Post by blackcrowheart on Apr 15, 2006 21:19:30 GMT -5
nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7755
Kickapoo artist takes LA by storm
Starr receiving five-star reviews for tour de force
Sam Lewin 4/13/2006
A Kickapoo artist from Oklahoma is receiving positive reviews from some
of the toughest critics in the country.
Arigon Starr’s one-woman play, "The Red Road,” opened at the Autry
National Center in Los Angeles on March 30. The play is part of the
center’s Native Voices at the Autry series.
The play is set in Verna Yahola’s All Nations Cafe off Route 66 in
Sapulpa. According to Starr’s publicity notes on the play: “There’s a
heap of trouble and a huge storm a-brewing as Verna tangles with
über-Indian Richard Doolittle, meets British bad boy Danny Dacron, and
contemplates a proposal from her good-hearted fry cook, Emmitt
Tsinajinnie. This family-friendly comedy with music features a cast of
characters straight out of Indian Country—ages 9 to 57.”
Tribal affixations of the characters in the play, and everyone single
one of them is played by Starr, include Pawnee, Navajo, Creek and
Chippewa.
Critical response has been impressive.
“Set against a backdrop of the emerging Native American activism and
resurging tribal populations of the 1970s, Starr's fast-moving show,
directed by Randy Reinholz, weaves a wispy story of loss and love around
original country songs and wicked jabs at white and intertribal
stereotyping and cultural quirks,” stated a review appearing in the Los
Angeles Times.
Starr’s contemporaries have also been receptive.
“Put Arrigon Starr’s name on the list with Lily Tomlinson and Whoopi
Goldberg,” said Bill Fitzhugh, author of “Highway 61 Resurfaced” and
“Fender Benders.”
Starr said that while she is working in LA her heart is never far from
her roots.
“I am doing my best to make our Oklahoma tribes proud -- and it's been a
joy to share this story and these characters with audiences in Los
Angeles,” she said in an e-mail to the Native American Times. She also
said the play has been a “been a real hit with the Indian folks that
have come to see the show -- including Chad Smith of Cherokee Nation who
saw the full show on one of our preview nights.”
After its run at the Autry the play goes on a national tour. Starr said
she hopes to bring it to Oklahoma.
Starr, a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, began her career in
on the West Coast by performing at coffeehouses and Indian benefits in
the Southern California area.
Kickapoo artist takes LA by storm
Starr receiving five-star reviews for tour de force
Sam Lewin 4/13/2006
A Kickapoo artist from Oklahoma is receiving positive reviews from some
of the toughest critics in the country.
Arigon Starr’s one-woman play, "The Red Road,” opened at the Autry
National Center in Los Angeles on March 30. The play is part of the
center’s Native Voices at the Autry series.
The play is set in Verna Yahola’s All Nations Cafe off Route 66 in
Sapulpa. According to Starr’s publicity notes on the play: “There’s a
heap of trouble and a huge storm a-brewing as Verna tangles with
über-Indian Richard Doolittle, meets British bad boy Danny Dacron, and
contemplates a proposal from her good-hearted fry cook, Emmitt
Tsinajinnie. This family-friendly comedy with music features a cast of
characters straight out of Indian Country—ages 9 to 57.”
Tribal affixations of the characters in the play, and everyone single
one of them is played by Starr, include Pawnee, Navajo, Creek and
Chippewa.
Critical response has been impressive.
“Set against a backdrop of the emerging Native American activism and
resurging tribal populations of the 1970s, Starr's fast-moving show,
directed by Randy Reinholz, weaves a wispy story of loss and love around
original country songs and wicked jabs at white and intertribal
stereotyping and cultural quirks,” stated a review appearing in the Los
Angeles Times.
Starr’s contemporaries have also been receptive.
“Put Arrigon Starr’s name on the list with Lily Tomlinson and Whoopi
Goldberg,” said Bill Fitzhugh, author of “Highway 61 Resurfaced” and
“Fender Benders.”
Starr said that while she is working in LA her heart is never far from
her roots.
“I am doing my best to make our Oklahoma tribes proud -- and it's been a
joy to share this story and these characters with audiences in Los
Angeles,” she said in an e-mail to the Native American Times. She also
said the play has been a “been a real hit with the Indian folks that
have come to see the show -- including Chad Smith of Cherokee Nation who
saw the full show on one of our preview nights.”
After its run at the Autry the play goes on a national tour. Starr said
she hopes to bring it to Oklahoma.
Starr, a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, began her career in
on the West Coast by performing at coffeehouses and Indian benefits in
the Southern California area.