James Rayburn, Deedle LaCour and Joey Waldrip, partners in charlieuniformtango, will assume ownership of the company in November.
“This transition has been two years in the making,” current tango co-owner, principal/CEO Lola Lott said. “November will mark charlieuniformtango’s 26th anniversary, so now feels like the right time to announce this change. Jack Waldrip and I are delighted to be handing the reins over to tango family members, James, Deedle and Joey. All are 20-year company veterans, and we know tango will be in great hands as the company moves into its next generation.”
All three new owners will retain their current work responsibilities, each with the added “owner” title. Rayburn will serve as CEO.
Current tango co-owner/editor Jack Waldrip will continue to edit for charlieuniformtango.
“As for me, I’ll be taking a small break, enjoying not having to make plans, except for my ‘walk and talks’ with anyone who wants to join me. I’ll be focusing on the arts, including Arts Mission Oak Cliff, and of course tennis, tennis, tennis,” Lott said. “Then I’ll be ready to embrace a new challenge whatever that may be. Stay tuned. But although I’ll be gone from tango, I’ll be watching them like a proud parent, enjoying everything they’ll accomplish.”
“This is something we’ve worked toward for 20 years,” said Rayburn. “Deedle, Joey and I are so grateful to Jack and Lola for the confidence they’ve shown in us and the strong foundation they laid. We began putting this transition together two years ago, and now that the time has come, we’re thrilled for the future. We’ve been lucky to partner with incredible industry creatives over the years–we’re proud of the work that’s come from those partnerships–and we know the best is yet to come.”
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More