There has been a fairly constant conduit between New York and Nelson at The Civic Theatre. Even in our preliminary operation of monthly film nights on the old 35 mm projector, the Nelson Civic Theatre Society managed to bring in two restored film prints from New York’s GKids retrospective of Hayo Mizaki.
And then there was Brooklyn’s Walker Centre’s Internet Cat Video Festival, which expanded to Canada only in major cities and of course Nelson.
And now, Kootenay boy-turned-international hip-hop-playwright Baba Brinkman brings his latest critically acclaimed off-Broadway show to the Civic Theatre for a one-night only performance on Monday, July 13.
What are the evolutionary origins of faith? Can science and religion be brought into alignment? And why are both God and Darwin so obsessed with baby making? Nominated for a 2015 Drama Desk Award during its extended off-Broadway run in New York, Brinkman’s Rap Guide to Religion is part rap concert, part comedy, and part TED Talk, exploring the science of the sacred with wit and irreverence.
Well, it appears wit and irreverence abounds at The Civic these days. As some Nelsonites have surely noticed, our Marquee Bandits have been busy again culture jamming our listings with creations such as “Anus Erminator Orgy 77 9 43” derived from Terminator Genysis and then converting “family friendly films” into “family sex films.”
I’d like to convey to these artists that although your post-modern creations have been appreciated, we beseech you to restrain your creative outpourings and leave Baba’s name in peace so that all may benefit from the accurate transmission of information of this opportunity to see his unique show.
In recognition of the guerilla artist however, The Civic will begin posting a photo of the marquee listings on our Facebook page as they rotate. We encourage people to respond with their most clever renderings, which will be scored for creativity, number of likes, and Scrabble letter values. Weekly winners will receive bragging rights and a free movie.
Now, it is my experience that rappers have a considerable lexicon, so let’s see how well you stack up against the verbal virtuosity of Baba Brinkman.
Jason Asbell is programmer, theatre manager and rhyme sayer for the Civic Theatre.