On Screen

8— July 14 - 20, 2018 The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it Where John Lithgow left off, Kristin Chenoweth is picking up. NBC's "Trial & Error" is made for distinctive comedic performers playing a Southern town's offbeat crime suspects, and Emmy- and Tony-winning dynamo Chenoweth carries the baton as the satire's second season begins Thursday, July 19. She plays the fictional East Peck's society matron, flashy heiress Lavinia Peck-Foster, whose colorful nature doesn't necessarily help when she's ac- cused of killing her husband — whose remains are in a suit- case in her car. Relocated New York attorney Josh Segal (cast returnee Nicholas D'Agosto) defends her. Maintaining "Trial & Error" is "the best job ever" for her, the ever-lively Chenoweth says she empathizes with Lavinia be- yond the character's humorous aspects. "In comedy, you're sup- posed to be funny all the time ... but in delving into what makes someone funny, you also have to look at what makes them sad, especially when you have a character who seems unsympathetic. I've been in the position before where I've had to make an unlikable character likable, but I wanted to make this person lovable. "What I discovered," the singer-actress notes, "was that she saw her dad die when she was a little girl, she had a crazy mother, and she was locked inside her huge mansion her whole life. Once a year, she came out for a gala, and it was at her house. That's some deep stuff, and as an actress being given all these different levels to play, it's a gift." Chenoweth believes she, "Trial & Error" writer and executive producer Jeff Astrof and director Jeffrey Blitz make "a really good team, in that we challenge each other. We got several runs at big, long scenes, with cameras everywhere. We'd just shoot and shoot and by the time they edited it together, they already knew what they were going to do." Following her fourth annual Broadway Bootcamp for aspir- ing young talents in her native Broken Arrow, Okla., Che- noweth is making "Trial & Er- ror" her major summer venture. She's taking time off to treat a neck ailment from a 2012 ac- cident on the set of "The Good Wife," causing her to bow out of a number of concert dates including a centennial tribute to composer-conductor Leon- ard Bernstein at the Hollywood Bowl. "I was supposed to go right into recording my next album," Chenoweth says, "but I just fi- nally decided to have some time for self-care, which I've never done. (The injury) has been a thorn in my side, so I'm just going to take six weeks and do it. I would like to have a long career, and to do that, I need to give it a break for a minute. But just for a minute!" 8 — July 14 - 20, 2018 The Greeneville Sun, Greeneville, TN (forthcoming), "Farming" (forthcom- ing) Favorite actors: "Of course, Denzel. Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, Daniel Day-Lewis. Those are my people. And (Leonardo) Di- Caprio. Just people I can relate to." Celebrity Scoop Celebrity Scoop 2 x 2" ad (a) client will fill (b) modern woodmen Season 2 of "Trial & Error" premieres Thursday on NBC. Kristin Chenoweth is a case of 'Trial & Error' in NBC comedy's second season Cover Story Cover Story By George Dickie © Zap2it If given his druthers, Damson Idris would much prefer playing characters that are nothing like him. "No one wants to see a cat play a cat," he reasons. So when the 26-year-old London- born and raised actor got the chance to play 1980s South Central crack dealer Frankin Saint in the FX drama "Snowfall," which opens its second season Thursday, July 19, the dyed-in-the-wool fan of Denzel Washington and the 2007 feature film "American Gangster" admits he "screamed and said, 'I have to play this part.' " "It's almost the opposite direction of the stereotypical gangster that's often perceived on screen from eth- nic minorities," Idris explains. "So it was a amazing to have the opportu- nity to approach this character from a high-class point of view. And he's a really intelligent young man and he's someone who, if he wasn't sell- ing cocaine, could be the CEO of a company. So that was something which really drew me to the char- acter. It wasn't stereotypical. It was more challenging and opening and could stretch my acting abilities." In Season 2 of "Snowfall," busi- ness is booming and Franklin is beginning the experience the perils of success as his enterprise comes into conflict with forces within his circle and without. That includes Teddy (Carter Hudson), whose off- book, drug-funded operation proves vulnerable; and Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Lucia Villanueva (Emily Rios), the couple who decide to take ad- vantage of the potent new drug for their own financial gain. "I don't feel like anyone, particu- larly in the '80s when crack was first introduced to the world, got into the business knowing exactly what it would mean for 2018," Idris says, "... Franklin has no idea what he's doing. He just sees this as an oppor- Checking in with Dam- son Idris tunity to better elevate himself and elevate his family." Full name: Damson Idris Birth date: Sept. 2, 1991 Birthplace: London Education: Has a bachelor of arts degree in theater, film and television studies from Brunei Uni- versity in London Family ties: Was raised by a single mother with three brothers and two sisters TV credits: "Miranda," "The Missing," "Babylon," "Doctors," "Casualty," "Snowfall" Movie credits: "My Brother the Devil" (2012), "City of Tiny Lights" (2016), "Megan Leavey" (2017), "The Commuter" (2018), "Astral" Find Information on Greeneville Businesses. Easily. Search today for quick, easy, LoCaL information on 2,000+ businesses. • Phone Numbers • Addresses and Maps • Business Photos • Hours of Operation • Email and Website Addresses • Payments Accepted

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