CALENDAR

T UESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019::L ATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

E

Inside the Netflix headquarters on Sunset Boulevard, one of

the most in-demand comedians in Hollywood is fighting back tears.

Tiffany Haddish is set to premiere her own special on the streamer later this year. But it’s her

other project, which turns the spotlight on six of herfavorite comedians, that gets her so choked

up she strains to say the words.

“Every single person here ... has their own story to tell,” Haddish says.

Seated at a conference table, she’s surrounded by six women she’s worked with in comedy

clubs or on TV: Chaunté Wayans (MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out”), April Macie (NBC’s “Last Comic

Standing”), Tracey Ashley (TBS’s “The Last O.G.”), Aida Rodriguez (Comedy Central’s “This

Week at the Comedy Cellar”), Flame Monroe (“Def Comedy Jam”) and Marlo Williams (BET’s

“Comicview”).

She’s cried with them. She’s prayed with them. There have been pep talks through divorces

and financial hardships. And dream-filled pacts to lift a friend up if success comes knocking.

For Haddish, it’s been knocking, ringing the bell, practically breaking down the door.

Since her breakout role in 2017’s “Girls Trip,” Haddish has been on a hot streak — she can

currently be seen alongside Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss in the mob drama “The

Kitchen”; this fall, she’ll host CBS’ revival of “Kids Say the Darndest

COMEDIANand in-demand actress Tiffany Haddish, center, with the handpicked stand-ups for her new Netflix series, “Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready.”

Tiffany Haddish

is ready for this

BYYVONNEVILLARREAL>>>

[SeeHaddish, E4]

Her stand-up series features six unsung favorites

Myung J. ChunLos Angeles Times

The Korean American

National Museum has un-

veiled design plans for its

future Los Angeles home —

atwo-story, 16,900-square-

foot building by Morphosis

Architects that celebrates

Korean heritage while ex-

ploring the intersection

of Korean and American

cultures.

“We talk about being

asalad bowl rather than

amelting pot,” Morphosis

partner Eui-Sung Yi said.

“Melting pot suggests you

lose your identity. I think we

all need to retain our iden-

tity, but not at the expense

of coming together and em-

bracing other peoples’ iden-

tities.”

The firm’s most promi-

nent move is “grafting” a

garden and terrace on top

of the building with the help

of DSK Landscape Archi-

tects. The garden’s sculptur-

al forms, which Yi said could

be made of pre-cast concrete

if budget allows, will echo

the thrusting mountains of

Korea, while its vibrant

plantings, providing much-

needed greenery and open

space on a block dominated

by strip malls and mega de-

velopments, will contain

plants common to Korea

such as maple, pine and

bamboo, side by side with

plants native to California.

The museum, scheduled

to open in 2022 in the heart

of Koreatown, will have a

concrete facade lacking tra-

ditional architectural el-

ements like windows and

doors (save for a gap where

the entry will be) to instill

curiosity and mystery. Its

grooved patterning will be

based on a traditional

Korean motif symbolizing,

among other things, rebirth

and long life, which Yi noted

is especially relevant when

discussing the long arc of the

Korean American

museum design calls

for rooftop garden,

sense of mystery.

By Sam Lubell

[SeeMuseum,E5]

Ktown

center

a blend

of East,

West

David Berman’s mind

was always doing unexpect-

ed things, and this was what

made him such a fascinating

writer and also such a mad-

dening person to know. In

both his capacities as poet

and leader of the rock bands

Silver Jews and Purple

Mountains, he was beloved

for the couplets and stanzas

that poured out like tiny Es-

cher drawings, each a jewel

in the crown of a song or po-

em that usually had many of

them, each one surprisingly

portable. “Half hours on

earth, what are they worth?

I don’t know.”

I came to know him in

1998 through Open City

Magazine and Books, which

I co-edited, where he pub-

lished his one poetry collec-

tion, “Actual Air.” “Actual

Air” was a huge seller by the

AN APPRECIATION

A friendship of sweet sorrow

DAVID BERMANwas the singer-songwriter of the indie rock band Silver Jews.

Drag City Records

David Berman, poet

and Silver Jews singer,

was brilliant, beloved,

principled and fragile.

By Thomas Beller

[SeeBerman,E3]

Chief among the many
reasons to recommend the
new revival of María Irene
Fornés’ “Fefu and Her
Friends” at the Odyssey
Theatre is the rarity of the
opportunity. Good produc-
tions don’t come around all
that often of this master-
work by the Cuban-born
American playwright who
diedlast year.
Fornés’ 1977 drama —
about a group of women in
1935 New England convening
at the home of the title char-
acter for a meeting that
turns into a freestyle con-
sciousness-raising session
—is a landmark of feminist
theater. But the play, while
regularly taught in college
theater seminars, is less
commonly revived because
of its complicated logistics.
Long before immersive
theater was a trend, Fornés,
one of the trailblazing fig-
ures of the off-off-Broadway
movement, was experiment-
ing with the form by having
the middle section of “Fefu”
take place in four different
rooms. The audience breaks
up into groups, with each
group taking turns eaves-
dropping on a different set of
characters.
After everyone has
undergone the full tour of
scenes, the audience re-
unites for the third and final
section, which takes place in
the same space as Part 1, the

THEATER REVIEW

‘Fefu’

delivers

female

drama

Odyssey Theatre

presents a little-seen

Fornés play in an

excellent production.

CHARLES McNULTY
THEATER CRITIC

[See‘Fefu,’E4]

Haunted by its

weird wonders

Disneyland’s 50th

anniversary party for

the Haunted Mansion

shows just how lasting

its odd charms are. E2

What’s on TV..........E5

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