Los Angeles Times - 21.09.2019

Leonard Cohen

songs completed

The late singer-

songwriter left song

sketches that his son

and famous admirers

are finishing. E4

S.F. conductor

begins goodbyes

It’s the final season

for Michael Tilson

Thomas with his

symphony. Cue a

John Adams tune. E4

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

What’s on TV..........E8

Joel SagetAFP/Getty Images

CALENDAR

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

E

If you were among the more than 1 million
people who signed a petition asking HBO to re-
make the final season of “Game of Thrones,” you
might want to avoid watching the Emmys on
Sunday.
“Thrones” earned a record 32 nominations
for its divisive farewell run and has already tak-
en 10 prizes, presented at last weekend’s Cre-
ative Arts Emmys. (For those of us who felt lost
in the darkness during the Battle of Winterfell,
thankfully, cinematography was not among
them.)
Expect plenty more bending of the knee
when the main categories are presented during
Sunday evening’s telecast on Fox, culminating
in a drama series win that will fill the stage with
an army of cast members and creatives. (No CG
needed!)
Though “Thrones’ ” coronation is a foregone
conclusion, there’s an unusual amount of
Emmy intrigue in many other categories, set-
ting the stage for some potential surprises.
Here’s one final look.

COUNTDOWN TO THE EMMYS

“GAME OF THRONES”looks certain to win for drama series. Kit Harington, above, likely won’t be so lucky in the lead actor race.

Helen SloanHBO

When the war ends

Here’s who probably will

win. Sorry if you don’t like

the way ‘Game’ played out.

By Glenn Whipp

[SeeEmmys,E3]

Bill Irwin, the greatest

living clown to have won a

Tony Award for a dramatic

performance, obviously has

a spine, but it’s far more elas-

tic than yours or mine. He

can shrink or grow, fast or

slow, on command. When he

wobbles, it’s as though the

earth beneath his feet is giv-

ing way. But fear not for his

safety: He can rescue himself

from total collapse with a

stumbling grace that defies

a few laws of physics.

Samuel Beckett, who

possessed a rich memory of

Dublin musical halls and cir-

cus routines, worshiped

clowns. Buster Keaton (with

whom he made “Film”) and

Charlie Chaplin (who taught

him the theatrical versatility

of bowler hats) inspired

Beckett in the creation of his

comedy of cosmic indiffer-

ence. And, of course, come-

dian Bert Lahr played Es-

tragon in the American pre-

miere of “Waiting for Godot,”

which was rather ludi-

crously billed as the “the

laugh hit of two continents.”

(Dark existential comedy is

admittedly harder to sell.)

Irwin, a leading Ameri-

can interpreter of Beckett,

was tailor-made for the

plays. His more or less solo

performance piece “On

Beckett,” which opened

Wednesday at the Kirk

Douglas Theatre, is a kind of

theatrical TED Talk on his

intractable obsession with

the Irish Nobel Prize winner.

For reasons Irwin is still

sorting out, the murmuring

voices of Beckett’s charac-

ters have taken permanent

residence inside his head.

His show is an attempt to

better understand what’s

behind this inseverable con-

nection. Along the way, he

shares some secrets of the

trade.

He appeared in two high-

profile outings of “Godot.” In

the 1988 production directed

by Mike Nichols that starred

Robin Williams and Steve

Martin, he played Lucky. In

the 2009 Broadway revival,

he played Vladimir opposite

Nathan Lane’s Estragon,

with a ferocious John Good-

man as slave-driving Pozzo.

Irwin performed Beck-

ett’s prose pieces “Texts for

Nothing” off-Broadway in

[See‘Beckett,’ E5]

From the barn with the

light bulbs and bandanna

flags strung overhead

emerged the live sounds of

“Heart of Gold” by Neil

Young from the quaint

Kickin Country Stage at the

Los Angeles County Fair in

Pomona.

Jabe Amato, a hand-

some, tattooed and blue-

eyed musician, stood on-

stage strumming his guitar

on a warm Thursday after-

noon, singing the first of

many songs he’d play that

night at the fair. His audi-

ence was modest and eclec-

tic: A man with a long white

beard tapped his fingers on

his wheelchair; a trio of

brown-skinned teenagers

flopped in the middle; and to

their right danced two tod-

dlers on a block of hay while

their mothers flipped

through a song list.

For the last three years,

Amato, 42, has played music

to fair-goers in several small

stages throughout the Fair-

plex. The crowds, said the

Fountain Valley resident,

are “very chill and very easy-

going.” And diverse.

“There’s such a wide

range of tastes in music,”

Amato said. “I’ll have people

request Snoop Dogg and

then the next minute re-

questing the Beatles.” It’s

why three times a week for

four hours, he lets audience

members determine his set

list. He wants to keep them

engaged.

His approach aligns with

the L.A. County Fair Assn.'s

aim to offer something to ev-

A little something for everyone’s ears

FANSreact to a performance by Latin Grammy winner Pitbull earlier this month

at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona, where he played on the Grandstand stage.

Gina FerazziLos Angeles Times

The L.A. County Fair

brings rock, hip-hop,

Latin pop and more

to its concert stages.

By Dorany Pineda

[SeeCounty fair,E5]

THEATER REVIEW

How to

clown

around

with

Beckett

Masterful Bill Irwin

demonstrates how to

get the most out of

the Irish existentialist.

CHARLES McNULTY

THEATER CRITIC

This may be a strange thing to say about a

six-time Academy Award nominee and fixture

of American movies, but I worry that we under-

value Amy Adams. Though applauded for her

multifaceted, lightly chameleonic perform-

ances, her unassuming prowess is often treated

as a given. In other words, we love Amy Adams

— but do we know why we love her?

When the actress was passed over for an Os-

car nomination for 2016’s “Arrival,” an uproar

ensued. The outrage was understandable. Then

again, so was the lack of a nomination: mixing

wonderment, curiosity and sorrow as a linguist

making close encounters of the third kind, Ad-

ams’ subtle touch made it look deceptively easy.

Ease and subtlety are among Adams’ fortes,

but they’re also rare in a culture quick to reward

queasily conspicuous effort and the awards-

baiting showiness of a complete physical trans-

formation. Unlike a number of her peers, Adams

seems to thrive on the bond she can naturally

establish with an audience by remaining truth-

ful in the eye of the camera,

IN THE MINISERIES,Amy Adams

subtly plays a journalist who returns

to her hometown and a rough past.

Anne Marie FoxHBO

Amy Adams may lose for

‘Sharp Objects.’ Does she

make acting look too easy?

By Matthew Eng

[SeeAdams, E2]