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Ruben San-

tiago-Hudson’s Tony-winning revival of August Wilson’s

“Jitney,” a triumphant melding of acting and drama, puts the

audience in the unique position of eavesdroppers on the collo-

quial music of life.

This early Wilson play, the first to be written in his 10-play

cycle exploring the 20th century African American experi-

ence, takes place in the 1970s. Although “Jitney” was first

produced in 1982, it had to wait until 2000 for its New York

premiere off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater in a version

that was revised by the author.

That production, directed by Marion McClinton, remains

for me a glowing memory, as I’m sure it does for many who

saw it at the Mark Taper Forum earlier that same year. “Jit-

ney” may not have the same stature as Wilson’s masterpiece

“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” or esteemed favorite

“Fences,” but in performance it casts an ensemble spell of

revelatory humanity.

Respect for “Jitney,” the last in Wilson’s cycle to make it to

Broadway, has been growing since Santiago-Hudson, a Tony-

winning acting veteran of Wilson’s plays, directed this pro-

duction at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman

Theatre in 2017. What was once dismissed as minor is now

considered major. And it’s not because our standards have

plummeted. Rather, it’s that the play, when fully realized by a

company of actors working in communal concord, satisfies

our growing hunger for complex and compassionate charac-

ter truth.

“JITNEY,”from 1982, has been revived at the Mark Taper Forum. The cast there includes Harvy Blanks, left, and Amari Cheatom.

Myung J. ChunLos Angeles Times

THEATER REVIEW

Don’t miss this ride

A revival of August Wilson’s early play ‘Jitney’ drives it expertly

[See‘Jitney,’ E2]

BYCHARLESMCNULTYTHEATER CRITIC>>>

Frank Biondi Jr., who

helped shape the modern-

day media industry while

managing companies such

as Viacom, Universal Stu-

dios and HBO, died early

Monday.

Biondi, who was 74, died

of bladder cancer at his

home in Los Angeles, his

daughter Jane Biondi

Munna told The Times.

A highly regarded

businessman, Biondi helped

build HBO and Viacom into

formidable entertainment

companies and oversaw

some of the most popular

media brands, including

MTV, Nickelodeon and Pa-

ramount Pictures, during

the 1980s and 1990s. He also

served as chairman and

chief executive of Universal

Studios in the late 1990s.

Biondi was a razor-sharp

and low-key business execu-

tive who could negotiate a

complex merger but was

also known for his unflap-

pable and straightforward

demeanor, which was often

in sharp contrast to the

sometimes irascible person-

alities he worked for.

“Frank was the most in-

spirational executive,” said

Sherry Lansing, former chief

of Paramount Pictures who

worked with Biondi at Via-

com, on Monday. “He was al-

ways, always calm and he

handled everything with

FRANK BIONDI

Media

leader’s

light

touch

Former Viacom head

was known as a foil to

Redstone and helped

shape cable channels.

By Meg James and

Ryan Faughnder

[SeeBiondi, E4]

It started as a joke.

The notion of reviving

“Mad About You,” the hit

NBC comedy about a New

York married couple that

ended its seven-year run in

1999, came up often during

get-togethers between co-

creator Paul Reiser and his

costar Helen Hunt, who

played his wife. The two had

remained close friends,

regularly catching up over

lunch, and whenever they

would kid each other about

possibly relaunching “Mad

About You,” it was always

dismissed. Both had moved

on to other projects they

found fulfilling.

“We both were very clear

that we would never con-

sider going back,” Reiser

said recently. “There was

no reason. We ended the

show well and we were very

happy with it.”

But when Reiser and

Hunt saw the popularity of

revivals of vintage shows

such as “Will & Grace,”

“Murphy Brown” and “Rose-

anne,” bringing back “Mad

About You” became a pos-

sibility they could not ig-

nore. After one of their

lunches, they got on the

phone together. “The incon-

ceivable became conceiv-

able,” said Hunt. “All of a

sudden, the thing we said we

Helen Hunt is

back without

ever having left

“I WANT good parts, I want to tell good stories,” says

Helen Hunt, who’s in the “Mad About You” relaunch.

Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times

She has heard the

narrative since ‘Mad

About You’ ended and

is proving it wrong.

By Greg Braxton

[SeeHunt,E4]

Kanye West premiered
his much-anticipated “Neb-
uchadnezzar” opera Sunday
evening at the Hollywood
Bowl, and the result was ...
short! At 50 minutes or so,
the production ran for far
less than the two hours and
change the audience waited
(past the advertised 4 p.m.
start time) for the show to
begin.
But if West’s new project
— the latest in a busy stretch
following his pop-up Sunday
Service performances, an
IMAX concert movie and

last month’s “Jesus Is King”

album — was surprisingly

brief in duration, the scale of

it was characteristically am-

bitious.

Directed by frequent

West collaborator Vanessa

Beecroft (and streamed live

on Tidal), “Nebuchadnez-

zar” featured a cast of hun-

dreds including dancers,

keyboardists, drummers,

string players, the Sunday

Service choir and, in the title

role, rapper Sheck Wes, who

wore a shiny indigo-colored

outfit in stark contrast with

the other performers’ earth-

tone robes.

The story — based on the

biblical tale of the Baby-

lonian king from the Book of

Daniel — clearly grew out of

West’s recent religious awak-

ening. But what did it all

mean? The Times sent clas-

sical music critic Mark Swed

and pop music critic Mikael

OPERA REVIEW

Kanye West goes

Old Testament

And it doesn’t go well.

His ‘Nebuchadnezzar’

feels thrown together.

So, what’s the story?

MARK SWED and
MIKAEL WOOD
MUSIC CRITICS

[SeeWest, E3]

Authentically

calling the shots

Five actresses with

celebrated roles meet

up to ponder fame and

real life. The Envelope

What’s on TV..........E5

Comics...................E6-7