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52
AUGUST 2012
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
culture
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THEMONTHAHEAD
“
LIONEL
, A VOICEWOULD SAY.
YEAH?WHAT YOUWANT?
... LIONELWAS NO LONGER
MERELY THINKING OUT LOUD.
HEWAS HAVING A CONVER-
SATIONWITHWHAT SEEMED
TO BE A HIGHER INTELLIGENCE.
THE VOICEWAS CLEVERER
THAN HEWAS. IT EVEN HAD A
BETTER ACCENT.”
From
Lionel Asbo: State of England
,
the latest crabby-comic novel
fromMartin Amis.
aug. 21
YE OLDE COP SHOPPE
THE BBCDEBUTS ACRIME-FILLEDCOSTUME DRAMA
Set in 1860s New York, “Copper”
(premiering Aug. 19 on BBC
America) is a period piece that
calls to mind twirly-mustached
officers collaring rapscallions
whose grog habit has gotten the
better of them.
Or not.
Created by Tom Fontana
(“Oz”) andWill Rokos (
Monster’s
Ball
)—men of remarkably gloomy
inclinations—“Copper” centers
onManhattan’s Five Points district,
a snarl of crime, corruption and
apocalyptic street battles (à la
Scorsese’s
Gangs of NewYork
).
“Remember, this was one of the
densest agglomerations of human
beings in the world, a place of
legendary poverty,” saysWashing-
ton University history professor
Iver Bernstein, author of
The New
York City Draft Riots
. “It was violent,
and plenty bloody.”
So nothing like “Downton
Abbey,” then?
“No.”
Bring It On: The Musical
St. James Theatre, New York City
AUG. 1
PLOT:
Truman High cheerleading captain Campbell Davis is
redistricted to Jackson High, which relegates her to the bot-
tom of the social pecking order. She befriends Jackson’s most
popular girl, Danielle, and strives to make it back to the top.
PORTENTOUS DIALOGUE:
“I’m no Miss Cleo, but I got a
feeling we’re gonna win this!”
KEYMOMENT:
Campbell finds out that her new school
doesn’t have a cheerleading squad. Drama ensues.
FEEL-GOOD FACTOR:
10/10. Campbell falls in love, the plucky
Jackson High squad makes it to nationals and everybody
sings about the life lessons they’ve learned: “We killed it and
we know it. Don’t need the gold to show it, when you
know it inside!”
Julius Caesar
Noel Coward Theatre, London
AUG. 8
PLOT:
A cabal of politicians conspires to murder a beloved
leader to save the republic, sparking a bloody power struggle.
In true Shakespearean fashion, it ends poorly for all involved.
PORTENTOUS DIALOGUE:
“Beware the ides of March.”
KEYMOMENT:
Caesar is assassinated by several trusted
advisers, including his closest ally, Brutus, in a stadiumwhere
political rallies take place. Drama ensues.
FEEL-GOOD FACTOR:
5/10. Despite having slain his friend
and leader, Brutus finally does the right thing and falls on his
own sword, causing one man to describe him as “the noblest
Roman of them all.”
Decisions, Decisions
Julius Caesar
and
Bring It On: The Musical
hit the boards this month
on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Whichwill you be seeing?
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR:
• References to the Dead
Rabbit Riots of 1857
• Feuding fire departments
preventing each other from
putting out blazes
• Sewage
THEY GOT THE
BEAT
Kevin Ryan,
left, and Tom
Weston-Jones