Entertainment
Review: The power of August Wilson’s best play, ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,’ lives on at A Noise Within
“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” arguably the finest work in August Wilson’s 10-play series chronicling the African American experience in the 20th century, is set in a boarding house in Pittsburgh in 1911. The Great Migration is underway, with millions of Black Americans moving from the rural South to the industrial North and Midwest in search of opportunity and freedom.
Gregg T. Daniel, who has been making his way through Wilson’s decade-by-decade cycle at A Noise Within, has infused his revival of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” with a sense of momentous transit. The characters who stop for a time at the boarding house owned and operated by Seth (Alex Morris) and his wife, Bertha (Veralyn Jones), understand that this is a way station, a place to collect oneself before continuing on the fraught journey to an unknown future.
Slavery didn’t end with the Civil War, as Herald Loomis (Kai A. Ealy) knows only too well. He has arrived at the boarding house with his young daughter, Zonia (Jessica Williams), in tow. For seven years, Loomis was held captive in Joe Turner’s chain gang, abducted for being Black, forced into hard labor and separated from his wife, whom he has been searching for since his release.
Loomis has a turbulent presence that casts an anxious pall over the boarding house, re-created with a background view of Pittsburgh’s bridges by scenic designer Tesshi Nakagawa. Bynum (Gerald C. Rivers), a conjure man who serves as a spiritual guide for the other residents, understands right away that Loomis is a man who has lost his song, the imprint of his soul. But Seth sees nothing but trouble from his new guest and tells Loomis he must leave by Saturday.
Kai A. Ealy and Jessica Williams in “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at A Noise Within.
(Craig Schwartz)
The timing works out because Saturday is when Rutherford Selig (Bert Emmett), a peddler and touted people finder, is expected to return with news of the whereabouts of Loomis’ missing wife, Martha (Tori Danner). Before he can press on as a free man, Loomis needs to know what happened to his wife.
Life keeps racing ahead whether the characters are ready or not. Jeremy (Brandon Gill), a new resident who’s part of the construction team of a new bridge but would rather be exercising his considerable skill on the guitar, is being harassed by the police when off duty and exploited by a white man when on the job. He romantically takes up first with Mattie Campbell (Briana James), who comes to Bynum to see if he can mystically bring back the man that left her. But after Molly Cunningham (Nija Okoro) flirtatiously moves in and Jeremy loses his job, his amorous attention turns to her, leaving Mattie once again in the lurch, though Loomis has already noticed what a fine “full” woman she is.
Gerald C. Rivers and Brandon Gill in “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at A Noise Within.
(Craig Schwartz)
Daniel’s production, put into sharper focus by Kate Bergh’s costumes and Karyn Lawrence’s lighting, is at its best in capturing the rhythms and rituals of daily life. The ensemble (full of A Noise Within Wilson alums) melds miraculously as the characters share meals, stories, musical ecstasy and fits of laughter. Wilson had a genius for depicting how people do and don’t get along when they haven’t much choice about the company they keep. Jones, who was so brilliant in Daniel’s production of “King Hedley II” at A Noise Within is just as luminous here as the calming force at the boardinghouse. Her Bertha is the kindly, nurturing counterweight to Seth’s badgering boisterousness, a quality Morris infuses with just enough avuncular affection.
The more time we spend with Gill’s Jeremy, Okoro’s Molly and James’ Mattie, the more we can appreciate the fine-drawn nature of their portraits. The revival has some acoustical static and moments of mumbling, but “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” grows more lifelike and absorbing with each scene.
The spiritual standoff in the play is between Ealy’s Loomis and Rivers’ Bynum, and both actors bring a muscular reality to a reckoning that can no longer be postponed. Daniel’s staging loses its grip during the more hallucinatory scenes between the characters. The natural is a good deal more theatrically convincing than the supernatural in this production. But Ealy intensely conveys the threat of Loomis’ angry-somber brooding and Rivers lets us see that the source of Bynum’s otherworldly power is his humane vision.
Bynum is a seeker as well as a seer, inseparable from the struggles of his people. He shares that living sense of heritage that Wilson, who died in 2005, made the principal subject of his art. This production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” seems like a gift from the other side, that mysterious, creative realm where history is spiritualized.
‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’
Where: A Noise Within, 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena
When: 7:30 Thursdays-Fridays, 2 and 7:30 Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Ends Nov. 9
Tickets: Start at $51.50
Contact: www.anoisewithin.org or (626) 356-3100
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes, including one intermission
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — In this episode of 8News Reel Talk, Julia Broberg sits down with Hekla Petursson and Catori Ryan to talk about “Toy Story 5.”
The hosts gave their reviews and provided the following star ratings:
Catori: ★★★★
Hekla: ★★★★★
Julia: ★★★★.2
To watch more livestreams and digital video content, head to the WRIC+ Originals page. You can also watch full on-demand videos on your smart TV using the WRIC+ app.
Passing “Go” has become especially lucrative for mobile game publisher Scopely.
The Culver City-based Scopely launched “Monopoly Go!” in 2023, betting fans of the classic board game would flock to a mobile version aimed at casual gamers.
By 2025, “Monopoly Go!” had accrued $6 billion in lifetime in-app purchase revenue, becoming the fastest free mobile game to do so, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.
This summer, the app is expected to reach $8 billion in lifetime revenue, the company says, solidifying “Monopoly Go!” as Scopely’s biggest game and far surpassing the company’s popular “Pokémon Go.” The company declined to disclose its total profits.
Scopely Co-Chief Executive Javier Ferreira.
As overall downloads in the mobile game market have stagnated and in-app purchases and retention become the main drivers of growth, Scopely has hit on an age-old Hollywood strategy — using known franchises and intellectual property to bring out fans.
“These are incredibly durable and long-lasting games that have really passionate communities and fandom around them,” said Javier Ferreira, co-chief executive of Scopely. “We’re in the business of building people’s favorite thing, and that’s a difficult thing to do. The power of [intellectual property] is that, in some cases, that is already their favorite thing.”
The company’s journey toward “Monopoly Go!” began in 2014, when Scopely formed a partnership with Rhode Island-based toymaker Hasbro. Its first collaboration was a Yahtzee mobile dice game that ultimately drew millions of players worldwide (though it was especially popular in the U.S.) and generated more than $1 billion in lifetime revenue.
After that, Scopely approached Hasbro about taking on the “crown jewel” of its board game empire — Monopoly.
Monopoly’s massive global popularity was an obvious draw. But adapting an hours-long real estate transaction game for a casual, mobile audience proved challenging.
Development of what would become “Monopoly Go!” ultimately took seven years, two of which were spent trying to make movement around the board more fun. In that time, the company scrapped two versions of the game; one deemed too competitive, and one that was too complex, Ferreira said.
Developers wanted to capture the “roller coaster feel” of the board game’s highs and lows, while also having simple rules and ensuring a strong social element, he said.
“We couldn’t just copy,” Ferreira said. “We had to reinvent it and re-imagine it, and that’s a complicated, creative endeavor.”
Today, “Monopoly Go!” brings in more than $2 billion in annual revenue and has been downloaded across the globe more than 300 million times.
Now with “Pokémon Go,” which the company owns after acquiring maker Niantic’s game business last year, “Scopely has gone from a successful publisher to one of the defining companies in mobile gaming,” Randy Nelson, head of insights at Appfigures, a mobile app analytics firm.
“The company cracked the code on licensed games years ago,” he wrote in an email. “Its biggest hits work because they’re great games first and recognizable brands second.”
Though the company’s overall game downloads have slowed, its gross revenue has largely increased every year since 2020, according to Appfigures data.
Shortly after Scopely released “Monopoly Go!,” the company was acquired by Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, for $4.9 billion.
In a statement about the deal, Savvy Games Group Chief Executive Brian Ward touted the success of “Monopoly Go!” as “indicative of Scopely’s ongoing position at the forefront of the global games sector.”
Representatives of the Saudi investment fund are part of Savvy Game Group’s board and do sometimes give some feedback on company initiatives, though Ferreira said the company has remained “very independent.”
The proposed acquisition of gaming giant Electronic Arts by the Saudi Public Investment Fund is not expected to affect Scopely since EA largely focuses on high-budget console and computer games, he said.
As Scopely, now 3,000 employees strong, looks to the future, it has embarked on a number of entertainment partnerships with studios to add franchises such as “The Simpsons,” “Hello Kitty” and Marvel to its mobile game ecosystem.
“They give us access to these universes that millions of people love and are really invested in,” Ferreira said. “We see this as a very strategic part of our business.”
Rose of Nevada is a genuinely poetic movie that pushes the boundaries of the Groundhog Day-style time-travel narrative while carving out an identity completely its own. Rather than relying on the familiar mechanics that audiences have come to expect from the genre, the film approaches the concept through a more reflective and emotional lens. The result is a movie that feels thoughtful, ambitious, and surprisingly moving.
It makes a huge on-screen presence felt through its cast, particularly George MacKay and Callum Turner, who both deliver performances that elevate the material beyond a simple science-fiction premise. Combined with breathtaking visuals and a strong directorial vision, Rose of Nevada becomes something far more memorable than many of its genre contemporaries.
George MacKay continues to prove why he is one of the most compelling actors working today. Following his acclaimed work in 1917, he once again demonstrates an ability to carry a film through sheer presence and emotional authenticity.
Every scene feels grounded because of his performance, even when the story ventures into more abstract territory. Alongside him, Callum Turner delivers what could easily be viewed as a breakout performance. The chemistry between the two leads helps anchor the film, allowing audiences to connect with the characters even as the narrative challenges conventional storytelling expectations.
One of the film’s greatest strengths is its visual presentation. The cinematography is nothing short of earth-shattering. Nearly every frame looks like a carefully crafted painting, capturing both the beauty and mystery of the world these characters inhabit. There is a dreamlike quality to the imagery that perfectly complements the film’s themes of time, memory, and destiny.
The camera lingers on landscapes just long enough to allow viewers to soak in their beauty without ever slowing the pace. It’s the kind of cinematography that demands to be appreciated on the largest screen possible.
Director Mark Jenkin continues to establish himself as one of the most distinctive voices in modern British cinema. Following the atmospheric and haunting Enys Men, Jenkin once again crafts a story that feels deeply connected to folklore and place.
The British backdrop becomes a character in itself, with rugged coastlines, open landscapes, and isolated locations contributing to the film’s unique atmosphere. His direction never feels showy or excessive; instead, he trusts the audience to absorb the experience and interpret its deeper meanings.
What makes Rose of Nevada especially fascinating is how it recalls classic time-travel films without simply copying them. There are moments that evoke the spirit of The Final Countdown, particularly in the sense of wonder and uncertainty surrounding the temporal elements.
Yet the film remains firmly rooted in its own identity, focusing more on emotion and introspection than spectacle. It invites viewers to engage with its ideas rather than simply consume them.
This is also one of those rare films that benefits from reflection after the credits roll. It is not a movie designed to provide easy answers. Instead, it lingers in the mind, encouraging discussion and interpretation. The more time you spend thinking about it, the more rewarding it becomes. Much like a fine wine, Rose of Nevada continues to improve with age, revealing new layers and details upon reflection.
Overall, Rose of Nevada is a beautiful, ambitious, and visually stunning piece of filmmaking that deserves to be experienced on the big screen. Powered by exceptional performances, remarkable cinematography, and confident direction, it stands as one of the more unique takes on time travel in recent memory.
Overall Grade: 4/5 Stars
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