WDEK Podcast Ep. 77: Raja Feather Kelly, Alex English & Adira Amram - 1/28/2020
Happy 2020! Christian and Shonali roll into 2020 with tales of hunger and dogs gone wild. Have you ever tried the Whole30? Christian and Shonali start the year out with another amazing lineup of guests. Christian and Shonali are obsessed with all of them. Their first guest is award winning choreographer, director, artistic director Raja Feather Kelly. He is the artistic director of his own theater media dance company The feath3r theory. How did a young man from Houston, TX with an obsession for pop culture, musical theater, dance and Andy Warhol become the critical darling of the uptown theater world? His work as a brilliant choreographer is featured in works like Fairview and Strange Loop and his last performance as a dancer was a solo show, 2 years ago in Ugly at The Bushwick Star. Go see his Kelly's upcoming works, Wednesday by the feath3r company and We're Gonna Die which he is directing at 2nd Stage premiering Feb. 4 and opening in February 25, 2020. See why Raja's been featured in the New York Times so many times this past year. Shonali has hopes of Christian getting a dog when times get lonely and has brought Rhonda the Dog Trainer (comedian & actress Becky Chicoine) from Pittsburgh to give him some dog training lessons. The audience at home, should pay special attention to her words, because although you have no idea what Rhonda is doing, you can try these tricks at home with your own moves. WDEK's second guest of the evening is comedian and writer Alex English. Alex is black, from Detroit and recently started making friendships with white people. Alex shares his astute observations regarding dating, weddings and eating brunch with white people. He also has special words for comedians who can't turn it off. Make sure to check out Alex at his monthly show Dad, happening at the Jane Hotel, the first Monday of the month. His next show is Feb. 3, 8:30PM. Jack Dwyer joins us from work in his gorgeous black velvet suit for this month's #GetItOffYourChest. Topics include haircuts, relatives, salad bar hoverers and imaginary friends. What is yours? WDEK's final guest is dancer, singer, songwriter, comedian and choreographer Adira Amram. Adira's unique brand of song, dance and collaboration is all about having a good time. She has been performing with Maresa D'Amore-Morrison and Jessi Colon (The Experience) for 12 years. Adira claims that her work comes from the child inside of her. She has released an album called Hot Jamzs for Teens. Adira is the daughter of legendary composer and multi-instrumentalist David Amram. Adira explains her dad had creative parenting techniques and how at 89 he's still continuously looking forward to the next gig. Adira performs two of her tunes for our live studio audience: 1) 17 Signs You Are Having A Midlife Crisis (The Condensed Version) and 2) I Want You to Be You Only Different. Look for Adira at her upcoming show this spring with Ophira Eisenberg, Ophira & Adira at Union Hall! Thank you all for supporting us for over 6 years! For enjoying a noncommercial experience that is about heart and soul!