Tag: coronavirus

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New Musical ‘Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story?’ Goes Virtual For World Premiere

Amir Levi in ‘Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story?’
In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, artists in the theater are finding new, unconventional ways to bring the vibrancy of live theater to audiences. Over the past few months, theater fans have enjoyed online streaming concert events by Broadway stars as well as previously recorded original Broadway productions, plus Obie Award-winning off-Broadway plays like David Drakes’ The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. And of course, there’s Seth Rudetsky’s daily serving of theater fare with his Stars in the House web series. The acclaimed Blank Theatre in Los Angeles recently served up the virtual world premiere of the new musical, Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story? The one-man show was written by Vanessa Stewart and Brendan Milburn, based on an idea by Amir Levi, who also stars in the musical. Daniel Henning, of the Blank Theatre, skillfully handles direction for the premiere which was all filmed in quarantine. I had a chance to chat with Levi about the new musical, the experience of adapting the show for virtual audiences and more.

The Randy Report: What was the inspiration for the play? Amir Levi: A few things! Thematically, the idea of obsession has always been fascinating to me. I think partly because we all have a little bit of obsessive tendencies in us. Some of us Facebook stalk our exes, some of us constantly re-read texts to make sure we said the right thing, or we look for deeper meaning within the texts that have been communicated or not communicated with a lover/ex-lover/potential lover, etc. Most of us have the ability to stop ourselves, however. We have that little voice inside our heads telling us to stop because we’re being ‘crazy.’ This show is about someone who doesn’t have that ability. Structurally, I’ve always loved telling stories through song. I had done a few solo concerts, and the order of the songs that I picked was always important, and there would always be something to talk about between numbers. I love “Tell me on a Sunday” because we get to see several romances from one person’s perspective, and it’s all singing. This is similar to that because we see one person’s perspective on a romance, and it’s mostly done through song, but this is perhaps a more targeted approach.

Amir Levi in ‘Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story?’
TRR: What moved you to release this during the pandemic? AL: Our writer, Vanessa Stewart, e-mailed me, the director (Daniel Henning) and the composer (Brendan Milburn) about a week or two into the quarantine and said that since we don’t know how long this will last, and most of the show takes places in Nathan’s apartment, why not have this be our world premiere? We don’t know when live theater will come back, and each of us is an artist that can’t sit still unless we’re working on a project (or several) at a time. Just because the physical theatrical spaces are gone for now doesn’t mean theater needs to stop. Stories need to be told and people need to express themselves. Also, many people who are in quarantine (and even before quarantine) can probably relate to Nathan’s loneliness and desperation for companionship and love. TRR: Do you feel you were able to capture the mood/point of the play via virtual release? AL: Yes! Daniel is a brilliant director and came up with the different places to set the webcam to give it a more dynamic feel, and to really take advantage of this medium. We were originally planning on doing a live-stream of the whole show, but then we discovered that unless a musician was physically in the room with me, it would be impossible to really do the music justice. Also, as a performer, it would be hard to stay ‘in it’ while constantly adjusting the camera and doing everything on my own. Through rehearsals, Daniel took note of what times of day the different lighting options were affecting my apt (Daniel directed me via Zoom screen share so he could see what my webcam was seeing). Brendan and Vanessa wrote a new song (“Friend You”) for this medium that really helps show not only the emotional journey of Nathan but in this medium, is able to get a sort of intimacy that can only be conveyed through film.
Amir Levi in ‘Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story?’
TRR: What’s next for ’Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story?’ AL: Eventually, when live theater comes back, it would be amazing to get a full run of it, and to perhaps tour it! I’m sure 1 or 2 new songs would probably be inspired for a fully staged version. However, since live performance probably won’t return till at least Spring 2021, we want to reach as many audience members as possible and hope this story moves them.

In addition to just overcoming the immense hurdles of creating a piece of theater via Zoom and the internet, the creative team and Levi deserve big props for telling the sometimes obsessive/sometimes touching story of one man’s desire to find love. Favorite lyric: “Oh Chad, if you break it then you buy it / If you break my heart, you know you have to pay…” Does Nathan end up with the virtual love of his life? I’m not giving anything away 🙂 You can watch the full one-act musical, Nathan C. Jones: A Love Story? below.

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Fox News Poll: Voters Trust Biden To Handle COVID-19 Over Trump Bigly

L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden
The latest polling from Fox News will not be putting a smile on Donald Trump’s face. The survey of 1,104 registered voters shows the coronavirus is the number one issue on the minds of voters and that factors in when asked who Americans want to see in charge of handling the COVID-19 threat. While 51 percent trust former Vice President Joe Biden to handle the pandemic, only 34 percent believe Trump has the stuff to end the health threat. Biden also leads on questions of traits needed to be an effective president like compassion (Biden 56% – Trump 36%), intelligence (Biden 51% – Trump 41%), and judgement (Biden 52% – Trump 40%). Even on the issue of ‘mental soundness,’ which the Trump campaign has tried to characterize Biden as being mentally deficient, the public sees Biden as more in control of his mental faculties than Trump (47% – 43% respectively). That said, with the 2016 presidential election still fresh in our minds, voters know anything can happen. When asked if Trump will be reelected the results were a tie – 45% each side with 10% answering ‘Unsure.’ It’s worth noting, however, that tie is bad news for Trump. Back in February, the Fox News poll found 56% believed Trump would score a second term while only 43% were non-believers. I’m not a ‘national poll’ fan, but since this data comes from Fox News, I will note when asked if the election were held today, 49% said they would cast their ballot for Joe Biden while only 41% would vote Trump. Even with the 3% margin of error that is not good news for the Donald.

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Report: 18 States In Coronavirus ‘Red Zone’

The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom, obtained an unpublished report prepared for the White House coronavirus task force regarding 18 states currently in the coronavirus “red zone.” Included in the report were recommendations to roll back reopening measures as more and more cases are confirmed and test positivity continues to rise. From CNN:

The “red zone” is defined in the 359-page report as “those core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) and counties that during the last week reported both new cases above 100 per 100,000 population, and a diagnostic test positivity result above 10%.”

The report outlines measures counties in the red zone should take. It encourages residents to “wear a mask at all times outside the home and maintain physical distance.” And it recommends that public officials “close bars and gyms” and “limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer,” which would mean rolling back reopening provisions in these places.

The report comes despite President Donald Trump’s insistence that states reopen and a push to send the nation’s children back to school, even as cases increase.

“Now we’re open, and we want to stay open and we will stay open. We’re not closing. We’ll put out the fires as they come out,” Trump said at a White House event earlier this month.

The 18 states currently in the red zone for cases: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. These 11 states are in the red zone for test positivity over ten percent: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Washington. All of those – except for Washington state – are in the red zone for cases as well.

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Trump Admin: Hospitals To Bypass CDC, Send Coronavirus Data To HHS

Donald Trump
In a move that surprised many health officials, the Trump administration has ordered all data regarding the treatment of coronavirus patients to be sent directly to the Department of Health and Human Services instead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In light of Donald Trump’s claims the virus death count figures have been ‘inflated,‘ health experts worry the data could be distorted for political gain. From the New York Times:

The new instructions are contained in a little-noticed document posted this week on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website, Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports. From now on, H.H.S., and not the C.D.C., will collect daily reports about the patients that each hospital is treating, how many beds and ventilators are available, and other information vital to tracking the pandemic.

Officials say the change will streamline data gathering and assist the White House coronavirus task force in allocating scarce supplies like personal protective gear and the drug remdesivir. Some hospital officials welcome the move, saying it will relieve them of responding to requests from multiple federal agencies, though others said the C.D.C. should be collecting the data.

“The C.D.C. is the right agency to be at the forefront of collecting the data,” said Dr. Bala Hota, the chief analytics officer at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Public health experts have long expressed concerns that the administration is politicizing science and undermining the disease control centers; four former C.D.C. directors, spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations, said as much in an opinion piece published Tuesday in The Washington Post. The data collection shift reinforced those fears.

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CA Governor Shuts Down Restaurants, Bars, Theaters & More Due To COVID-19 Surge

Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA)

Gov. Gavin (image via Facebook)
Governor Gavin Newsom of California has announced on Monday he’s moving his state back to a modified version of his original stay-at-home order after reports that there had been 8,358 new COVID-19 cases reported in the state over the past 24 hours. Additionally, the number of deaths in the Golden State due to the virus at this writing totals 7,053 according to Johns Hopkins University. More from Deadline:

Hospitalizations over the past 14 days are up 28 percent. ICU admissions have risen 20 percent. Both of those counts are down in comparison to where they were two weeks ago, from 50 percent and 39 percent, respectively.

The test positivity rate, according to state figures, has risen to about 7.7 percent over the last seven days. That’s up substantially.

As a result, “We are moving back into a ‘modification mode’ of our original stay-at-home order,” said Newsom. “This is a new statewide action, effective today.”

The governor announced that he is requiring all counties to close their restaurants, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, wineries, zoos and bars.

Additionally, L.A. and 29 other counties on the state’s monitoring list must close fitness centers, places of worship, nail and hair salons and indoor malls. Other L.A.-local counties impacted include Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Diego, Orange and virtually every other county in Southern California.

Newsom did not announce an end date to the re-instated order.

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Trump Retweets Game Show Host’s COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories

L-R Chuck Woolery, Donald Trump
Donald Trump retweeted messages from politically conservative former game show host Chuck Woolery that accuses the Centers for Disease Control and physicians of “outrageous lies” about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Woolery alleges in one tweet that doctors and scientists, among others, are exaggerating the fallout of the coronavirus in order to hurt Trump’s reelection prospects. “The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19,” read Woolery’s tweet. “Everyone is lying. The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I’m sick of it.” That was followed by another tweet (also retweeted by Trump) declaring “This is so much evidence, yes scientific evidence, that schools should open this fall. It’s worldwide and it’s overwhelming. BUT NO.” It’s not clear what “lies” Woolery was accusing the CDC of making. But it’s disconcerting that the president of the United States would further dangerous remarks like these leading his followers into deeper disbelief about the ravaging effects of the coronavirus. It’s worth noting that other countries are re-opening schools because they took far more stringent steps against the pandemic as it began.

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Chris Wallace Calls Out Betsy DeVos For Threatening To Defund Schools

Good for Fox News’ Chris Wallace for calling out so-called Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Wallace asked DeVos about a threat she and Donald Trump have issued saying they plan to cut off funding for schools that don’t agree to re-opening schools this fall during the coronavirus pandemic. “Both you and the president have threatened to cut off funding for schools systems that don’t open fully in the fall,” Wallace explained. “Are you and the president unilaterally going to cut off funding that’s been approved by Congress — and most of the money goes to disadvantaged students or students with disabilities?” First of all, many school systems do intend on delivering classes online at the very least. So those teachers and administrators ARE trying to do what they can safely. Second, the idea that the re-opening of schools is only about students is ludicrous. Schools need adults – teachers and staff – to operate. Children could be bringing the coronavirus to school and infecting those adults. OR passing it on to other students who could then infect their grandparents…#smh Watch below.