Beauty on Broadwalk: By The Way, Have You Met Vera Stark

01 Jun Beauty on Broadwalk: By The Way, Have You Met Vera Stark

Last Tuesday, in the calm before the storm, I had the pleasure of attending Lynn Nottage’s off Broadway play, By The Way, Have You Met Vera Stark, directed by Jo Bonneya part of Beauty on Broadway, starring Sanaa Lathan.

Sanaa played Vera Stark a maid and aspiring actress trying to make it in ‘the pictures.’ She makes it in a major motion picture by taking a  servant role, one that Vera once proclaimed she would never demean herself and play. I loved this play because this is a struggle that many modern actresses are faced with.

Sanaa Lathan spoke after her performance as Ms. Stark, about the lack of quality material and her reluctance to take certain roles. “It’s all about the story. Good scripts are few and far between… I would play the evilest prostitute. I want to play it all.”

I absolutely can’t wait until we begin to see the likeness of Michelle Obama on the big screen. All brown women aren’t one-dimensional characters and for dang sure aren’t all downtrodden, super sassy (all the time, anyway) and chasing a no-good man. I can’t wait to see another, more realistic dimension of women of color on the big screen.

If you have a chance, and are in the NYC area, I strongly suggest that you see this play. By The Way, Have You Met Vera Stark is running until June 12th at Second Stage Theater (305 West 43rd Street). Info on tickets here.