Caltech presents the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Tonality with a program called HomeCare on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 8:00 pm at Beckman Auditorium. Part of Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide, the performance is one of Caltech’s PST ART Opening Doors series.
Known for creating choral concerts that shine a light on issues rarely presented in choral music, Tonality strives to deliver authentic stories through voice and body to incite change, understanding, and dialogue. Under the direction of Tonality founder Alexander Blake, HomeCare will focus on the climate crisis through the words of young leaders who have spoken about the urgency of taking care of our home planet and conserving the resources available on earth.
Blake discloses that he conceived Tonality because he didn’t see himself represented in the field of classical music. He says, “Growing up in North Carolina, I sang in gospel choirs and started taking classes in classical music. I realized that I was oftentimes the only person of color in those endeavors so I set out to change that. In 2016 we put out a very intentional call for musicians of color who are trained in classical music, saying we wanted to create a choir that reflected our community here in Los Angeles and globally.”
Tonality rehearses at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Oct. 8, 2021 | Photo/Michael Owen Baker / Courtesy of Tonality
Tonality’s ensemble is comprised of 24 singers for its L.A. concerts and 16 on tour. But because availability changes, the ensemble has a wide roster of over 70 singers to provide opportunities for as many musicians as possible. They represent various cultures and ethnicities, including African American, Chinese/Korean, Filipino/Mix, Indian, Egyptian/Puerto Rican, Indigenous American, Mexican, Dutch/German, French/Armenian, Syrian/Native American/White, Japanese/Hispanic/White, etc. A majority of the singers are professional vocalists who sing in multiple ensembles with various artistic duties. Most of them are full-time musicians and a small number have full-time jobs outside of music
Under Blake’s leadership as conductor and artistic and executive director, Tonality had its first rehearsal in June of 2016. “We did one concert in 2016 and they asked us to do it again,” he states. “Then we started to produce our own concert – we found the rehearsal space and venue – until eventually we started getting calls.”
Within a year of its founding, Tonality’s mission evolved to use their collective voices to present concerts on themes of social justice with the hope of catalyzing empathy and community activism. Tonality received the 2020 Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, a prize given for commitment to singing and commissioning new works.
Photo courtesy of Tonality
“It was an acknowledgment of the kind of music which is rarely performed at the level and consistency we’re doing it in a classical genre,” explains Blake. “Choirs sometimes do shows that have a focus on an issue but to continually create, support, and promote music about social justice issues and working with diverse composers with diverse styles to present these topics was what was recognized by the ASCAP award.”
“The award came with cash, half of which we donated to the Black Lives Matter movement,” Blake adds. “But to me what it symbolized was the opportunity for more choirs to lean in, to use art to speak about topics that matter. It really opened up conversations about how musicians can produce concerts around justice issues and also how the choral culture can be more diverse and equitable. I think for us the biggest change is being able to perform these pieces and creating more opportunities for composers to talk about issues through their art.”
Tonality has been touring since its inception, but the first big tour opportunity came about in 2022. Recalls Blake, “We received an email from Bjork, who was looking for choirs in L.A. who were involved in social issues. She got recommendations from people who’d seen our show. Our work aligned with what she was doing and she asked us to perform with her. So we did two concerts with her in Los Angeles and three in San Francisco.”
Photo courtesy of Tonality
For the Caltech concert, Tonality will be performing a repeat of what they did in 2018.
“Most of the pieces that we did in the 2018 concert were premiered at that event,” declares Blake. “Joseph Trapanese’s ‘New Collective Consciousness’ was a piece that we premiered. ‘Earth Song,’ which was arranged by Nathan Heldman with words and music by Michael Jackson, premiered at our concert. There are a number of pieces that we were able to bring about.”
“While a lot of our music is a capella, for HomeCare we’ll have a piano for a couple of songs then we have a guitar and percussion,” Blake clarifies. “There will also be solo as well as ensemble pieces – the music genres include classical, pop, R&B, Hindustani, and various other styles.”
Describes Blake, “The format of our concerts is storytelling and the music is there to help people connect emotionally to the issue. We also work with experts and organizations to make sure people know how to get involved. We’ll be joined by a number of guests, including Dr. Lucy Jones who focused her research on how climate change will be more disastrous for earthquakes.”
HomeCare will open with Woody Guthrie “This Land is Your Land” and close with Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song.” The concert also includes music by Gaayatri Kaundinya, Luke Wallace, Christopher O’Brien, Francisco F. Feliciano, Joseph Trapanese and Carlos Fernando Lopez composing to a text of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Tickets are available at pst.caltech.edu/events/opening-d
Mayon Volcano in Legaspoi City is considered the world’s most perfect volcanic cone | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Long before the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and the initial wave of Chinese migration to America in the mid-1800s, Filipinos became the first Asians to arrive in the continental United States on October 18, 1587 at what is now California’s Morro Bay.
Four centuries later – in 1992 – the Filipino American Historical Society introduced FAHM (Filipino American History Month) to commemorate that momentous occasion. In 2009, the U.S. Congress officially recognized October as FAHM in the United States.
Sunset at Manila Bay | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
The history of the Philippines and the United States intertwined when Spanish colonialism went head-to-head against American imperialism. Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War which took place on May 1st, 1898 and ended over three centuries of Spanish colonization in the Philippines. One June 12, 1898 Filipino patriot Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed an independent Philippine republic.
Author and historian Luis H. Francia in his book, ‘A History of the Philippines’ wrote, “U.S. intentions towards the Philippines were remarkably similar to Spain’s: to exploit the Philippines as a market and source of raw materials, and to utilize the islands as a stepping stone from which to gain access to the markets of China.”
The Banaue Rice Terraces were carved into the mountains by the ancestors of the Igorot people; it is commonly referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Philippine revolutionary army resisted American military forces which turned into the 1899 Philippine-American War. Francia wrote, “Ostensibly for the liberation of Spanish colonies, the war mutated into one of empire building. First against Spain, and then against the Philippines, the United States aggressively strode to be an imperialist power. The two facets of what in fact was a single war set the stage for subsequent U.S involvement in the Philippines that continues to this day.”
William Howard Taft, then civil governor of the Philippines, defended American occupation in the islands during his speech before the Union Reading Room in Manila on December 17, 1903. “It was decided that if we turned the islands back to Spain we should be guilty of a breach of faith to the people who had worked and cooperated with us in driving Spain from power …. Being the sovereign in these islands, then the question came, ‘What was our duty to these people?’”
The governor’s palace. | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, Califotnia
Taft refuted the charge that the United States came to the Philippines to acquire territory and power. At the same time, he said the Filipinos weren’t ready to form a government so the Americans were there to provide the helping and guiding hand from the people who also fought hard for their own freedom.
While his remarks were a disparagement of the Filipinos’ ability and intelligence, some Filipinos acknowledged a basis for this reasoning. In his address before the U.S. House of Representatives on January 5, 1927, Grant M Hudson of Michigan, presented a speech by Vicente Villamin, a Filipino lawyer and author, who called it “the Philippine problem.”
Ifugao Igorots. | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
“The Philippine problem involves a three-cornered responsibility, to wit: The responsibility of Filipinos to themselves to keep their country a fit place to live in, the responsibility of America to the Filipinos to give them a chance to live as a nation in a reasonably safe and satisfactory manner, and the responsibility of America to herself to make morally sure that her withdrawal from the Philippines will not open the way to conflicts in the Pacific which may develop into world conflagration. These are the determining factors in the solution of the Philippine problem, and not the showing of the different administration in the Philippines or the mental capacity of the Filipinos to govern themselves.”
Villamin then said that Filipinos themselves were of two minds – patriots were willing to stand the costs and risks of immediate nationhood while realists alleged that the knowledge of those costs and risks had not been brought home to the people.
A weaver in Zamboanga, Mindanao Island. | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
However, the impetus for the United States to grant Philippine independence was not borne by altruism or benevolence but the financial meltdown that brought about the Great Depression of 1929. Private companies thought it would lead to the termination of duty-free exports from the Philippines that were competing with American products. They also hoped it would result in stricter immigration laws so Filipino workers – who were perceived as unfairly competing on the labor market for jobs – could no longer freely enter the U.S.
During the International Studies Conference held in Paris on June 28 through July 3, 1937, Robert Gale Woolbert submitted a memorandum on The Reversal in American Expansionist Policy.
A farmer riding on a carabao. | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
It posited: “The decisive reason, however, for granting the Filipinos their independence was the desire of politically powerful agricultural interests in the United States to rid themselves of the competition of Philippine products. In the Jones Act Congress had formally promised the Filipinos their independence ‘as soon as a stable government can be established.’ But in the debates of 1933-1934 preceding the passage of the act setting up the Philippine Commonwealth, the crucial issue was not whether the Philippine people were ready for self-government, but how Philippine sugar, coconut oil, hemp, and tobacco could be kept out of the American market.”
Before that independence took place, however, the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939 and the subsequent declaration of war on Germany made by Britain and France precipitated World War II. Shortly after that, on September 22, 1940, Japan – which had been extending its empire in the Pacific – invaded French Indochina and on September 27 formed an alliance with Germany and Italy.
Two individuals with the locals. | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
Japan had been on an expansionist course for decades, imitating western countries, and its interest in Chinese markets and Asian natural resources competed with those of the United States’. On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and nine hours later invaded the Philippines. U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who had set up his headquarters there, was caught off-guard and the Japanese quickly eliminated his troops. Shortly after that, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.
The Japanese occupied the Philippines for almost four years and killed close to a million civilians. McArthur was forced to evacuate his headquarters in 1942 because he was deemed too valuable to the United States to be captured or killed by the Japanese. Before his departure, though, he vowed to return. And on October 20, 1944, he landed on Leyte Island to fulfill that promise. His famous speech “I have returned” remains one of the most iconic phrases of the war and his return became an unforgettable event for Filipinos.
Pursuant to the Tydings-McDuffie Law, the United States granted the Philippines its independence on July 4, 1946. Thousands of people gathered at Luneta Park in Manila to witness the end of nearly half a century of U.S colonial rule in the Philippines. But because July 4 is widely known as U.S. Independence Day, it became confusing. In 1962, then president Diosdado Macapagal reinstated June 12 as the official independence day, commemorating the 1898 proclamation.
Luneta Park and the Rizal monument. | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
While the Philippines and the United States had severed ties long ago and the majority of Filipinos alive today did not personally experience the American occupation of the Philippines, Filipinos feel a kinship with Americans. Opinion surveys have consistently shown that the United States ranks as the Filipinos’ favorite country in the world.
As Jay Samonte, a Filipino businessman who was born and raised in the Philippines and is a Quezon City resident, remarks, “A lot of Filipinos are disenchanted with Philippine government policies and the system, and the lack of job opportunities resulting in poverty. They are always in search of greener pastures. The U.S. is one of the top choices and has the strongest influence on Filipinos. Many of them have families that went to the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s to find jobs then came back to retire here. Another influence is Hollywood movies. But the U.S. is also one of the most difficult countries to immigrate to. Resettling in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. is easier and they have become popular options.”
“Spanish rule was perceived by Filipinos as negative because of the Spaniards’ abuses, exploitation, and the execution of (national hero) José Rizal, while U.S. occupation freed us from the Spanish and the Japanese during WWII. There is a positive feeling of Americans being seen as heroes,” concludes Samonte.
The University of Santo Tomas in Manila, founded on April 28, 1611 by Spanish friar Miguel de Benavides, is one of the world’s largest Catholic universities in terms of enrollment found on one campus | Photo by Kent Ogares for Unsplash
Spanish influence in the Philippines, however, still exists to this day and the most significant is Catholicism. A majority of Filipinos are Catholics and Catholic private schools and universities have remained popular educational choices.
But Filipinos owe the educational system being used today to the Americans. In her book, “A History of Education in the Philippines: 1565 – 1930,” Encarnación Alzona, Ph.D., associate professor of history at the University of the Philippines, wrote: “The memorizing method, which prevailed in secondary schools during the Spanish era, has been abandoned. It has been replaced by the latest pedagogical methods of instruction. Teachers are required to prepare lesson plans and to ask pupils thought-provoking questions. The project method has also found its way into the secondary school and has helped to vitalize the subjects of study.”
Moreover, English became the medium of instruction. Phonics and phonetics, grammar and usage were taught in the very early grades as they are to this day. And while Tagalog, the national language, is the dialect widely spoken by Filipinos, English has been the primary language used in professional settings and when conducting business.
Palma Hall at the University of the Philippines | Photo by Kat Fernandez for Unsplash
In 1908, the Philippine Assembly passed an act that created the University of the Philippines (U.P.) – patterned after American state universities in organization and administration. It became the benchmark for institutions of higher learning. Several universities were subsequently established and led to the accessibility of college education to a majority of Filipinos. Out of all the positive outcomes of the U.S. regime in the Philippines, education had the greatest impact. It gave Filipinos the tool to better their circumstances.
For a while U.S. History was a required course in high school and also during the second year in College. Today, however, only students at select schools study it.
According to Esmeralda Perez, who taught U.S. History from grades 9-12 at International School Manila (formerly American School) for 14 years until her retirement a few years ago, other schools that had similar curriculum were Brent School in Baguio City, Northern Luzon and another called Faith located outside Metro Manila.
Philippine jeepneys began as Willy Jeeps left behind when American G.I.s departed after World War II | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
“U.S. History covered the discovery era, technology, innovations, colonialism, domestic issues such as slavery, civil war, and involvement in the world wars, various attempts and efforts to solve economic problems brought by Depression, the excitement of Space Explorations, the challenges of the administrations such as economic, political, and social issues. The rest were covered as evolving current events,” Perez says.
Perez explains, “U.S. History provides the lens through which the students examined the success formula of a nation as well as its weaknesses in handling its problems. Filipinos gained a better understanding of how we adapted and assimilated American culture in its physical and spiritual realms.”
“Whether U.S. Colonialism has been destructive or beneficial very much depends on where we stand amidst the ongoing geopolitical situations,” states Perez. “Teaching U.S. History and colonialism in school requires a thorough understanding of the subject; they can only be effectively imparted through the eyes of an unbiased and well informed instructor. A dramatic walk through history makes learning experiential as well, for history can be a personal connectedness to a storied past.”
Manila skyline | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
That many Filipinos want to hear stories about life in America from people who have been here and dream of coming to the United States themselves is proven by my lived experience.
When my two sisters and I were little kids in Quezon City (a metropolis of Manila) in the 1960s, my mom would take us to Cavite (approximately 28 miles south of Quezon City) to see her cousins, who we called Tita (aunt) and Tito (uncle), and were visiting from the U.S. My aunts were nurses living and working in Chicago and my uncles were with the U.S. Navy.
Their visits always turned into a reunion and large celebration for our clan – my mom had 10 siblings and there were 57 children among them. Neither my sisters, cousins, nor I knew these relatives that well, but going to Cavite was always a thrill for all the kids because it meant we’d be feasting on delicious foods and delicacies all day while the grown-ups chatted away and our aunts and uncles would gift each child a dollar bill before we left.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
As I got older, I became more aware that immigrating to America was a goal for many Filipinos looking for more life opportunities. As it happened, my dad was working at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and we constantly had people showing up on our doorstep to inquire if there was an easier way to get their application for U.S. residency approved. That he worked at the U.S. Information Agency (USIS) as the media relations officer, and wasn’t privy to how the consular section operated, didn’t deter anyone from asking anyway.
In the late 1970s my parents decided to emigrate from the Philippines as well. My dad had been working at the U.S. Embassy for 30 years and even if he was only 52 years old, he was granted retirement. He was also offered the chance for him and his dependents to go to the America as residents. I had turned 21 the year before and wasn’t a dependent so I had to apply separately; my mom chose to stay behind with me and my youngest sister until she finished college. My dad had to petition the three of us and it took five years to get approved.
My dad and my younger sister, who was 20 years old and had just graduated from university, immigrated first. The two of them settled down in Orange County close to where our relatives from Cavite resided and they went about the business of paving the way for the rest of us to begin a new life here. In 1980, they were able to buy a small house for all of us to live in shortly before my mom, my youngest sister, and I arrived two years later.
Luneta Park and the Rizal monument today | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
I have been a California resident for 42 years and call Pasadena home. My husband and I have a daughter who has been married now for five years and live not too far from us. My younger sister resided in Orange County until she and her Swiss husband moved to Switzerland permanently in 1994 with their two children before they turned 4 and 2 years old. My youngest sister still lives in Orange County with her husband; their four adult children and families reside near them.
It has been 78 since the U.S. granted the Philippines its independence, yet the two countries still have enduring ties that bind them. The United States continues to provide financial assistance and disaster relief. The two counties have a robust trade and investment relationship. Filipinos still want to come to America for work, but strict immigration policies have made them look for overseas jobs elsewhere.
A Manila sunset | Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Francia wrote in 2019, “The Philippine diaspora totals approximately 11 million, spread throughout the globe, from North America to the Middle East to the Scandinavian countries, with occupations ranging from doctors, nurses, and computer engineers to domestic workers, and merchant marines.”
Despite strict immigration laws, however, an estimated 4 million Filipinos live in the United States – the second largest Asian American group after the Chinese – until very recently when Indian Americans surpassed that number.
While colonialism might have been the United States’ intended goal when it drove the Spaniards away in 1898, the Philippines benefited nevertheless. Many Filipinos and Filipino Americans may think I’m misguided, and I certainly do not expect them to agree with me, but I believe the United States has given us much to be grateful for.
References:
A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos, Luis H. Francia.
The Duty of Americans in the Philippines: Address by Hon. William Howard Taft, civil governor of the Philippine Islands, delivered before the Union Reading Room, Manila, P.I., Thursday, December 17, 1903, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
The Philippines: Extension of remarks of Hon. Grant M. Hudson of Michigan in the House of Representatives. Villamin, Vicente, 1927, 300261, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
“A history of education in the Philippines, 1565-1930,” Encarnación Alzona, 1895-2001. Manila: University of the Philippines press, 1932. LA 1291.A6, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
International Studies Conference, Tenth Session Paris, June 28-July 3, 1937. Memorandum on the Reversal in American Expansionist Policy by Robert Gale Woolbert, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
What has been done on the Philippines: a record of practical accomplishments under civil government. United States. Bureau of Insular Affairs, 119597, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
El Dorado County is famously recognized as the place where California’s Gold Rush began. According to historical accounts, on January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold on the south fork of the American River in the valley known to the Nisenan Indians as Cullumah (beautiful valley). That momentous instance not only helped shape California’s future, it reinvigorated the country’s economy as well.
Courtesy photo
Towards the end of the 1880s another historical, albeit little-known, event transpired in El Dorado County – the public hangings that sent shock waves across Placerville.
Based on newspapers articles at the time, a reputedly wealthy farmer John Lowell was murdered on March 24, 1888 during a robbery at his ranch near Mormon Island in El Dorado County. Three men were convicted of first degree murder – John Henry Meyer, a 27-year-old immigrant from Germany; John Olson, a 24-year-old Norwegian native immigrant; and William Drager, a 41-year-old immigrant from Germany.
Meyer was hanged on November 30, 1888. Olson and Drager – who steadfastly claimed throughout the trial that they weren’t involved in the murder of Lowell – were hanged on October 16, 1889. These were the last legal hangings and among the last public executions in California.
Hangings were not uncommon in the United States back then; Placerville had been referred to as “hangtown” since the Gold Rush days. However, Olson and Drager’s sentence galvanized the whole town into action because Placerville residents felt they had not been complicit in the murder, and the death penalty was too harsh for their actual crime.
Courtesy photo
Over 425 townspeople – including the district attorney who prosecuted the case, the sheriff, and nine of the 12 jurors – signed a petition requesting the sentence be reduced to life imprisonment. It was, however, rejected and the pardon turned down. It fell upon El Dorado County sheriff James Madison Anderson to carry out the sentence and, for years, that an injustice might have been done weighed heavily on him.
His great-great-granddaughter M.G. Rawls – a retired Pasadena lawyer and author of fantasy trilogy books “The Sorts of Pasadena Hollow” – delves into this event and gives readers an intimate look at the victim, the killers, the crime, and the hangings. She chronicles the details of the case and then reaches her own conclusions about this long-forgotten and rarely discussed episode in Placerville’s past in her book called “Hanging Justice,” scheduled to publish in October 2025.
In the course of her extensive research, Rawls traveled to El Dorado County several times and visited the gravesites of her ancestors at Placerville Union Cemetery. During one of her trips there she found out about Save the Graves.
Placerville Wagon Train Event 2023 | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
Conceived in 2019 by Mike Roberts and his wife Michele Martin, Save the Graves is a non-profit organization with a mission to restore, preserve, and celebrate El Dorado County’s historic cemetery and the stories they contain.
Speaking by phone, Roberts begins just as he does all his talks about Save the Graves. “Some people discover at some point in their lives that they have a peculiar fondness for old cemeteries. And I am one of those people. I’ve always been fascinated by them and drawn to them. It turned out there’s a word for people like us — taphophiles.”
“When I was walking my dog one day, I came upon this cemetery near my home and realized that what was once a beautiful place had gone to seed,” Roberts recounts. “No one was cutting the grass and the trash cans were overflowing. There’s so much history beneath these headstones yet no one was taking an interest in preserving it. So I took it upon myself to do that.”
New signage at Placervile Union Cemetery | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
Roberts explains, “There are several ‘Friends of’ organizations in several cities, so I tried to create ‘Friends of Union Cemetery.’ To attract people into joining the group, I wrote a piece about the history of Union Cemetery, had it published in the local paper, and apprised readers that I was holding a couple of formation meetings and gave the times and dates.”
“One of those people who showed up was a retired PR executive for a utilities company who told me he was part of something similar to this in Long Beach called Save the Graves. The Historical Society was involved and they did theatrical portrayals of local historical characters buried in the cemetery. They researched and wrote scripts; the actors rehearsed and wore costumes authentic to the era. They charged money for the performances which people loved because they learned about the town’s history; that enabled them to raise funds to restore the cemetery. He had already committed to do some work for the Placerville Park but offered to help as soon as he finished that project,” recalls Roberts.
“I had forgotten about it until he called me two years later and asked if I was still interested in collaborating,” Roberts continues. “Coincidentally, a theatre professional he had previously performed with in Long Beach had just arrived in Placerville and he recruited him to get involved. They got us a grant and the three of us partnered up and launched our first production. As challenging as it was to stage a show at a cemetery, we pulled it off and it was very well received in the community. We held the second production and then we had a pandemic.”
Mike Roberts (in white shirt and black trousers) at a Save the Graves booth | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
These two gentlemen Roberts teamed up with eventually moved on to do theatrical productions elsewhere, leaving Roberts to focus on his original objective.
Says Roberts, “I was everywhere doing fundraising and cemetery improvement projects, running volunteer groups, as well as doing repair and restoration work myself. What bothered me most were the broken headstones. The county that managed the cemetery wouldn’t let me touch anything because of the liability. Heaven forbid the county gets sued by someone because I cleaned their ancestor’s grave! So I circumvented a potential lawsuit by checking the genealogy of the people buried there and choosing to repair the headstones of those with no relatives in Placerville.”
Using money they’d raised, Roberts paid $3,000 to a sympathetic local cemetery operator who agreed to get 18 of the headstones off the ground. And that made a huge difference. Instead of merely explaining to people what he was trying to accomplish, it gave him something concrete to show when he asked for donations. It also made fundraising easier the following year.
According to Roberts, the real fundraising vehicle is the program for the annual event. They started out with a four-page leaflet and last year they printed a 48-page magazine with a glossy cover and inside were advertisements about local shops and proprietors interspersed with the schedule of activities.
A Historical Society booth at a Placerville event | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
These days, when Roberts tries to sell advertising space he’s asked about readership and circulation figures, which makes him laugh. He no longer has to do door-to-door solicitations; he reaches out by email. But when he does go out to see potential advertisers, he’s always wholeheartedly welcomed. People comment on how beautiful the cemetery looks.
In the six years since he and Martin established Save the Graves, Roberts has become something of a local luminary. He attends the downtown merchants association meetings and listens to some of the problems they encounter and helps find solutions. He has been giving two-hour talks about Save the Graves before various groups.
Placerville bell tower | Photo by M.G. Rawls / Save the Graves
“Last year we incorporated Save the Graves as a non-profit organization and that enabled us to apply for funding and we got our first big one – a $5,000 grant,” Roberts says happily. “The County Board of Supervisors gave us $10,000. We’ve been receiving donations from many people in the community, I’m so humbled. This year one of the descendants of a Placerville sheriff also sent us money. I didn’t know we had prominent historical figures in our town – we’d lost track of them.”
“We now have the luxury of having the money to take care of the cemetery,” declares Roberts. “The headstone cleaning can be done by volunteers so the funds go into fixing more complicated issues, like accessibility and terrain problems, crumbling copings along the walkways, etc. We’ve gotten a lot of damaging lichens out of old headstones and we’ve posted all sorts of interpretive signs that tell stories of these places to engage people who wander through.”
“Save the Graves is as much about building community as it is about fixing the cemetery,” Roberts emphasizes. “Historic cemeteries strengthen the fabric of our community by building connections between people. Part of that requires that you know something about those who are buried – and we accomplish that through our theatrical productions, biographical stories we post, and a Find the Grave QR code the general public can scan with their smart phones. We’re building connections to the people who are here now and to the place they live – that’s community. It starts to grow and we eventually connect with each other.”
“Placerville’s demographics are shifting with folks from big, congested cities moving in because they can buy an acre of land and enjoy nature and wildlife. And guess what else they like – old cemeteries! And they’re willing to help out,” Roberts enthuses.
Vendor showing gold flakes panned in Placerville | Photo of courtesy Save the Graves
Two of those transplants to Placerville are Jacob Rigoli and Sean Manwaring with whom Rawls got acquainted when she went to see the house her great grandfather used to live in – which they now owned.
Relates Manwaring, “Jacob and I first met Meg in October 2021. At that time we were restoring the historic residence colloquially known as ‘Judge Thompson House,’ named after her great grandfather, Superior Court Justice George Thompson. It was also the childhood home of her grandmother Virginia Thompson Gregg. Before that, her great-great-grandparents lived in the circa 1862 home, making it the residence of three generations of her family. Her mother and uncles visited the home in their youth with her grandmother.”
“It was Meg who introduced us to Save the Graves,” Manwaring clarifies. “The following year, we joined the planning committee and assisted with the annual event and fundraiser. Although I’m not a Placerville native, I grew up in Northern California, frequently visiting old mining camps and Gold Rush towns with my family. I have fond memories of Placerville. Like her, my husband Jacob and I are descendants of pioneers who arrived in California either just before or during the Gold Rush.”
“We quickly bonded with Meg over our shared enthusiasm and deep appreciation for all things related to early California history. Since then, she has become a dear friend, and we truly understand her passion for preserving her family’s legacy,” states Manwaring.
2023 Save the Graves theatrical performance | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
“The work of Save the Graves is vital in preserving not only our local history but also the stories of California’s pioneering women,” informs Manwaring. “Last year, we featured one such remarkable figure: Mollie Wilcox Hurd. Born in Placerville in 1870, Mollie’s life took an unexpected turn when she married Frank Stoddard, nephew of Elizabeth Stoddard Huntington, the first wife of Central Pacific Railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington.”
Collis P. Huntington’s nephew, Henry Huntington, and his wife Arabella founded Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens – a beloved institution in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California.
“Frank’s family connections and career in the railroad industry propelled Mollie into the elite social circles of Los Angeles,” Manwaring continues. “While in Los Angeles, she served as President of the Los Angeles Florence Crittenton Home, which was established to help women and children in need. Beyond raising their two children, Mollie dedicated herself to philanthropic endeavors, particularly advocating for women’s and children’s rights. She played a pivotal role in securing state legislation requiring fathers to pay child support regardless of marital status.”
Mollie and Frank Stoddard were married for 25 years. Following her divorce from him and after their children had grown, she married her old friend – Los Angeles area senator, Henry M. Hurd. She remained deeply connected to her Placerville relatives. She was a founding member of the Placerville Shakespeare Club, generously bequeathing a donation to build their historic building upon her death in 1929. Mollie and Senator Hurd are both buried in the Placerville Union Cemetery.
A 2023 Save the Graves theatrical performance | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
“This year’s show called ‘Law and Order, to be held on October 19, will focus on four notable crimes that occurred in El Dorado County between 1855 and 1903,” Manwaring explains. “Each crime will be presented through historical portrayals, featuring two key figures – ranging from perpetrators to victims, and from law enforcement to members of the press. Attendees will gain insight on both the community and the justice system.”
Describes Manwaring, “The portrayals are historically accurate and performed graveside – often near the burial sites of the pioneers being depicted – and actors wear period costume. One featured crime is the John Lowell murder of 1888, in which Meg’s great-great-grandfather Sheriff James Madison Anderson testified during the trial and guarded the accused. Additionally, her great-great-uncle, Marcus Percival Bennett, served as the district attorney. The case haunted both men for years.”
“Jacob and I contributed to the research and organization for this year’s event,” Manwaring adds. “He will serve as a stage manager and I’ll portray Marcus Bennett. We are just two of the many volunteers who help put on this annual event at Placerville Union Cemetery. Mike and Michelle are the driving force behind the fundraiser that helps preserve the cemetery and the stories of those buried there.”
Save the Graves performance is usually held near the grave site of the historical person being honored | Photo courtesy of Save the Graves
“Meg’s research has unearthed a forgotten story,” pronounces Manwaring. “It’s fascinating to discover the events that shaped the townspeople and the motivations of those involved in the John Lowell murder trial. She’s helping our community discover this important chapter in our history.”
Indeed a significant event transpired over a century ago at Placerville that residents there today may know nothing about. Roberts admitted as much when he said he didn’t know about Sheriff Anderson. But through the organization he and Martin created, they are learning about these episodes in their local history and making them unforgettable.
Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, Iron Works of Coalbrook Dale in The Romantic and Picturesque Scenery of England and Wales | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Almost daily over the past two decades, we’ve been hearing about climate change – when we experience a heat wave, when we witness a wildfire, when we see on the news an arctic blast on the East Coast, or when we learn about melting icebergs in the Antarctic Ocean.
Yet this phenomenon didn’t just happen in the last 20 years, or even during our lifetime, as the “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of our Climate Crisis” exhibition at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens demonstrates. On view from September 15, 2024 through January 6, 2025 at the Marylou and George Boone Gallery, it will be on display concurrently with “Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China.”
Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
The two shows are part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, a regional event presented by Getty featuring more than 70 exhibitions and programs that explore the intersections of art and science, past and present.
Its title originates from a series of lectures given by British writer and art critic John Ruskin in 1884. In “The Storm Cloud of the Nineteenth Century,” he conveyed concern over the changing appearance of the English sky caused by the smoke generated by coal-fired factories.
A pair of drawings that illustrates his “Storm Cloud” lecture – Thunderclouds, Val d’Aosta (1858) and Cloud Study: Ice Clouds over Coniston (1880) – is on loan to the exhibition from the Ruskin Museum and Research Centre at Lancaster University (U.K.). Ruskin made drawings of the sky throughout his life. These records of his observations helped him understand how the appearance of the sky had changed due to industrial pollution.
Arthur Severn after John Ruskin Thunderclouds, Val d’ Aosta; Cloud Study: Ice Clouds over Coniston | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
To give visitors to the show greater insight, a companion book has been published and contains two major essays and 16 contributions by academics, art curators, authors, educators, environmental activists, graphic designers, poets, and scientists.
Co-curators Melinda McCurdy, The Huntington’s curator of British art, Karla Nielsen, senior curator of literary collections, and Kristen Anthony, assistant curator for special projects, talked about the exhibition by phone three days before the show.
Nielsen said, “When we were given the theme ‘Art and Science Collide,’ we knew we were going to initially use materials across the Huntington collections supplemented by key loans. We have materials by John Ruskin both in the museum and in the library and we started thinking about his process of close observation of the natural world.
Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
“He gave a lecture in 1884 called ‘Storm Cloud of the Nineteenth Century’ in which he talks about decades of looking at the sky, thinking about the clouds, and drawing them. He referred to this new type of cloud ‘storm cloud,’ which today we would call smog – the cloud formation that happens around particulate matter from burning coal.”
“It’s considered one of the first public outcries about human-caused climate change and it happened in 1884,” pronounced Nielsen. “We thought it was interesting that it was much earlier than when most people cite the beginning of our conversation about how long have humans known in the developing world that we were having a harmful impact on the natural world.”
Anthony explained, “So when we talk about the origins of the climate crisis, it’s important that we look at the period immediately after the Industrial Revolution because that’s when in earnest the extraction and burning of fossil fuels for industry really took off. And literally the carbon in the atmosphere began to steadily rise throughout the period that this show covers.”
“Ruskin was our starting point, but we actually traced the phenomenon through the Huntington’s collection which is strong in the histories of the United Kingdom and the United States, so it really does follow the material from Britain and the United States – it is a story of the Anglophone world. Obviously there are other stories to tell that cover the rest of the world, but this exhibition focuses on England and the U.S.,” clarified McCurdy.
Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
“The thing that connects London and L.A. is smog so the show moves from the British Empire and a coal-powered economy to the beginnings of our current petroleum-based economy,” Nielsen pointed out. “Of course that makes L.A. a global hub because it’s one of the leading sites of extraction for petroleum as early as the late 19th century.”
Asked about the visitor takeaway, Anthony replied, “As far as the history of climate crisis, I think visitors will walk away knowing that we’ve understood humanity’s impact on the planet longer than the average person thought. And these changes – this impact on the planet – can be charted in the cultural productions of the period. You can see the earth changing and how industry is impacting the planet through the works of art and literature and the historical and scientific texts produced in the period.”
(From left) Melinda McCurdy, Kristen Anthony, and Karla Nielsen | Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
In her introduction shortly before a walkthrough of the exhibition, McCurdy said the project started when the Getty announced the theme for this iteration of PST, which is ‘Art and Science Collide.’ It was originally displayed in a smaller space but as their work progressed during the pandemic, the show moved to the Boone Gallery.
The exhibition is divided into three parts and multiple sections. The first “A New Relationship to Nature” is centered on humans’ connection with the natural world shown through beautiful works of art.
McCurdy took visitors to the first room and stated, “We commenced this exhibition in the late 1700s with the rise of the Industrial Revolution when factories started drawing people away from the countryside to the city and people were disconnecting from nature because they were working indoors. They learned to appreciate nature in a different way. It started the rise of tourism – when people were going into nature for recreation and pleasure. People sought picturesque vistas, they climbed mountains, and walked through valleys looking for that connection to nature.”
John Constable, ‘View on the Stour near Dedham, ‘ 1822 | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
“John Constable’s painting ‘View on the Stour Near Dedham’ is in fact not a natural landscape but a scene of industrial infrastructure in Eastern England,” described McCurdy. “The river was converted into a canal in order to transport grain from the interior of the country where it was grown and processed in the mill to then be distributed to urban markets. It’s a story of commodity; we’re going to hear a lot about commodity and shipping in the 19th century. In the painting he showed how the weather and atmospheric conditions could be used to convey emotion – this is a very emotional connection to the landscape.”
The exhibition’s other sections link the arts and science more explicitly. A selection of Constable’s “cloud studies” is juxtaposed with drawings of clouds by pioneering British meteorologist Luke Howard, demonstrating the shared interest in close observations of natural phenomena.
Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
Manuscripts by William and Dorothy Wordsworth are placed alongside multiple guidebooks to England’s Lake District, which were geared to the English public’s growing interest in hiking as a form of recreation and respite from city life.
Nielsen expounded, “While William was known as a poet, he actually wrote a guide about the Lake District. We were able to borrow from the Wordsworth Trust in the Lake District two manuscripts by his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. She was a companion to William throughout his life, accompanying him on his inspirational walks through the countryside. She was also an astute describer of the natural world so we borrowed one of her journals which contained a description ‘encountering daffodils on a hill’ that’s very reminiscent of his ‘Daffodils’ poem: ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils.’ The poem conveys the enjoyment of being in nature.”
Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
The history of science is explored in the next room. Anthony pointed to a research cast of ichthyosaur skull borrowed from the Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of L.A. County and Bureau of Land Management. The animal which this skull belonged to was from 244 million years ago; the drawing of the ichthyosaur skeleton is by Orra White Hitchcock, wife of Edward Hitchcock.
“One of the materials in this room is a book published by James Hutton, a Scottish farmer and naturalist, also known as the founder of modern geology,” declared Anthony. “In 1788, he wrote the theory of earth which was the first work to postulate that the earth was much older than the popular understanding of earth’s age which was derived from a literal interpretation of biblical text. After looking at the layers of rock on his land and how they formed, he hypothesized the planet was millions of years old and so much older than what we had ever thought. We now know it’s 4.6 billion years old.”
A broad range of objects traces growing environmental awareness over the course of the 19th century. Significant paintings by artists of the Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite movements and the Hudson River School are shown in conjunction with rare manuscript materials, such as Henry David Thoreau’s handwritten draft of Walden. Photographs of western American mountain ranges are displayed alongside materials from the archives of early 20th century conservationists John Muir and Mary Hunter Austin.
Thomas Cole, ‘Portage Falls on the Genesee,’ 1839 | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
“Storm Cloud” also features artists known for their paintings of the Hudson River Valley scene in Upstate New York. Thomas Cole’s colossal “Portage Falls on the Genesee” – a gift to The Huntington in 2021 from The Ahmanson Foundation – pays tribute to the natural world as much as it cautions us about people’s effect on it.
The second section of the exhibition focuses on the problems that come with industrialization. Using a painting that depicts Jamaica, McCurdy discussed the plantation economy and the ecological damage that results from it – the extraction of resources and devastation that goes along with degradation of humanity.
Frederic Edwin Church, ‘Vale of St. Thomas, Jamaica,’ 1867 | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Frederic Edwin Church’s “Vale of St. Thomas, Jamaica” shows the relationship between people and the industrializing world. On the right side of this painting, he portrays Jamaica as an untouched paradise with a very lush jumble of nature; but the left side, almost hidden by a storm cloud, illustrates evidence of severe drought exacerbated by deforestation due to plantation agriculture.
The other section of the room shows factory labor and some textiles and wallpapers produced by William Morris. McCurdy pointed out that Morris veered away from factory work and instead advocated for the artisanal way of manufacturing. One of the treasures in The Huntington’s collection is a book containing recipes for the dyes made from plants and vegetables used in his textile factories to ameliorate some of the problems causing harm to the environment.
Francis Michelin, ‘Scott’s European Fashions, for the Summer 1848 | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Impacts of fashion on the environment are displayed in the next room. The rate of extinction accelerated in the 19th century due to habitat destruction, overhunting, industrial pollution, among other factors. As this case shows, fashion was a major contributor as well. The hats which most gentlemen wore were made from beaver fur. Early in the 19th century their population was in such a deep decline that environmentalists were worried they were going to be extinct. The introduction of silk plush in 1840 saved beavers from that fate. Gentlemen decided they preferred the more shiny look of silk plush so it became a trend and the beaver population began to recover.
Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal
Late in the 19th century, around 1888-1890, women’s hats using bird body parts became a trend. This extreme hunting brought many birds like egret and bird of paradise to near-extinction. A group of upper-class women decided to counter that by convincing their friends to move away from this fashion trend. That organization turned into the Audubon Society. It was one of the earliest wildlife preservation organizations specifically to protect animals from being hunted for fashion and it was able to lobby the government to enact laws that protect migratory birds.
The final section focuses on the extraction and burning of coal into oil and the exhibition displays paintings of factories blowing black smoke into the atmosphere – images meant to signal production and progress.
Unknown, Oil Well on Fire, photograph, circa 1920s | Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Materials from the Ruskin collection illustrate London as one of the most polluted cities in the world. McCurdy disclosed, “The air quality was so bad and the people called it ‘fog’ and ‘pea souper’ because of its sickly green yellow color which was essentially particulates from coal-burning fires in factories mixed with the water in the air, creating a dense atmosphere.”
“London and Los Angeles are connected by smog,” reiterated McCurdy. “Many of those who grew up here remember we had days when we weren’t allowed to go outside because of the bad air quality. It has gotten better with regulations; collective action and regulations help ameliorate these problems.”
Rebecca Méndez, ‘Any Instant Whatever’ / Photo courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
The final work of art is a video installation by L.A. based artist Rebecca Méndez. She spliced together images of different times of the day to illustrate that our sky is a shared space and we all breathe what we throw into it. The curators used it as a 21st century cloud study.
As a parting note, Anthony shared with us The Huntington’s participation in the Climate Impact Program. They created a show that has as little adverse effect as possible and modeled sustainability practices: they reduced their research travel and limited loans to a few geographic regions and institutions so shipments could be bundled together. Within the gallery itself they mixed cases and frames from existing inventory – nothing was customized; instead of building walls with Sheetrock they used apple plywood panels so they could be disassembled and utilized for future exhibitions. They will also produce a climate impact report.
“Storm Cloud” examines a critical issue in a fascinating way that captures our attention. Anthony, McCurdy, and Nielsen did an extraordinary job in turning an otherwise lecturing tone into one that encourages us to take an active role in reversing climate change lest future generations end up inheriting a planet that’s barely recognizable as the same place their ancestors inhabited.
Back for its 16th year, the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival will be held on September 28 and 29 for a weekend of live entertainment, family-friendly activities, and more. This much anticipated event, which draws visitors from across the region to the beautiful La Jolla Village, showcases over 160 artists, and a ticketed Wine & Beer Garden featuring more than 35 international wineries and local craft breweries.
“We are thrilled to bring together such a diverse and talented group of artists, as well as the region’s finest wineries, distilleries, and breweries, in a grand open-air celebration in the village every year,” states Brenda Chand, Executive Director of the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival. “We look forward to welcoming everyone to this year’s festival and supporting the arts and education in San Diego.”
Photo courtesy of La Jolla Art & Wine Festival
The La Jolla Art & Wine Festival was founded in 2008 by Sherry Ahern in the wake of the financial crash to help people who had been adversely affected by the financial crash. A non-profit organization, its mission is to bring needed funds to the city’s public schools, art to the community, and promote La Jolla and its merchants. An astounding 10,000 came to the first festival which was held on upper Girard, where the farmers market is; it has since relocated on Girard between Torrey Pines and Prospect.
Ahern also wanted to help promote Via de Guadaloupe – Mexico’s wine country – which was then a newcomer to the industry, according to Chand. So she invited them to participate in the beer and wine garden alongside local wineries. Occupancy at the garden was limited to 450 people so there was a queue around the block during the entire weekend; the garden can now seat hundreds. They also charged attendees during the first few festivals, which is a free event today.
Photo courtesy of La Jolla Art & Wine Festival
This year, the iconic Wine & Beer Garden will feature more than 35 international wineries, local craft breweries, and distilleries, and local food vendors, offering a delightful array of tastes and experiences. Whether you are a seasoned connoisseur or simply looking to enjoy a refreshing beverage, the wine and beer garden will provide a welcoming atmosphere to savor and enjoy the festival. Participants include local favorites Pali Wine Co., Bird Rock Fine Wine, Puesto, Boochcraft, IZO Spirits, Solento Tequila, and more.
“Geppetto’s in La Jolla has been a sponsor and huge supporter of the event since day one,” continues Chand. “The owners – Brian and Danielle Miller – live in La Jolla and had kids at the schools. They helped us start the family art center because we wanted a place where families and kids could do fun projects and learn about art.”
Photo courtesy of La Jolla Art & Wine Festival
For this year’s festival, the Geppetto’s Family Art Center will offer engaging activities for children of all ages provided by the La Jolla Youth Robotics, The Living Coast Discovery Center, Seaside Arts Center, and Science Guys of San Diego. Activities will range from face painting and balloon twisting to interactive visual arts projects and exciting robotics demonstrations, ensuring that young festival-goers have an unforgettable experience.
Chand enthuses, “The event has tripled or quadrupled since its inception 16 years ago. Everyone looks forward to it because every year we add new things to make the event enjoyable and exciting. We strive to be inclusive and we like to promote up-and-coming artists so we involve artists and vendors of diverse backgrounds. Many careers have been launched at our event due to the special opportunities it brings for new vendors.”
Photo courtesy of La Jolla Art & Wine Festival
“We are juried fine art show, so all artists that want to participate must apply via Zapplications – an international artist platform. A jury selects the final participating artists. We sell the exhibit space (booths) to artists and then the artists sell their art to attendees. This year, hundreds of artists applied and we sold out of 160+ artist booths in a week.”
Art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to explore and acquire new masterpieces from artists hailing from across the United States, Mexico, and beyond. Artists will present their works in a diverse array of mediums, including painting, sculpture, jewelry design, fine glass, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media, and photography, at the open-air festival. This year’s featured artist is Roy Kerckhoffs, a renowned photographer and mixed media artist whose work conveys a story of a place with a history, highlighting the beauty that exists in human-made wooden, concrete, and steel structures contrasting with soft organic forms from nature.
Photo courtesy of La Jolla Art & Wine Festival
“The La Jolla Art & Wine Festival is one of the biggest art festivals in California and we expect over 45,000 people to attend over the course of two days,” declares Chand. “We will have 160+ fine artists, 40+ vendors in the wine and beer garden (breweries, wineries, distilleries, and restaurants), numerous sponsors, 20+ vendors in the Geppetto’s Family Art Center (where everything is free for kids), a gourmet food court, a silent auction (this is online and the link is on our website), live entertainment, live art, roving entertainment (by Rosin Box Project and stilt walkers) and pet adoptions. The festival is FREE but tickets are required for entry into the wine and beer garden. We have valet parking available and many parking lots in the area.”
While this is Chand’s third year as executive director, she has been involved with the festival as the art director since 2017. She says, “Every year brings something new and special – from the unique cool artists, to the fun entertainment, there is something happening everywhere you look. I love my job and I love getting to see my team’s hard work come together for such a special cause. Our event helps support art, science, technology and other programs that are underfunded in these public schools. To date, we have raised $1.2 million for the education benefit of 5,000 kids each year.”
So this fall, plan to drive to La Jolla Village for an art and wine weekend adventure and contribute to a worthwhile cause.
Danny Feldman | Photo by Jim Cox / Pasadena Playhouse
The Los Angeles Times recently launched L.A. Influential and Pasadena Playhouse’s Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman was called one of The Creators – a group of outstanding individuals who are leaving their mark in film, art, music, and more. He was listed with fourteen others across all of the arts, joining an esteemed company that includes Eva Longoria, Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, Jordan Peele, Mindy Kaling, Steven Yeun, and others. In the accompanying write-up, theatre critic Charles McNulty hailed him “The man who saved L.A. theatre.”
“It’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” says Feldman during a phone interview. He then recalls when he was informed of the honor. “They reached out a little less than a year ago to say I’ve been selected for this influencer list, so I’ve had time to digest it. I didn’t know who else was on this and the full context exactly, but I was a little shocked.”
Feldman clarifies, “I’m very pleased and grateful, but it’s really less about me than The Playhouse – I just get to be the face of it. The tribute is a sign or symbol that the work we’re doing at Pasadena Playhouse is getting noticed. This happened around the time The Playhouse won the (2023) Tony for Best Regional Theatre, which was a major achievement for us. It was an embarrassment of riches!”
The exterior of Pasadena Playhouse | Photo by Jeff Lorch / Pasadena Playhouse
“The Tony award had a tremendous impact,” emphasizes Feldman. “The Playhouse has a storied history with lots of ups and downs. The award honored the legacy and the unique history of the Pasadena Playhouse as one of the most important theatres in America. At the same time, we were recognized at a high point – when we were firing on all cylinders, when we were rising artistically.”
“Financially, we were at one of the more solid places we’ve been in our entire history; we were finding our stride and were on the eve of an expansion,” continues Feldman. “To receive a national recognition, like a Tony Award, for our body of work and for our impact of excellence in the world of theatre was overwhelming. So many of us have been working so hard for so long, to be acknowledged with a Tony Award was very fulfilling.”
In May 2025, The Playhouse’s building will celebrate its centennial and its programming will reflect its history.
Feldman states, “The Pasadena Playhouse is an iconic building and institution in our Los Angeles community as well as in the American theatre. That’s the theme throughout 2024-2025 so we’re calling it our iconic season. I was aiming for big shows that were iconic in their way –epic presentations that look like New York coming here and having a moment in our theatre.”
The Playhouse’s historic stage will feel alive with a sizzling Martin Crimp adaptation of one of the greatest plays of all time, Cyrano de Bergerac; a fresh new revival of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s Tony Award winner for Best Musical, La Cage aux Folles; a new production of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning classic, Topdog/Underdog – one of the best new American plays written in the last 25 years, as Feldman asserts.
Danny Feldman | Photo by Jim Cox / Pasadena Playhouse
“We’ll have special musical performances with the Civic Auditorium for two consecutive weekends of concerts featuring two of the most enduring musicals of all time: Anything Goes in Concert, starring Jinkx Monsoon as Reno Sweeney and Follies, an encore to our recent Sondheim celebration,” Feldman adds. “It’s a robust slate of shows that are sort of the greatest hits in a way, to honor our extraordinary achievement of having one of the oldest operating theatres in America. These special theatrical events will expand our initiative exploring classic American musicals with our community. ”
According to Feldman, musicals are rarely performed by non-profit theatres because they’re cost prohibitive. While the Pasadena Playhouse had staged musicals in the past, in 2019 he launched the American Musical Project – a bold and financially risky move. He discloses the reasoning behind the expensive venture, “We feel that it’s important because musical theatre is one of our contributions to the world. And we realize there’s a danger that the next generation and the generation after may not be able to experience these shows the way they’re intended in a 650-seat theatre in our community. We started with ‘Ragtime,’ ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ and, of course, our Sondheim celebration. ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ closing this week is the latest. We’re really showing folks our commitment and dedication to the American musical. We do them quite well, I have to say. People are really enjoying the artists and responding to them.”
Watching Broadway musicals at The Playhouse is a singularly unique experience. Feldman explains, “We love Broadway tours! It’s wonderful that our community gets to see these great shows from New York when they come to the Ahmanson or the Pantages. But those shows were created for a commercial purpose for Broadway and they go on tour with mainly New York performers. We do something very different at Pasadena Playhouse – we start with a blank page. I put together a team and they make the show from scratch. ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ has over a hundred local employees working on it; the scale of it is pretty fantastic. I think they’re so successful artistically because of the group of hardworking people who are making it just for the audience that comes to see the show at the Pasadena Playhouse.”
Not surprisingly, the back-to-back accolades of The Playhouse’s Best Regional Theatre Tony Award and Feldman being named “The man that kept L.A. theatre alive” have put pressure on Feldman. “I try not to think about that,” quips Feldman. “But, of course I feel a lot of pressure from my daily job – I’m in a very privileged position of running a very important theatre in American history and our community. We’ve got to keep raising the bar with every decision we make, every show we decide to put on. Pasadena Playhouse is on the forefront of the American theatre, which means there are a lot of eyes on all the things we do. But it’s always been that way.”
“We take the responsibility of being the state theatre of California very seriously,” stresses Feldman. “And I think you see that in the quality of our work. I’m assembling teams of some of the top theatre-makers in America, whether they’re the most experienced – Alfred Molina is on our board and performs on our stage often – or the most exciting new talent. But regardless, these are some of the hardest-working and talented people in theatre coming to create extraordinary theatre. We operate with the thought that if we don’t get this right it may be our last. Maybe that’s not true now but it used to be true, and that’s what drives us. And while these accolades are great and we feel deeply proud and honored by them, we have a lot more to do.”
The interior of Pasadena Playhouse | Photo by Jeff Lorch / Pasadena Playhouse
Feldman expounds, “We have a big vision for Pasadena Playhouse; we’re setting the theatre up for now as well as in the next hundred years. Today we have the luxury of not just thinking about the next show, but about where the American theatre is going – how do we lead the way on that – and what it will look like two or three decades from now.”
To that end, The Playhouse will present The Next Stage Immersive Summit 2025 in January in partnership with The Immersive Experience Institute, the main service organization for immersive theater artists. The premiere gathering of creators of immersive art & entertainment will draw international guests from the fields of performing arts, themed entertainment, XR, and gaming. This is the largest gathering of its kind in the world.
“This year we expanded our audience in a dramatic way with the inauguration of a major youth and family ecosystem – classes and professional shows for kids. Keep your eye out on that programming because that’s only going to grow in the future. Theatre education is core to who we are. The school at the Pasadena Playhouse was built in the 1920s and by the 1930s the College of Dramatic Arts was one of the top schools in America,” explains Feldman.
The public’s involvement is crucial to the realization of Feldman’s ambitious plans. He exhorts, “The lifeblood of our theatre is the people in the community and we urge folks to become members – you get to come along for the whole ride, you get to see all the shows. I think the folks who have been coming recently feel the new energy at The Playhouse and they understand that. But for those who may think it’s not for them or haven’t been here in a while, we encourage you to come take a look at us, come check out the shows, come look at our education program – we’ve really become a force in the world of theatre.”
Feldman will mark eight years of stewardship of the Pasadena Playhouse this fall. He took over as producing artistic director when the venerable institution was at its nadir financially and was struggling to get traction in the community. That he even took on such a daunting challenge is remarkable enough. That he then led the way in turning its fortunes around and flourishing during these particularly trying times for American theatre is an astounding feat.
In 1919 D.W. Griffith directed Hollywood’s first onscreen interracial love story between a white woman and a Chinese man. The movie was “Broken Blossoms” and the lovers were played by Lillian Gish as Lucy Burrows and Richard Barthelmess, in yellow face make up, as Cheng Huan.
What went on behind the scenes is the subject of East West Players’ next World Premiere play “Unbroken Blossoms” — a historical reimagining of the making of this actual boundary-breaking Hollywood classic — written by Philip W. Chung and directed by Jeff Liu.
“Unbroken Blossoms” follows two Chinese American consultants who are hired for the movie “Broken Blossoms” — Moon, an idealistic family man and James, a cynical, aspiring filmmaker — as they contend with the inflated ego of the film’s director D.W. Griffith, who is hoping to disprove criticisms of racism after the release of his controversial Civil War epic “The Birth of a Nation.”
Based on real events, this story of the suppressed voices behind the silent film “Broken Blossoms” reveals a historical conflict just behind the silver screen. “Unbroken Blossoms” goes on stage from June 27 through July 21 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The cast includes Gavin Kawin Lee as James Leong, Ron Song as Moon Kwan, Arye Gross as D.W. Griffith, Alexandra Hellquist as Lillian Gish/Gilda, and Conlan Ledwith as Richard Barthelmess.
The cast of “Unbroken Blossoms.” | Photos courtesy of East West Players
Speaking by phone, Chung explains the genesis of the play. “I’m fascinated by Hollywood history so I’ve read about D.W. Griffith; he is considered the godfather of cinema. His film ‘Birth of a Nation’ is hailed as one of the first and greatest films of all time. But it’s also a movie that makes heroes out of the Ku Klux Klan. It says something about America that the film which defined Hollywood — it introduced new forms and techniques about the craft — had KKK as protagonists. I thought it was interesting.”
“Studying his career I realized that he made ‘Broken Blossoms,’ one of the first ‘positive’ interracial relationships in Hollywood films, after that.” Chung continues. “But, of course, it was 1919 and it was a white man in yellow face makeup playing a Chinese character. I watched the movie and from today’s point of view it’s very dated and offensive because of the stereotypes. So one has to look at it from the historical context. For that time, this was a progressive movie — it was arguing for this relationship between a white woman and Chinese man. They were clearly trying to do something that wasn’t the usual negative depiction of Chinese people. The intent might have been good but, because of the limitations at that time, the result was still problematic.”
“And then I found out during my research that he hired two Chinese American consultants for the movie — James Leong and Moon Kwan,” Chung adds. “They were both real people and went on to have long careers working in Hollywood films. But we don’t really know much about that history and a lot of it is forgotten. That got me thinking about what it might have been like to work on this movie at a time when the Chinese were being portrayed but not in an authentic way. ‘Unbroken Blossoms’ tries to explore both sides of that dichotomy. It’s an imagining of what transpired from their point of view.”
Chung finished writing a draft of “Unbroken Blossoms” in 2015 and the play had a public reading of it at the Japanese American National Museum with East West Players and Visual Communications. He put it away after that and worked on other projects. It was during the pandemic that he revisited and reworked the play.
Philip W. Chung. | Photo by TJ Ramirez/East West Players
“The world has changed a lot since I wrote ‘Unbroken Blossoms’ in 2015,” explains Chung. “The play is set in 1919 in Los Angeles during the Spanish flu pandemic. It was very similar to COVID: people were wearing masks and there were several race riots — black versus white — and anti-Asian violence all over the country. Those were the things in my play, but when I wrote in 2015 those were events that happened in the past. I wanted to explore that parallel between now and 1919 more closely than I did in the original version. The fact that the play feels more relevant now than it did back in 2015 is strangely disappointing in a way, because it shows that history is repeating itself and we didn’t learn from past experience.”
That Chung called his play “Unbroken Blossoms” hints at something hopeful, though. He discloses the idea behind the title. “The white woman and Chinese man in the 1919 film are broken blossoms. Each has tragedies in their lives that prevent them from being a whole person. I thought it would be interesting if the play was the opposite of that. Is there a way to become unbroken — specifically in this case — if the portrayal of being Asian is a broken version of ourselves that we see from Hollywood? Is there a way beyond that?”
Ron Song, left, and Gavin K. Lee. | Photo by TJ Ramirez East West Players
Gavin Lee, who plays James Leong, heard about Chung’s play in February through “Unbroken Blossoms” director Jeff Liu. He says, “I had worked with Jeff before and he asked me if I was interested in reading a new play. He sent me the script and I thought it was pretty visceral. There are many elements in the play, like the misogynistic laws at that time, that got me angry. But they are obviously meant to have that effect. There are some scenes that were difficult to read — particularly the part where Moon gets mistaken for me and he gets brutally beaten. They can’t tell the difference between the two Chinese men.”
“Anyone who watches the play will definitely feel for the two Chinese consultants,” states Lee. “They have vastly different viewpoints. My character is very cynical. Already he knows the filmmakers don’t really care about them or their opinions; they were only hired because the producers want to look good. My character understands that whole process and he’s just trying to get something out of it. Moon, on the other hand, really believes he’s there to be a consultant. I feel like he’s the one the audience will root for.”
“Moon and James poke at each other because Moon believes he’s helping to make the characters be more authentic and represented in this film,” Lee relates. “James, on the other hand, believes the only way the film can be more authentic is if it has an actual Chinese actors instead of white actors portraying Chinese people. So Moon laughs at what James is trying to do; he thinks it’s unrealistic and wishful thinking.”
Two weeks into rehearsals, Lee reconsiders his initial reaction about his character. “When I first read the play, I saw James as being cynical. The more I work on it, though, I’m finding parts in which his love, passion, and hope show through his sardonic exterior, which is fun to play. I’m not sure if this was the intention of the author, Philip Chung, or if it’s just a character trait I had to apply myself to get more grounded in it. But it does make me want to root for James more. While he seems cynical, James’s ultimate goal is to learn from a renowned director so he can make films that are true to Chinese people.”
Gavin K. Lee. | Photo by TJ Ramirez/East West Players
Lee didn’t set out to be in theater. He reveals, “I had always been into math and sciences — or at least that was what I thought. I was on a pre-med track going into college and I had taken the MCAT. But about ten years ago, I decided that medical school wasn’t for me. I had switched from pre-med to teaching and was living in Korea then. I took an interest in acting after reading career guide books and taking personality tests which showed it was the best career for me. I thought it was strange, but I tried it out on a web series. I had no training so I was awful. As bad as I felt about my acting, though, I actually loved doing it.”
“So I moved back to the U.S. and almost immediately I signed up for acting classes,” Lee says. “I went to the Beverly Hills Playhouse and took a course on scene study. Then I did my first play in 2016. I have also done some TV and film but theatre has become a strong passion for me.”
“I feel that there’s better representation in theatre than TV or film. But that’s only my opinion and it’s based on my lived experience,” Lee clarifies. “I get audition calls for roles for open casting. In fact, I have another audition to play a British character. I think theatregoers are more accepting seeing a non-white actor portraying a traditionally white character.”
As for the audience takeaway, Lee opines, “Whether people believe one viewpoint or another, any good play will have them contemplating the repercussions of what they saw. Some people may disagree with the message of the play but I definitely think people will come out after seeing the play feeling a flurry of emotions — which is why we do theatre. There’s comedy in it, obviously drama, anger, which is one of the feelings I had when I read Philip Chung’s play. Ideally, some people will leave the theatre hopeful that because times have changed in the last hundred years, it will continue to do so for the better.”
While it’s unfortunate that Chung didn’t find much information about Moon and James and their experience, it’s also propitious. Having a blank canvas accorded him the freedom to create nuanced, complex characters and the engrossing plot that make Unbroken Blossoms compelling theater.
Congresswoman Judy Chu at the Food and Wine Festival | Photo by Brianna Chu/HeySoCal.com
AbilityFirst’s renowned Food and Wine Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary in grand style on Sunday, June 9 from 5 to 8 pm at the Urquhart residence in South Pasadena. Approximately 400 guests attended this milestone year and enjoyed the culinary and beverage offerings from more than 30 top restaurants, cocktail bars, wineries and breweries.
Some of this year’s participating restaurants and dessert shops were Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery, Alexander’s Steakhouse, Beard Papa’s, Bone Kettle, El Cholo Cafe, Gale’s Restaurant, Kensington Caterers, Lord Empanada, Marina, Mi Piace, Nothing Bundt Cake, Pocha LA, Porto’s Bakery, Stems: Cheese, Charcuterie & Catering, Tam O’Shanter, The George, and more.
Beverages featured cocktails and spirit tastings from 1886 at The Raymond, Dulce Vida Tequila, Empress 1908 Gin, Knox & Dobson, Old Hillside Bourbon Company, and We Olive & Wine Bar; craft beer from Golden Road Brewing, San Gabriel’s Ogopogo Brewing, along with specially curated Wines from Caymus Vineyards, Navarro Vineyards, and Riboli Family of San Antonio Winery. Nonalcoholic beverages were provided by Celsius and PepsiCo.
Attendees peruse auction items. | Photo by Brianna Chu/HeySoCal.com
According to Mary Urquhart, she got involved with AbilityFirst when she was the president of the San Marino chapter of the National Charity League and this is the third time that her family has hosted this outdoor event.
A few days before the Food and Wine Festival, Urquhart said, “We should be very proud that we have such a wonderful institution for 98 years in our community. It serves so many people with special needs and we’re lucky to have it … and hopefully many will support it this Sunday.”
Indeed AbilityFirst has transformed the lives of children with special needs and their families. Established in 1926 as the Crippled Children’s Society of Southern California by members of the Los Angeles Rotary Club, it aimed to assist kids with polio.
In 2000, the organization adopted the name AbilityFirst to better reflect its broader mission of helping children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities reach their full potential by providing recreational and socialization programs, employment, accessible housing and camping.
Lawrence L. Frank, of Lawry’s Restaurants fame, was one of the original founders of the organization, and 52 years ago AbilityFirst opened the Lawrence L. Frank Center in Pasadena and Long Beach. From 2016 to 2017, the number of children and adults with developmental disabilities in these communities grew by 1,000 people, 66 percent of whom are between the ages of 6 and 51 years old — the target age for AbilityFirst’s programs.
Food and Wine Festival auction | Photo by Brianna Chu/HeySoCal.com
Introduced a few years ago was College to Career, a community-based program for students who want to go to college and gain the skills, training and education they need to achieve their academic and career goals. Additionally, the program emphasizes independence and personal choice in using community resources for daily living and future employment.
This multi-year program begins with a self-discovery and community exploration component to help students to identify and develop a plan to achieve goals. Upon completion of the academic component, individuals may transition to community jobs, internships, or volunteer programs as they launch their career paths. The Lawrence L. Frank Center, AbilityFirst’s flagship location in Pasadena, houses the expanding College to Career program.
AbilityFirst has six community centers offering several new adult programs including ExploreAbility, DiscoverAbility and PossAbility. After school enrichment program includes homework support, outdoor activities, arts and crafts, cooking and more!”
ExploreAbility is an adult day and community integration program currently being offered at the AbilityFirst Joan and Harry A. Mier Center in Inglewood and the AbilityFirst Lawrence L. Frank Center in Pasadena. A licensed program, its objective is to identify what is important to each individual, to develop the skills necessary to achieve their goals and to be involved in their communities through volunteering and community activities. Individual support and small-group activities promote interaction and learning.
The program is designed to help individuals access their communities in their daily lives, work, recreational and leisure activities. It incorporates volunteering, community activities, independent living and skill-building, using a small group model.
Guests chat, eat, and drink at the Food and Wine Festival | Photo by Brianna Chu/HeySoCal.com
PossAbility, offered in Pasadena and Los Angeles, is intended for adults who want to enhance their skills and independence, and to participate in their communities. Individuals in the program are empowered to set and pursue personal goals with an emphasis on employment readiness and increased community connections, including volunteering.
Rounding out AbilityFirst’s programs is Camp Paivika, a Native American word meaning “Dawn,” in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was begun in 1946 by the Rotary Club as one of the first full-accessible camps in the United States and has been in active operation since. It is maintained through endowments from donors and fund-raising efforts by community members.
Going to summer camps helps children develop social and communications skills as they participate in activities with other kids. It helps individuals build character and gain self-respect as they become responsible for their own safety and survival in a setting outside their comfort zone.
Camp Paivika offers this same independence and self-reliance for children, teens and adults with physical and developmental disabilities. Specially-trained members of AbilityFirst staff provide assistance and guidance as campers enjoy all the fun activities available to them — archery, arts and crafts, campfires and cookouts, nature hikes, horseback riding, swimming. It is fully accredited by the American Camp Association.
Attendees enjoy the food and beverage offerings | Photo by Brianna Chu/HeySoCal.com
All these life-changing programs are made possible through AbilityFirst’s Food and Wine Festival. How it evolved into the spectacular event that it is today is quite an inspiring story.
A support group called Crown Guild held the first food and wine festival in 1953 with a wine tasting at The Langham Huntington Pasadena, then known as the Huntington Hotel. Each Crown Guild member would invite ten to twelve friends and they would all be responsible for bringing a bottle of wine for the tasting.
It branched out to Crown Guild members homes, and then onto friends of members’ homes, until they got local restaurateurs and beverage companies involved. It lent a casual outdoor environment where guests could mingle and chat over food and drinks. Over the years, AbilityFirst built strong relationships with restaurants, wineries, and breweries.
With the Food and Wine Festival’s 50th anniversary celebration, AbilityFirst continues the founding Rotarians’ legacy. Ninety-eight years after it was first created, AbilityFirst
Philip Bloom speaks during the press opening of The Huntington’s Chinese Medicinal Garden opening
The final piece of the Huntington’s popular Chinese Garden — the culmination of years of work, interrupted by the pandemic — the Chinese Medicinal Garden (採藥圃 Cǎi Yào Pǔ) is, as the Chinese Garden’s curator Philip Bloom says, truly a milestone worth celebrating.
The team has been working on many types of interpretive programming for the Chinese Garden, including an art gallery scholar studio and the celebration court for performance space.
“But it is, I think, the Chinese Medicinal Garden that most powerfully connects the Chinese Garden to the rest of the Huntington as a whole,” Bloom reflected in his remarks to the press the day before the garden’s official May 22 opening.
“The Cǎi Yào Pǔ is a place for learning about the relationships between plants and people,” Bloom said. “Indeed, in historical China, medicinal gardens were always a primary site where people went to learn about and think with plants.”
Michelle Bailey, the garden’s assistant curator, concurred: “The deepest purpose for us at The Huntington is to show the long relationship between humans and plants.”
Some of the Medicinal Garden’s first admirers studying its plots. | Photo by Brianna Chu/HeySoCal.com
The plants featured in the garden were chosen partially based on those included in seminal medical texts of Chinese traditional medicine, such as “Shennong’s Classic of Medicine” (神農本草經 Shénnóng Běncǎo Jīng) — one of the world’s oldest pharmaceutical texts, written in the first or second century C.E. The garden’s collection includes selections shared by the Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm in Petaluma, California. Additionally, some included specimens were hand-collected from China in the 1990s by Robert Newman, dean emeritus of Emperor’s College, which further impresses botanical and historical significance.
In total, around 100-120 of these plants have been selected and included in the medicinal garden. As both Bailey and Bloom are historians by background, the two chose to structure the garden’s six main beds based on the stories they saw within the plants’ characteristics and uses, rather than following the more typical approach of simply grouping plants based on how well they grow together.
The six main beds are broken down into the following categories: fundamental herbs, prescriptions/plant classifications, ornamentals, comestibles, imported medicines and useful plants.
One of the Fundamental Herbs beds. | Photo by Brianna Chu/Hey SoCal.com
The Fundamental Herbs bed showcases many plants and herbs from “Shennong’s Classic,” many of which are still used today in traditional Chinese medicine. Due to the sheer quantity of plants covered across in the text, plants’ inclusion were dictated by availability.
To delve into the story of trade, the Imported Herbs bed features plants non-native to China but would have reached them through the Silk Road or by maritime trade. Some plants nested in this bed may be familiar, like turmeric, ashwagandha and St. Paul’s Wort, among others. These tell the story of communication, travel and exchange — making their way from their native lands of India, Southeast Asia, Europe and even the Americas to be used, studied and cataloged in another seminal medical text, “Compendium of Materia Medica” (本草綱目 Běn Cǎo Gāng Mù)also known as“Great Pharmacopeia,” which was originally published in Nanjing, China, in 1596.
True indigo boasts not only medicinal properties but also wide use as a beautiful dye. | Photo by Brianna Chu/Hey SoCal.com
The “Useful Plants” are multipurpose ones: those that can be used not only as medicine or treatment, but also as dyes, textiles, incense, timber and other purposes. “Comestibles” are foods that also have beneficial medicinal properties, like sacred basil and aloe.
Half of this split bed features the 11 components for a prescription. | Photo by Brianna Chu/Hey SoCal.com
One bed is split in half: on one side, all 11 herbs and grasses needed for a prescription for long life are grouped together, while the other half of the bed is dedicated to herbs classified by their taste — bitter, sweet, salty, sour and acrid.
The “Ornamentals” may strike visitors as familiar flowers and trees for a Chinese garden, such as plum and peach trees, chrysanthemums, peonies and roses — evidence that cultivating a garden can be healthful and beneficial in more ways than one.
Beyond the verdure currently exhibited in the garden, there are still more rare specimens being tended in the Huntington’s nursery. While nothing is planned yet, there is the potential to further explore the knowledge and history of medicinal herbs in an extension of the Cǎi Yào Pǔ.
The Cǎi Yào Pǔ buzzes with interest at its press opening. | Photo by Brianna Chu/Hey SoCal.com
Aside from independent strolls through the Chinese Medicinal Garden, members of the public can also attend monthly open houses, at which Bailey’s dedicated and knowledgeable team of about 10 volunteers will be available to answer questions regarding the plants, their history and their uses. Prospective attendees can check the dates and times for these open houses at the garden’s webpage to plan visits here: https://huntington.org/event/chinese-medicinal-garden-open-house
William Fitzgerald with Robert de Niro. | Photo courtesy of Alex Plank
According to the American Psychiatric Association, autism is a complex developmental condition involving persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 36 children has been identified as having autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. Academic books have been written to help us understand it while fiction novels and movies with autistic protagonists have been published and produced.
A Hollywood film makes cinema history with the release of “Ezra” at the end of the month in about 1,000 movie theaters across the country — marking the first time a neurodivergent actor is playing a title role.
With an ensemble cast starring Robert de Niro, Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg and Rainn Wilson, the movie follows a father’s journey co-parenting his autistic son. Written by Tony Spiridakis, directed by Tony Goldwyn, and introducing autistic actor William Fitzgerald, “Ezra” is more than a film about autism; it’s a groundbreaking step toward inclusive filmmaking, inspired by Spiridakis’ own journey of acceptance with his son Dimitri.
From left, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Plank and Rose Byrne. | Photo courtesy of Alex Plank
Taking that history-making event one step further, Love & Autism will host Hollywood’s “An Evening with Ezra” on Tuesday, May 24. To be held at The Writer’s Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, it is a first-of-its-kind neurodivergent-affirming film screening. This event aims to become the blueprint for inclusive screening practices in Hollywood, advocating for authentic representation of neurodiversity both on and off the screen.
The entire movie production centered around a neurodivergent-affirming ethos, tapping filmmaker and autistic advocate Alex Plank as the film’s associate producer, creative consultant and DEI advisor to ensure meaningful representation behind the camera as well as thoughtful accessibility for its titular actor on set. Plank continues this work for “An Evening with Ezra,” ensuring the inclusivity of production is continued in this event.
Dr. Jenny Palmiotto, an expert in neurodivergent-affirming care and founder of Love & Autism, is the driving force behind this screening, inviting Hollywood to celebrate the autistic and neurodivergent community and confront internalized ableism in traditional screening practices. The neurodivergent community features prominently in every aspect of the event — from the chefs and musicians to artists and guests.
“Ezra captures the universal themes of love and connection that are often missed within the larger conversation and beliefs about what it means to be autistic,” Palmiotto says. “Everyone deserves to be seen and heard, to have a sense of belonging, and be their authentic self. Ezra gets it right, and we want to reflect that in this event.”
On the set of “Ezra.” | Photo courtesy of Alex Plank
At “An Evening with Ezra,” inclusivity isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a fundamental aspect of the event’s design. Guests can expect a range of thoughtful accommodations throughout the evening, including a peaceful entrance, grounding areas, sensory experiences and more.
Guests will have access to noise-canceling headphones and earplugs, swings for movement regulation, and quiet thoughtful reflection spaces available at any point in the evening. During the screening, guests are invited to drape a colored sash on a neighboring chair to ensure spatial needs are respected discreetly and effectively.
The evening will also prominently feature autistic talent including “The Autistic Chef” Vanessa D’Souza, harpist Evangeline and violinist Navid. Guests will be invited to explore intersectional art installations by neurodivergent artists Dimitri Spiridakis and Maze Creatix.
By email, Palmiotto and Plank talked about how the movie came about and their involvement with it.
“The film was written by Tony Spiridakis who has an autistic son. I was brought on by Bill Horberg and Tony Goldwyn who wanted to make sure we cast an autistic actor and was a proponent of ‘nothing about us without us’ — a concept I introduced him to,” Plank states.
Getting films produced is very challenging and filled with obstacles, but “Ezra” was blessed with good fortune. Plank explains. “Films have gotten harder and harder to finance recently but Ezra is a story that struck a chord with a lot of people. Bill Horberg has a son on the autism spectrum so Closer Media and its founder Zhang Xin were instrumental. Jon Kilik, who produced De Niro’s directorial debut A Bronx Tale, also produced our film and was on set every day. Tony Goldwyn was a powerhouse in terms of getting things in place. And Wayfarer Studios also made this film.”
Alex Plank with William Fitzgerald. | Photo courtesy of Alex Plank
One misconception about autism is that it’s a rare condition, which Plank sets straight. “Autism is much more common than people realize,” elucidates Plank. “Being autistic is another way of being human, so this film takes on a story that is part of many of our lives. What ‘Ezra’ does that other films have not done is within character development of Ezra, played by William Fitzgerald. The character Ezra is more nuanced and authentic than autistic characters in previous films. Autistic people were included from start to finish and the autistic experience on which I think contributed to the overall success of the storyline and resulting film.”
Having the support of esteemed Hollywood personalities right at the start attracts a stellar cast, as Plank discloses. “Robert De Niro’s son is autistic and he had a very strong reaction to ‘Ezra.’ So having him involved didn’t hurt. But Tony Goldwyn, our director, managed to get a lot of great actors involved because he is so beloved and respected. For instance, Whoopi worked with him on Ghost. A lot of our cast has a personal connection to autism as well.”
Plank continues, “I served as the consultant and associate producer for ‘Ezra.’ Having a creative role was important to me as an autistic person because I adhere to ‘nothing about us without us.’ It took us less than 30 days to film. I think everyone was really impressed with how well everything went. Autistic people are often underestimated and so I think that was part of it.”
Robert de Niro and Alex Plank. | Photo courtesy of Alex Plank
False impressions about autism abound, as Palmiotto and Plank reveal.
“There are way too many misconceptions about autism to be able to list them all but some of the most common are related to the way we think about disability in general,” states Plank. “Autistic people don’t overcome our own limitations. We overcome society being set up in a way that doesn’t align with the way neurodivergent individuals function. I’m autistic myself so everything I do involves neurodivergence (at least my own). I founded a website called WrongPlanet.net when I was a teenager. Since that time I’ve been doing public speaking and activism. I majored in Film at George Mason University and began working on TV series and films. I worked on The Bridge on FX as a consultant and also acted in it. I also guest starred on The Good Doctor.”
Palmiotto adds, “Misconceptions about being autistic are discriminatory as they create access barriers in all systems. Each of us is responsible for examining our own ableism and how these internal thoughts stigmatize and pathologize those that are autistic. When we make assumptions that autistic people are broken versions of ‘normal,’ we have a human rights issue.
“It isn’t hard to change our internal thoughts and actions, it just requires us to accept the invitation to do so. Alex, myself and so many others work towards dismantling ableism, when we do this we create a better world. As a neurodivergent-affirming therapist, I see this work as not just the work of autistic self-advocates and their family members, but all of our journey. My work within neurodivergence is to help all of us accept the invitation to challenge ableism for autistic people.”
“Film has a way of moving people towards change even when we have no lived experience with the story. ‘Ezra’ invites viewers to shift their perspective on what it means to be autistic. Ezra’s story is one of universal themes of becoming, authenticity and love. Each character becomes a better version of themselves when their loved ones are their truest self. Even more than that, it’s a story of love and the risks that we take for those we love. Within this, ‘Ezra’ shows us all that autistic people want and need the very things that we all need. This is what I hope the audience takes from this movie; that each person deserves the human right of being their authentic self and when we allow for that in others, autistic or non-autistic, we all a better for it,” Palmiotto concludes.
Wiser words have never been spoken. Would that Ezra and its film screening event “An Evening with Ezra” serve as the standard for inclusivity in Hollywood.
A San Gabriel Valley Inquirer 