Theater Hall of Fame benefit.
2007, Duece, opposite Angela Lansbury

Film highlights: Mona Lisa Smile, The Haunting, Celebrity, Town and Country, Home Alone 3, Affliction, Tom and Huck, The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag, Digging to China, The Greatest Story Ever Told [a memorable Herodias], The Big Fisherman, The Light in the Forest, Crime and Punishment U.S.A. and The True Story of Jesse James.

TV roles include: Club House, If These Walls Could Talk 2, Truman, Gertrude Stein and a Companion. Guest appearances: Remember WENN, Cosby, Wings, Murphy Brown, Murder She Wrote, Law & Order, Othello [Emilia to Walter Matthau's Iago], General Electric Theater, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason and Gunsmoke.

Music as weaponry! Performance as protest! "Finding Fela" opens August 1

"Finding Fela—" a look inside the mesmerizing life of steadfast activist/musician/ Fela Kuti under Award-winning director Alex Gibney’s keen cinematic eye is a joyful adventure that's creatively supported by hypnotic music and skillfully coupled with heart wrenching politics and personal insight into the life of the man that became legend—Fela.

"Finding Fela" is executive produced by New York businessman Stephen Hendel and his wife Ruth Hendel who also produced the 2009 Tony Award winning play, FELA! directed by McArthur Fellowship-winning choreographer and director Bill T. Jones.

Gibney’s pairing with the footage of the "making of the Broadway musical" (FElA!) is a artistic stroke of genius.

"Finding Fela" is just as the film title suggests, a journey of discovery and an appreciation of just how difficult it is to put this man’s life on stage, while witnessing an authentic jumble of characters all of whom share their poignant views and personal stories.

One of the most riveting and contemporary parts in the film is provided by Seun Kuti (31) the youngest son who inherited his father’s extraordinary Egypt 80 orchestra after his death.

Gibney doesn't romance Fela's life nor flinch from sharing the documented facts surrounding his uncontrollable womanizing in the name of free love, his indifference towards his children and his irresponsibility with sexual health. He died of AIDS- related illness in 2007.

Gibney achieves that alchemic balance choosing to use the music to highlight the bravery and conscience of a man who risked his life (daily) in the face of a brutal Nigerian military who would constantly beat and harass him.

Fela is not deified in any way and no critic could argue that this is a classics biopic. It isn't like Kevin Macdonald’s "Marley" or Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz"—it's better—and I wouldn't be surprised if it earns a 2015 Oscar like Morgan Neville’s euphoric "20 Feet From Stardom."

Gibney’s "Finding Fela" speaks eloquently to his constant search for identity. The film handpicks key moments in Fela’s life: his decision to reject medicine and study music, listening to James Brown, witnessing the Black Panthers – all of which crystallized his views which enriched his music and, stone-by-stone, helped paved his path to iconic status.

Music is everywhere and Afrobeat and Jazz fans will not walk away unserved!

Yes, the politics is raw and urgent and the storytelling immensely thoughtful but it's the sound that will make "Finding Fela" successful.

Music as weaponry and an uniting force that cruelty can't extinguish.

Protest as performance. The struggle continues and the message—like music—keeps hope alive!

"Finding Fela" opens in theaters on August 1, 2014.

"Can you achieve your goals? Yes or yes!"— Luis Salgado. "Song of Solomon" to be directed by Luis Salgado

The very first words that I heard from Broadway star/theatrical producer/stage director Luis Salgado were aimed at a group of sweaty kids, stuffed like happy sardines inside a smelly rehearsal studio—"Can you achieve your life's goals?," Salgado shouted, bouncing around the Broadway space like a live fire cracker. "Can you make your dreams come true? Yes or Yes!" 

The question, poignantly constructed around  the subject of achieving growth and putting faith in action, in his creative mind, only had one answer: yes or yes! 

Yes.

 Luis Salgado—who is a recent Harlem resident and first time father —is one of my creative inspirations.  I'm tickled "the full color of the rainbow" to add that we're becoming creative friends.

Four years ago, when I  stumbled into that crammed rehearsal space, I didn't realize that I would leave with a vigor and a new mantra—"yes or yes!"

The brainchild and force behind the assembly was Luis Salgado's "Dare to Go Beyond" Children's Performing Arts Camp, which just completed their 7th year.

It's  presented by  Salgado's R.Evolución Latina (RL), an organization that's affiliated with Broadway Cares.  Their mission is to empower the artistic community, and inspire growth within the Latino community through educational programs, productions and partnerships. 

The news about the closing of the musical "Rocky," in which he appeared, was sad news, for many, but as that curtain dropped another one was raised and that project was the world premiere of  "Song of Solomon," which Salgado directed. 

Created by Andrew Beall & Neil Van Leeuwen, "Song of Solomon" is a tragic, epic romance, based on the Biblical Song of Songs. 

Set in ancient Israel, the musical follows the secret romance between King Solomon and a brilliant young vineyard girl, Almah, who inspires the most famous love poetry of all time. The stakes are Solomon's life, the woman he loves, and the fate of Israel. 

"It's a great challenge" says Luis Salgado, "This show is an epic music journey from beginning to end and as part of the festival we are challenged to take away over an hour of the script and still allow the audience to experience the deep catharsis that these great writers are seeking. I am thrilled to be collaborating with such a smart group of creative minds who are very passionate about these piece" 

This will be his directing debut for the NYC Thespis Festival. Salgado's other directing credits include successful shows in Peru such as" Candela Fuerza y Pasion" and "Aniversario Sin Cuenta."  He made his directorial debut in NYC with the family musical "Amigo Duende." 

"Song of Solomon" opened  at The Actor's Temple (339 West 47th Street) in August.  A Broadway run is expected, in 2015!

The cast includes Evan McCormack, Ann McCormack, Danicah Waldo, Casey Manning, Levin Valayil, Jonathan D. Morales, Rocio Lopez, Shannen Rae, Alessandra Baldacchino in leading roles as well as key ensemble members Lindsay Bayer, Anthony Logan Cole, Aaron Dalla Villa, Dylna C. Digel, Tim Fitzsimons, Leslie Kyle Hudson, Andrea Nevil, Jennifer O'Neill, Tony Paterniti, Hannah Rable, Megan Tischhauser, & Greg Uliasz

For more information visit www.salgadoproductions.com

For tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/782981

"I challenge you not to leave the film singing!"

Clint Eastwood: "I challenge you not to leave the film singing!"

The great film-maker Clint Eastwood has a habit of delivering pleasurable movies, filled with strong actors and wrapped up neatly in a satisfying cinematic experience. He's so gosh, darn great at delivering the quality goods, it's hard for most to single out one of their favourites Eastwood film.

His newest, "Jersey Boys," isn't his best but all-in-all it's not a bad film.  It just isn't Clint Eastwood great.

The film lifts a page directly from the Tony awarding winning play (Jersey Boys) which is the compelling story of the rise and rocky road to success of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Eastwood employed a trick Broadway producers often forgot, no doubt influenced by the high produced by triple digit ticket prices: Leave them "hungry" and wanting more.

No stranger to exploring street tough characters, burdened by their machismo pride, he anchors those early scenes of street crime and bar life with welcome weight.

Their misadventures are scrappy and these young men of a era were desperate.  It was a crap shoot—fame—and when the band starts racking up No. 1s — fights over girls and money — despite being woefully predictable, does feel momentous.

Two of the Four Seasons were serious musicians, GOD gifted and dedicated to pop-music craftsmanship; two were regular "right place at the right time" guys from a mobbed up neighbourhood who made every effort to stay feeling outclassed.

There are many moments where the music saves the movie, much like it saved the men singing under a city street-light.

It's especially fine when John Lloyd Young (the Tony-winner who originated the Valli role on Broadway) uncorks that falsetto, and the sound of his voice washes away the film's minor infelicities.

In the third act, when the original Four Seasons reunite at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the sentiments that Frankie Valli shared, about the moment that meant most to his chart topping career he stated for history: "Four guys under a street lamp, when it was all still ahead of us, the first time we made that sound — our sound."

That's also one of the best moments in "Jersey Boys" and I challenge you not to leave the film singing and walking "like a man" because frankly " big girls don't cry."

Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Marshall Brickman and Rich Elice. Starring John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza, Christopher Walken, Mike Doyle, and Renee Marino.