Theater/Dance
IN A DAUGHTER'S EYES
Pam Africa, advocate for convicted Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, recently previewed a new play, “IN A DAUGHTER'S EYES,” which is based on Abu-Jamal’s story and playing in Philadelphia. Here is Africa’s letter about the play, which is described by the InterAct Theatre Company as “an intense and timely new drama inspired by the true story of Mumia Abu-Jamal, an activist and journalist convicted in the 1981 death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.”
Jun 3, 2011,
12:43
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Theater/Dance
Life and Abortion
The strange, dark world envisioned by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks in “F***ing A” is shocking and draining.
By Carol Chastang
Jul 28, 2009,
18:21
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Theater/Dance
Buppies On Stage
Characters in August Wilson's “Radio Golf” are breathing the rarefied air shared by those cynics whose success comes from knowing how to play the game.
By Carol Chastang
Jun 9, 2009,
12:33
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Theater/Dance
A New Native Son
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| Ja-Ben Early and Farah Lawal in Native Son. Photo by Micah Hutz |
A rare stage production of Native Son, based on Richard Wright's novel, crackles with energy, despite the hopelessness of the character's lives and the foreshadowing of doom.
By Carol Chastang
Apr 28, 2009,
11:17
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Theater/Dance
Lessons From Ghosts
In "The Blue Door," a new play produced by The African Continuum Theater in Washington, D.C., a middle-aged math professor is haunted by ancestral ghosts.
By Carol Chastang
Apr 28, 2009,
11:03
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Theater/Dance
'Stoop Stories' of Life
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| Dael Orlandersmith |
In Dael Orlandersmith’s “Stoop Stories,” worn out steps in New York City become gathering places of culture and history.
By Carol Chastang
Mar 30, 2009,
11:13
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Theater/Dance
Feeling Mighty Low
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| Photo by Jean Jacques Tiziou |
In Low: Meditations Trilogy, at the Public Theatre in Manhattan, the performance artist Rha Goddess boldly explores mental illness, drug addiction and homelessness in the African American community.
By Astride Charles
Jan 14, 2008,
23:19
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Theater/Dance
Journeys of the Black Body
Britain-based filmmaker Isaac Julien premiered his latest collaborative, multi-media venture with dancer Russell Maliphant this month at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This visual piece, which included both dance and an audio-visual installation, is titled Cast No Shadow. By Astride Charles
Nov 20, 2007,
08:29
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Theater/Dance
"Brewster Place" on Stage
A musical adaptation of Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place combines song, controversy and loss to tell a story about society's walls.
By Carol Chastang
Nov 8, 2007,
06:18
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Theater/Dance
My Children! My Africa!
Athol Fugard’s “My Children! My Africa!” depicts the horrors of apartheid but also the beauty of South Africa.
By Carol Chastang
Oct 8, 2007,
16:25
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Theater/Dance
Another Louisiana Jail
A theater revival of “A Lesson Before Dying,” Ernest J. Gaines’ acclaimed tale of racial injustice in a small Louisiana town, lends additional significance and timeliness to the original novel, set in the late 1940s. By Carol Chastang
Oct 1, 2007,
20:41
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Theater/Dance
Slavery in Different Chords
"Margaret Garner,” a provocative new opera with libretto by Toni Morrison, turns to the true story of an ex-slave, on which Morrison's novel Beloved is based. By Astride V. Charles
Sep 21, 2007,
06:30
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Theater/Dance
‘Stand Up Black Britain’
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| Gina Yashere |
Picking up where Sade and Soul to Soul left off, “Stand Up Black Britain” provides a broader transcultural interaction and dialogue, obviously in reverse direction from the normal U.S. export mode. By Astride V. Charles
Sep 4, 2007,
09:14
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Theater/Dance
Family Ties that Bind
A revival of the musical "Three Sistahs" explores family ties that break and bind. By Carol Chastang
Aug 8, 2007,
12:11
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Theater/Dance
“Emergence-See!” in D.C.
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| Daniel Beaty |
In the brilliant one-man play “Emergence-SEE!” now being performed by Daniel Beaty at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., a slave ship inexplicably rises in the New York Harbor, right in front of the Statue of Liberty. By Carol Chastang
Jul 19, 2007,
16:13
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Theater/Dance
Serving Two Masters
August Wilson's "Radio Golf," the final piece in his 10-play cycle about African American life in the 20th century, wrestles with the complexities of being Black, upwardly mobile and, at the same time, racially conscious.
By William S. Gooch
Jun 28, 2007,
13:03
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Theater/Dance
Remembering Fest Founder
Larry Leon Hamlin, who started the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, died after a long-term illness. He was 58.
Jun 20, 2007,
00:33
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Theater/Dance
Wilson’s ‘Gem’ of Faith
A DC production of August Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean" displays the richness of the African American community--the beauty of the language and the powerful traditions that ensured our survival. By Carol Chastang
Feb 23, 2007,
12:02
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Theater/Dance
All About Mammy
In “The Mammy Project,” Michelle Matlock used film, mime, rap lyrics and historical references to explore the origins of the Black mammy.
By William S. Gooch, III
Feb 14, 2007,
19:47
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Theater/Dance
Ailey—Old and New
For its 2006 New York season, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater favored its audience with a variety of Ailey classics. The mélange works included perennial favorites Revelations and Cry. By William S. Gooch, III.
Feb 14, 2007,
19:18
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Theater/Dance
A New 'Raisin in the Sun'
The African Continuum Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. presents a fresh production of Lorraine Hansberry's classic, "A Raisin in the Sun."
By Carol Chastang
Dec 22, 2006,
14:08
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Theater/Dance
Philadanco's N.Y. Triumph
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| Philadanco's Odara Jabali-Nash |
For its 37th season at New York City’s Joyce Theater, Philadanco assembled a program that was riveting, sexy cool and thought provoking. By William S. Gooch, III
Nov 29, 2006,
12:31
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Theater/Dance
"Hot Feet" Full of Energy
Even though there are missteps in “Hot Feet," the combination of Earth, Wind and Fire’s classic jams, breathtaking performances and explosive choreography by Maurice Hines make for an enjoyable evening on Broadway.
By William S. Gooch
Jul 21, 2006,
16:40
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Theater/Dance
A Healing ‘Color Purple’
On Broadway, “The Color Purple” musical renews a focus on Black female abuse and empowerment. By Jamie Walker
Apr 7, 2006,
20:51
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