I don't often cross-post things to my blogs, but this week I saw a show that knocked my socks off. My friend Liz, to whom Body of Lies is dedicated, got me out of lazy mode to go into the city to see No Child-- a one-woman off-Broadway phenomenon written and performed by Nilaja Sun.
Folks, let me tell you, this woman is amazing. She brings to life Malcolm X High School in the Bronx with a minimum of set and a multitude of characters she embodies with both ease and efficacy. No one, from the school janitor to the school principal to the students and the teachers to the security guard to the visiting "artiste" determined to teach tenth grade students the theater escapes Ms. Sun's scrutiny.
Full of humor, pathos, and insight into the workings of the NYC educational morass create a show that is both poignant and funny, tragic and hopeful. I haven't been this moved by a piece of theater in a long time. If you're in New York, run to see this masterpiece. The rest of you will have to wait for Ms. Sun's HBO special.
