Happy Friday!

I hope that it's been a great week. As usual, I've been as busy as the bear in the proverbial beehive. David Ford's festival, TIMES UNSEEN, consisting of short solo plays with artists expressing how the Trump presidency has personally affected them, was a great success. My monologue, THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE AIR, about my struggle to understand a dear friend who is all in for this administration, succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Lots of audience members say that the piece articulated a point of view that they've had trouble expressing. Several people asked me to develop it as a full 75 minute to one hour show. Ask and ye shall receive.

In a relatively brief period of time, I will bring THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE AIR back in collaboration with the great solo artist, writer and director Charlie Varon (RUSH LIMBAUGH IN NIGHT SCHOOL, RABBI SAM). We're going to do a show together consisting of a handful of monologues on today's political climate. It's an interesting experiment. We're calling it THE GREAT AMERICAN SHIT SHOW and we'll present it at the Marsh San Francisco on Saturday, November 24 at 5 PM. I'll let you know as soon as tickets are on sale. If the show is a success, we'll reprise it in a run next year.

READING

Although I haven't started it yet, I picked up An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. The book has been getting raves and it's one of Oprah's (and Resse Witherspoon's) picks. I'll let you know my take next week.

WATCHING

I debated whether or not to tell you what I've been bingeing this week. It's one of those guilty pleasures that I'm embarrassed to admit. Okay...here goes. I've been bingeing the first season of the reboot of Dynasty on the CW. There. I said it.

I was a big fan of the 80s version. Although he hates when I bring this up, my son Adam Alexander Copeland was named after Adam Alexander Carrington from the original show. Don't judge me! I've met quite a few women about his age named Fallon and Alexis.

They've done some interesting things in the reboot, including the casting of African Americans in several parts that were originally played by white actors and changing Linda Evans' Krystle to the Latina Cristol.  Elizabeth Gillies steals every show with her spoiled rich brat, Fallon. It's so good! It's trash, but it's fun trash. If you want campy fun, check it out. It's a great escape from the stress of what's going on in the real world right now.

You can catch season one on Netflix. You can catch season two Friday nights at 8 on the CW. You can catch Adam Alexander Copeland weekday mornings from 5-6 on KNBR 680 AM hosting his show The Leadoff and with Murph and Mac from 6-10 AM.

SAW

The Lady Love and I caught two pictures this week.

THE HATE U GIVE, based on the critically acclaimed young adult novel by Angie Thomas, is about an African American teenage girl, living in a rough part of town and commuting to an all white private school, who is in the passenger seat when one of her best friends is killed during an traffic stop gone wrong. This is a movie that will disturb you. Make no mistake about that. And, it SHOULD disturb you as these shootings of unarmed black males by police are happening in this country every day. The results are always the same. The officer gets a paid vacation and then exoneration. The family of the victim get loss and a sense that their lives are unimportant in the eyes of the criminal justice system and white America. It's all laid out in this movie. It's been a long time since I openly sobbed in a movie theater. I couldn't help myself during this film. GO.

The other night, we went to the press screening of Bohemian Rhapsody, the new biopic on the legendary rock band QUEEN and its flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury. Queen's heyday was during my high school years and I of course knew their music. Another One Bites The Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody and their anthem, We Are The Champions, were FM mainstays in the late 70s and early 80s. I didn't know much about Mercury himself or the formation and dynamics of the band. It's a really good movie with a marvelous soundtrack.

Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) is amazing and gives an Oscar worthy turn as Mercury. He doesn't imitate Mercury, he embodies him. There isn't a false note in his performance. There wasn't a second I didn't think I was watching the genuine article. The climax of this film is a shot by shot  reenactment of Queen's famous 1985 Live Aid set at Wembley Stadium. That twenty minute show is considered by many to be the greatest live rock and roll performance in history. After seeing the movie, I went to YouTube and watched the actual set. The movie nails it.

Some critics are nitpicking about factual inaccuracies and the annoying, “I would have liked to have seen...,” nonsense. The Lady Love has been a Queen fan since childhood and she says it's a wonderful, warts and all, story.

Bohemian Rhapsody opens next Friday. GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

LISTENING TO

I've been listening to the soundtrack from Bohemian Rhapsody on Spotify. All of the Queen hits are there!

EATS

I'm looking for the best cheeseburger and fries in the Bay Area and this week, I tried a place close to home. Boulevard Burger has locations in San Leandro and Castro Valley. We went to the San Leandro restaurant where I had the California Burger with avocado and jack cheese. Good, fresh bun. Juicy patty. Crisp shoestring fries. Cool faux 50's decor. What's not to love?

Boulvard Burger is located at 1027 McArthur Blvd in San Leandro and 3714 Castro Valley Blvd in Castro Valley. GO.

If you've got a recommendation for a good cheeseburger place in the Bay Area I should check out on my quest, send it to me at copie@briancopeland.com. 

SHOWS

I'm in Sacramento tomorrow performing NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN.

My sister, Tracie Stafford, is running for mayor of Elk Grove, California, as a Democrat. Elk Grove is a suburb of Sacramento where she's lived for almost 20 years. Tracie is running against an entrenched “Good Ol' Boys” network that has used every dirty trick in the book to keep her from winning including racist smears. Now, they've gone around town and taken down her campaign signs. Those on public grounds as well as yard signs from homeowners' properties. Unlike her opponents, Tracie is not taking corporate donations. She is only accepting small contributions from individuals which means that she is not as well funded as her entrenched opponents who are backed by the local machine.

Tomorrow (Saturday 10/27) at 2, I'll be performing Not A Genuine Black Man at the Guild Theater in Sacramento to raise money so that she can replace the stolen signs. If you can come, I ask that you please do. If you can't come, please help Tracie stand up to the bullies by purchasing a ticket that we'll give to someone who can't afford to attend.
For tickets, CLICK HERE.

More than ever, the coming election is about our nation, our communities and our values. Please help.

THE NOISY AMERICAN

By popular request, I've been doing almost daily livestreams on Facebook Live. I call the commentaries THE NOISY AMERICAN because some on the right have said that critics of this administration need to “sit down and shut up.” As Americans, I think it's just the opposite. We need to be LOUD. Weekdays, I spend a few minutes commenting on the news and politics of the day then we discuss and debate through Facebook posts. What started as a lark is really growing into something. We're prepping two YouTube channels, THE NOISY AMERICAN CHANNEL and CopieTV, that we'll launch soon. We've also just launched a website. Check it out at TheNoisyAmerican.com. Check out my daily videos and follow me on Facebook where I'm briancopie1.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Copie

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