Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 12 March 2019
Fate of Kate's pregnancy is center stage on 'This Is Us'

By LYNN ELBER her.
Associated Press The result is a showcase
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "This Is for its cast, honored as
Us" routinely brings viewers best drama ensemble by
to tears. Next week, it's tak- the Screen Actors Guild in
ing them to the theater. January against stiff com-
The hit NBC series will air petition that included FX's
an episode modeled on a "The Americans" and Hulu's
one-act play and confined "The Handmaid's Tale." It
almost entirely to a hospi- also boasts Emmy winners,
tal waiting room and to a Brown among them.
single day, a sharp detour "You underestimate these
from its usual flashback sto- actors as 'television network
rytelling. actors' at your own peril,"
In Tuesday's episode (9 Fogelman said. "They're
p.m. EDT), the extended — doing some heavyweight
and stretched to the break- stage work ... I think they're
ing point — Pearson family going to hold the screen for
is gathered after Kate Pear- a network audience in a
son (Chrissy Metz) goes into strange form that that au-
early labor. dience is not used to."
The setting is simple. The This photo provided by NBC shows actors from left, Justin Hartley and Melanie Liburd from a scene The episode evokes an
drama is anything but. from "The Waiting Room" from the NBC drama series "This Is Us." earlier one in which Kevin
Brothers, spouses and part- Associated Press enters rehab and, with the
ners clash as their anxiety family gathered to sup-
unleashes anger and hurt and a milder one from Re- which explains the decora- playwright Bekah Brunstet- port him, an 11-minute
over Kevin's (Justin Hart- becca's ever-patient hus- tive tissue boxes gifted to ter, when she started on sequence shot in a single
ley) alcoholism and Ran- band, Miguel (Jon Huertas). series creator Dan Fogel- the script. take plays out.
dall and Beth's (Sterling K. Even Kate's peppy, well- man and scattered around "'I want to put a really in- But the drama has chal-
Brown, Susan Kelechi Wat- meaning pal Madison his office. But "The Wait- tense, one-act play on lenged convention from
son) marital strain. (Caitlin Thompson) comes ing Room" episode is both national television, but I the start, with its intricate,
As the hours tick by with- in for a rebuke from a hun- tougher than usual and a think the characters and era-jumping approach to
out word about Kate or the gover Kevin, while his wary bold departure. the actors and the audi- Rebecca and Jack's (Milo
baby's fate, there's a frus- girlfriend, Zoe (Melanie Li- Fogelman, also among the ence's knowledge of them Ventimiglia) lives and those
trated — deeply warranted burd), weighs their future. series' executive producers, will make it accessible be- of siblings Randall, Kate
— outburst from her mom, "This Is Us " is known for its recalled the guidance he cause everybody will be on and Kevin, nicknamed "The
Rebecca (Mandy Moore), ability to make viewers cry, gave the episode's author, board with them,'" he told Big Three."q

Way Down Wanderers bend genres in

soaring set

Medicine Show and Mum-
ford and Sons lies the spirit-
ed bluegrass-based artistry
of the Way Down Wander-
ers.
With their second release,
"Illusions," the Illinois quintet
puts its own hybrid imprint
on the lickety-split brand of
Americana that draws rock
'n' roll power from a banjo,
a standup bass, a man-
dolin and other traditional
sounds.
For band members and lis-
teners alike, the desired ef-
fect is the adrenalin rush.
The album ranges around
some, mostly between run-
away jams and balladry.
The lyrics are descriptive
This cover image released by The Way Down Wanderers shows if not especially ground-
their self-released album, "Illusions." breaking, and the musi-
Associated Press cianship is first-rate. The air-
tight harmonies and cohe-
By SCOTT STROUD "Illusions" sive ensemble work reward
Associated Press Somewhere on the spec- repeat listening.q
The Way Down Wanderers, trum between Old Crow