<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
	<channel>
	<title><![CDATA[Stage ]]></title>
	<copyright>Copyright 2012 Copyright © 2011  Los Angeles Wave.  All rights reserved. </copyright>
	<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage</link>
	 			<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
		<language>en-us</language>
	<pubDate>Thu, 9 Feb 2012 01:09:16 PST</pubDate>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 9 Feb 2012 01:09:16 PST</lastBuildDate>
			<generator>Broadcast Interactive Media</generator>




		
			
				
			
			
				
		                      	
			
				
				
			
				
					
				
							
		
	
			
	
	
									
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[MJ's IMMORTAL set to be a thriller]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/MJs-IMMORTAL-set-to-be-a-thriller-138221869.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">138221869</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:56:09 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																												                                                                        <description><![CDATA[



Two and a half years after the Staples Center hosted a solemn memorial service for the King of Pop, those memories are about to be transformed with a show that honors his legacy.

The &quot;Michael Jackson: The Immortal&quot; World Tour, which opened last October in Montreal, followed by performances in Las Vegas in December, takes in the Anaheim Honda Center Jan. 24-25 and the Staples Center Jan. 27-29.

A collaboration by the Michael Jackson estate and the world renowned Cirque du Soleil, the production has been billed as a unique view into the spirit, passion and heart of an artistic genius who forever transformed global pop culture.

The brainchild behind the show is former Jackson dancer and renowned pop concert tour director Jamie King, who is overseeing more than 60 international dancers, musicians and acrobats.

The show takes place in a fantastical realm where one discovers Jackson's inspirational Giving Tree &mdash; the source of his creativity.

Thus, the secrets of his inner world are unlocked &mdash; a love of music and dance, fairy tale and magic, and the fragile beauty of nature.

And according to Cirque press attach&eacute; Maxime Charbonneau, it&rsquo;s a huge operation.

&ldquo;For these arena tours, we're using 35 trucks &mdash; for a stadium tour it&rsquo;s usually about 40,&rdquo; he said.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be touring North America for the next eight months, and then we head to Europe and Asia. We&rsquo;re scheduled to tour for the next three and a half years.&rdquo;

Meanwhile, principal tour dancer Leo Moctezuma said fans are in for a treat.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a spectacle for sure; a combination of all of Michael&rsquo;s iconic moves, songs and videos with a beautiful slash of Cirque du Soleil,&rdquo; he replied, adding &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been on pop tours my whole life, but this is another level.&rdquo;

The Brooklyn native, of Puerto Rican descent, who at 13 moved to Oahu, Hawaii, and joined the leading 24-VII Dance company, revealed that he was one of 300 professional dancers that tried out for the tour.

&ldquo;My agent submitted me for the tour and the audition was hosted by Jamie and [another former Jackson dancer] Travis Payne. We basically learned his iconic moves from all of Michael&rsquo;s songs. It was pretty grueling, but inspiring. They made it clear they wanted stars. Everyone on the stage had to be able to hold themselves as an artist and performer.&rdquo;

He continued: &ldquo;After I got the contract, I still had to wait five months before it actually started. We went out to Cirque&rsquo;s headquarters in Montreal and trained extensively for three months with dance, acrobatics, aerial and acting classes. It was an amazing experience. It was like theater camp.&rdquo;

For Moctezuma, who recalled that the Jackson family was in attendance that opening night with a parade of celebrity names, the tour is literally a dream come true having seen Jackson perform on the History Tour when Moctezuma was in high school.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really a blessing to be in this show, to continue his story &hellip; his music, his dance, his artistry,&rdquo; Moctezuma said.

&ldquo;I can listen to Michael&rsquo;s music everyday. There are some many great songs and videos. I think my favorite is the choreography to &lsquo;Smooth Criminal&rsquo; and &lsquo;Thriller.&rsquo;&rdquo;

Photo: Dancers from Michael Jackson: The Immortal interpret his iconic Thriller video. Credit: OSA Images ]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Monterey High School students write plays about figures in Chicano history]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Monterey-High-School-students-write-plays-about-figures-in-Chicano-history-138143618.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">138143618</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:34:26 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/2012+Meets+1970.jpg" length="125205" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[EAST LOS ANGELES — Students at a local continuation high school have turned a history project into plays that will be performed Thursday night at Plaza De La Raza in Lincoln Park at 7:30 p.m.

Admission is free to the public.

In November, 20 students from Monterey High School who were taking part in a Young Theaterworks program 'Through the Ages,' interviewed four Chicano activists who were heavily involved in the Chicano Moratorium movement in 1970. 

The activists included Rosalio Muñoz, a key organizer of the Chicano Moratorium; Viviana Aparicio-Chamberlin, a visual artist and educator; Jesús Treviño, one of the best known Chicano filmmakers; and Consuelo Flores, a director of the Los Angeles local for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

After the interviews, one student reflected, 'It made me want to teach others what I have learned.'

From the interviews, the students, with the help of mentors from About Productions' Young Theaterworks, then were given the task of creating plays from the interviews.

A staged reading of the students' work, entitled '2012 Meets 1970,' is being performed by professional actors.

'I'm thrilled that About Productions has presented our students with a program where they are obligated to think, speak, explore, ponder and create,' said Monterey High Principal Doug Franklin at a preview of Thursday's performance Wednesday morning at Plaza de la Raza. 'I think we have ignited some real passion in these students.'

'Through the Ages' is a cross-generational program that builds literacy while helping students transcend generational divides.

It is part of About Productions' Young Theaterworks program which was founded by Rosa Portillo in 2001 and inaugurated at Monterey High School.

'Through the Ages began as a way to combine our successful senior and youth programs, but has blossomed into a huge gift for all generations involved,' Portillo said. 'Each generation is transformed through the act of telling and retelling a story.

Portillo said the '2012 Meets 1970' project has been particularly moving for students who have learned about and taken pride 'in the history of their neighborhood and the courage of these committed activists.'

Students taking part in the program include Francisco 'Paco' Flores, Jorge Leal, Diego Marquez, Francisca Mendez, Alejandro Schramm, Crystal Berumen, Sonia Nuñez, Eneida Ortega, Frank Ramirez, Andrew Burciaga, Oscar Lechuga, Jessie Serna, Julie Villa, Ulises Figueroa, Vanessa Fierro, Jessica Miranda and Sarah Swogger. 

The students worked twice weekly for two months with teaching artists and playwrights Julieta Garza, Peter Howard and Portillo; humanities scholar Tomás Benitez and playwright mentors Daniel Chacon, Rano De Leon and Elizabeth Rainey.

Also taking part in Wednesday's preview was Louie Perez, one of the songwriters of Los Lobos.

Perez is taking part in another of About Productions' projects that explores the Chicano movement of the late 1960s, 'Evangeline, The Queen of Make Believe,' which will make its debut in May.

It was written by Portillo, About Productions' Artistic Director Theresa Chavez and Perez, and will feature music by Perez and is songwriting partner from Los Lobos, David Hidalgo.

The play is set in the late 60s in East Los Angeles and is about a recent high school graduate who is a devoted daughter by day and a Hollywood go-go dancer at night.

About Productions Young Theaterworks' Through the Ages program is sponsored in part by the Flourish Foundation, the California Community Foundation, the city of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the California Arts Council, a state agency, as well as the National Endowment for Arts, a federal agency and the California Council for the Humanities an independent non-profit organization and a partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


		 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
	 				
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

			



				
	
	
	


		

																	
						
		
		


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA['The Help' leads Image Award nominations]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/137696518.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137696518</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:52:41 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/help+100+mil.jpg" length="245876" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/WAVE/7cc762eaf52b69a782553f189ff5d485_fl9.mp4</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

BEVERLY HILLS &mdash; The civil rights drama &quot;The Help&quot; collected eight nominations Thursday for the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards, honoring the achievements of people of color in television, music, literature and films.

The awards also honor groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

&quot;The Help,&quot; the story of an idealistic young writer who gets civil- rights era black maids to talk about their lives as servants in white homes, was nominated for best picture, best actress for Emma Stone and Viola Davis and supporting actress for Bryce Dallas Howard, Cicely Tyson and Golden Globe winner Octavia Spencer.

Also nominated for best picture were &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; &mdash; which earned six nominations, &quot;Pariah,&quot; &quot;The First Grader&quot; and &quot;Tower Heist.&quot;

&quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; earned best actor and actress nominations for Laz Alonso and Paula Patton, respectively.

Other best-actor nods went to Eddie Murphy of &quot;Tower Heist,&quot; Laurence Fishburne for &quot;Contagion,&quot; Oliver Litondo for &quot;The First Grader&quot; and Vin Diesel for &quot;Fast Five.&quot;

Along with Stone, Davis and Patton, best-actress nominations also went to Adepero Oduye for &quot;Pariah&quot; and Zoe Saldana for &quot;Colombiana.&quot;

The Image Awards will be presented Feb. 17 and televised on NBC.

Here is a list of nominations:

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Outstanding Comedy Series
&mdash; &quot;Love That Girl!&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; &quot;Modern Family&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Reed Between the Lines&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Tyler Perry's House of Payne&quot; (TBS)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Dule Hill, &quot;Psych&quot; (USA Network)
&mdash; Malcolm-Jamal Warner, &quot;Reed Between the Lines&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Phil Morris, &quot;Love That Girl!&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; Pooch Hall, &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Terry Crews, &quot;Are We There Yet?&quot; (TBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Tatyana Ali, &quot;Love That Girl!&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; Tia Mowry-Hardrict, &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Tracee Ellis Ross, &quot;Reed Between the Lines&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Vanessa Williams, &quot;Desperate Housewives&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Wendy Raquel Robinson, &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Craig Robinson, &quot;The Office&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Damon Wayans Jr., &quot;Happy Endings&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; J.B. Smoove, &quot;Curb Your Enthusiasm&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Nick Cannon, &quot;Up All Night&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Tracy Morgan, &quot;30 Rock&quot; (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Amber Riley, &quot;Glee&quot; (FOX)
&mdash; Gabourey Sidibe, &quot;The Big C&quot; (Showtime)
&mdash; Keshia Knight Pulliam, &quot;Tyler Perry's House of Payne&quot; (TBS)
&mdash; Maya Rudolph, &quot;Up All Night&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Sofia Vergara, &quot;Modern Family&quot; (ABC)

Outstanding Drama Series
&mdash; &quot;Boardwalk Empire&quot; (HBO)
&mdash;  &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; &quot;The Good Wife&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; &quot;Treme&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
&mdash; Andre Braugher, &quot;Men of A Certain Age&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Hill Harper, &quot;CSI: NY&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; L.L. Cool J, &quot;NCIS: Los Angeles&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Taye Diggs, &quot;Private Practice&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Wendell Pierce, &quot;Treme&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
&mdash; Chandra Wilson, &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Khandi Alexander, &quot;Treme&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Regina King, &quot;SouthLAnd&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Sandra Oh, &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Taraji P. Henson, &quot;Person of Interest&quot; (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
&mdash; Corey Reynolds, &quot;The Closer&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Ice T, &quot;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; James Pickens Jr., &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Nelsan Ellis, &quot;True Blood&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Omar Epps, &quot;House M.D.&quot; (FOX)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
&mdash; Alfre Woodard, &quot;Memphis Beat&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Anika Noni Rose, &quot;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Archie Panjabi, &quot;The Good Wife&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Diahann Carroll, &quot;White Collar&quot; (USA Network)
&mdash; Loretta Devine, &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
&mdash; &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)
&mdash; &quot;Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Luther&quot; (BBC America)
&mdash; &quot;The Least Among You&quot; (Showtime)
&mdash; &quot;Thurgood&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
&mdash; Esai Morales, &quot;We Have Your Husband&quot; (Lifetime)
&mdash; Idris Elba, &quot;Luther&quot; (BBC America)
&mdash; Laurence Fishburne, &quot;Thurgood&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Louis Gossett Jr., &quot;The Least Among You&quot; (Showtime)
&mdash; Samuel L. Jackson, &quot;The Sunset Limited&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
&mdash; Anika Noni Rose, &quot;Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom's Have a Little
Faith&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Jenifer Lewis, &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)
&mdash; Rosario Dawson, &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)
&mdash; Taraji P. Henson, &quot;Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story&quot; (Lifetime)
&mdash; Tracee Ellis Ross, &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
&mdash; Aaron D. Spears, &quot;The Bold and the Beautiful&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Bryton James, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Emerson Brooks, &quot;All My Children&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; James Reynolds, &quot;Days of Our Lives&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Texas Battle, &quot;The Bold and the Beautiful&quot; (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
&mdash; Christel Khalil, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Julia Pace Mitchell, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Tatyana Ali, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Tonya Lee Williams, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Yvette Freeman, &quot;The Bold and the Beautiful&quot; (CBS)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
&mdash; &quot;BET News Exclusive: The President Answers Black America&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Judge Mathis&quot; (Syndicated)
&mdash; &quot;Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; &quot;Unsung&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; &quot;Washington Watch with Roland Martin&quot; (TV One)

Outstanding Talk Series
&mdash; &quot;Anderson&quot; (Syndicated)
&mdash; &quot;Oprah's Lifeclass&quot; (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
&mdash; &quot;The Doctors&quot; (Syndicated)
&mdash; &quot;The View&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;The Wendy Williams Show&quot; (Syndicated)

Outstanding Reality Series
&mdash; &quot;All-American Muslim&quot; (TLC)
&mdash; &quot;American Idol&quot; (FOX)
&mdash; &quot;Dancing with the Stars&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Sunday Best&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Tia &amp; Tamera&quot; (Style Network)

Outstanding Variety Series or Special
&mdash; &quot;2011 BET Awards&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Black Girls Rock!&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Oprah Presents: Master Class&quot; (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
&mdash; &quot;Prince! Behind the Symbol&quot; (The Africa Channel)
&mdash; &quot;UNCF An Evening of Stars Tribute to Chaka Khan&quot; (BET)

Outstanding Children's Program
&mdash; &quot;A.N.T. Farm&quot; (Disney Channel)
&mdash; &quot;Dora The Explorer&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; &quot;Go, Diego! Go!&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; &quot;I Can Be President: A Kid's-Eye View&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; &quot;My Family Tree&quot; (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/ Children's Program - (Series or Special)
&mdash; China Anne McClain, &quot;A.N.T. Farm&quot; (Disney Channel)
&mdash; Keke Palmer, &quot;True Jackson, VP&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; Lance Robertson, &quot;Yo Gabba Gabba&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; Leon Thomas III, &quot;Victorious&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; Zendaya Coleman, &quot;Shake It Up&quot; (Disney Channel)

RECORDING CATEGORIES

Outstanding New Artist
&mdash; Committed (Epic)
&mdash; Diggy Simmons (Atlantic Records)
&mdash; Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (Columbia Records)
&mdash; Mindless Behavior (Streamline/Conjunction/Interscope Records)
&mdash; Wynter Gordon (Big Beat/Atlantic Records)

Outstanding Male Artist
&mdash; Anthony Hamilton (RCA Records)
&mdash; Bruno Mars (Elektra Records)
&mdash; Cee Lo Green (Elektra Records)
&mdash; Chris Brown (Jive Records)
&mdash; Common (Warner Bros. Records)

Outstanding Female Artist
&mdash; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; Jennifer Hudson (Arista Records)
&mdash; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)
&mdash; Ledisi (Verve Forecast)
&mdash; Mary J. Blige (Geffen)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
&mdash; Boyz II Men (Benchmark Entertainment/MSM Music Group)
&mdash; Cee Lo Green feat. Melanie Fiona (Elektra Records)
&mdash; Mary J. Blige feat. Drake (Geffen)
&mdash; Sounds of Blackness (Malaco Music Group)
&mdash; The Roots (Island Def Jam Music Group)

Outstanding Jazz Album
&mdash; &quot;Chano y Dizzy,&quot; Terence Blanchard and Poncho Sanchez (Concord
Music Group, Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;Friends,&quot; Stanley Jordan (Mack Avenue Records)
&mdash; &quot;Guitar Man,&quot; George Benson (Concord Jazz)
&mdash; &quot;Legacy,&quot; Gerald Wilson (Mack Avenue Records)
&mdash; &quot;Road Show Vol. 2,&quot; Sonny Rollins (Emarcy)

Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)
&mdash; &quot;Becoming,&quot; Yolanda Adams (N House Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;Church on the Moon,&quot; Deitrick Haddon (Verity Gospel Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;Hello Fear,&quot; Kirk Franklin (Verity Gospel Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;Something Big,&quot; Mary Mary (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;The Journey,&quot; Andrae Crouch (RiverPhlo Entertainment)

Outstanding World Music Album
&mdash; Afrodiaspora,&quot; Susana Baca (Luaka Bop)
&mdash; &quot;Carnival Fever,&quot; Brother B (King Chero Records)
&mdash; &quot;Live at 2011 New Orleans Jazz &amp; Heritage Festival,&quot; Boukman
Eksperyans (MunckMix, Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;Sounds of Blackness,&quot; Sounds of Blackness (Malaco Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;The First Grader,&quot; Alex Heffes (Varese Sarabande)

Outstanding Music Video
&mdash; &quot;25/8,&quot; Mary J. Blige (Geffen)
&mdash; &quot;Hear My Call,&quot; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)
&mdash; &quot;I Was Here,&quot; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;Someone Like You,&quot; Adele (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;Where You At,&quot; Jennifer Hudson (Arista Records)

Outstanding Song
&mdash; &quot;Best Thing I Never Had,&quot; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;Fool for You feat. Melanie Fiona,&quot; Cee Lo Green (Elektra Records)
&mdash; &quot;I Smile,&quot; Kirk Franklin (Verity Gospel Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;So In Love feat. Anthony Hamilton,&quot; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)
&mdash; &quot;Someone Like You,&quot; Adele (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Album
&mdash; &quot;4,&quot; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;F.A.M.E,&quot; Chris Brown (Jive Records)
&mdash; &quot;I Remember Me,&quot; Jennifer Hudson (Arista Records)
&mdash; &quot;Lasers,&quot; Lupe Fiasco (1st &amp; 15th/Atlantic Records)
&mdash; &quot;The Light of the Sun,&quot; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)

LITERATURE CATEGORIES

Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction
&mdash; &quot;A Silken Thread,&quot; Brenda Jackson (Harlequin Kimani Press)
&mdash; &quot;Boundaries,&quot; Elizabeth Nunez (Akashic Books)
&mdash; &quot;Say Amen, Again,&quot; Reshonda Tate Billingsley (Gallery Books)
&mdash; &quot;Silver Sparrow,&quot; Tayari Jones (Algonquin Books)
&mdash; &quot;The Plot Against Hip Hop: A Novel,&quot; Nelson George (Akashic Books)

Outstanding Literary Work - Non-Fiction
&mdash; &quot;Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America,&quot;
Melissa Harris-Perry (Yale University Press)
&mdash; &quot;Super Rich,&quot; Russell Simmons (Gotham Books)
&mdash; &quot;The Cosmopolitan Canopy,&quot; Elijah Anderson (W. W. Norton &amp; Company)
&mdash; &quot;The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place,&quot; Hill Harper (Gotham
Books)
&mdash; &quot;Who's Afraid of Post- Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now,&quot;
Toure (Free Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Debut Author
&mdash; &quot;2Grieve 2Gether: A Journal from the Heart Helping Survivors &amp;
Supporters Navigate the Healing Process,&quot; Denise Hall Brown (2Lift 1Up
Publishing)
&mdash; &quot;A Defining Moment,&quot; Patricia Duncan (IJABA Publishing Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;The Loom,&quot; Shella Gillus (Guideposts Books)
&mdash; &quot;The Strawberry Letter,&quot; Lyah Le Flore (Ballantine/Random House)
&mdash; &quot;We the Animals,&quot; Justin Torres (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Outstanding Literary Work - Biography/Auto-Biography
&mdash; &quot;A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother,&quot;
Janny Scott (Riverhead Books)
&mdash; &quot;Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,&quot; Manning Marable (Penguin Group
(USA)-Viking)
&mdash; &quot;My Song,&quot; Harry Belafonte (Knopf)
&mdash; &quot;No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington,&quot; Condoleezza
Rice (Crown Publishers)
&mdash; &quot;The John Carlos Story,&quot; John Carlos, Dave Zirin (Haymarket Books)

Outstanding Literary Work - Instructional
&mdash; &quot;A Year to Wellness and Other Weight Loss Secrets,&quot; Bertice Berry
(Freeman House Publishing)
&mdash; &quot;Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing,&quot; Synthia Saint
James (Create Space)
&mdash; &quot;Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, &amp; Social
Justice in Classroom &amp; Community,&quot; Quraysh Ali Lansana (Teachers &amp; Writers
Collaborative)
&mdash; &quot;The T.D. Jakes Relationship Bible: Life Lessons on Relationships
from the Inspired Word of God,&quot; T.D. Jakes (Atria Books)
&mdash; &quot;Too Important to Fail: Saving America's Boys,&quot; Tavis Smiley
(Author), Juan Roberts (Illustrator) (SmileyBooks)

Outstanding Literary Work - Poetry
&mdash; &quot;Afro Clouds &amp; Nappy Rain: The Curtis Brown Poems,&quot; James Golden
(iUniverse)
&mdash; &quot;Head Off &amp; Split,&quot; Nikky Finney (TriQuarterly Books / Northwestern
University Press)
&mdash; &quot;Honoring Genius: The Narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness and
Justice,&quot; Haki Madhubuti (Third World Press)
&mdash; &quot;Intimate Thoughts,&quot; Darrin Henson (Author), Anna Saunders
(Illustrator) (Godzchild Publishing)
&mdash; &quot;Last Seen,&quot; Jacqueline Jones Lamon (University of Wisconsin Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Children
&mdash; &quot;Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band,&quot; Kwame Alexander (Author),
Tim Bowers (Illustrator) (Sleeping Bear Press)
&mdash; &quot;Before There Was Mozart,&quot; Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author), James
Ransome (Illustrator) (Schwartz &amp; Wade Books / Random House Children's Books)
&mdash; &quot;Heart and Soul,&quot; Kadir Nelson (Author/Illustrator) (Balzer + Bray,
an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books)
&mdash; &quot;White Water,&quot; Michael S. Bandy (Author), Shadra Strickland
(Illustrator) (Candlewick Press)
&mdash; &quot;You Can Be A Friend,&quot; Tony Dungy (Author), Ron Mazellan
(Illustrator) (Simon &amp; Schuster Children's Publishing - Little Simon)

Outstanding Literary Work - Youth/Teens
&mdash; &quot;Camo Girl,&quot; Kekla Magoon (Simon &amp; Schuster Children's Publishing -
Aladdin)
&mdash; &quot;Eliza's Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary,&quot; Jerdine
Nolan (Author), Sadra Strickland (Illustrator) (Simon &amp; Schuster Children's
Publishing - Paula Wiseman Books)
&mdash; &quot;Jesse Owens: I Always Loved Running,&quot; Jeff Burlingame (Enslow
Publishers, Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;Kick,&quot; Walter Dean (HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins
Children's Books)
&mdash; &quot;Planet Middle School,&quot; Nikki Grimes (Bloomsbury Children's Books)

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES

Outstanding Motion Picture
&mdash; &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)
&mdash; &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; &quot;Tower Heist&quot; (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Eddie Murphy, &quot;Tower Heist&quot; (Universal Pictures)
&mdash; Laurence Fishburne, &quot;Contagion&quot; (Warner Bros. Pictures)
&mdash; Laz Alonso, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Oliver Litondo, &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)
&mdash; Vin Diesel, &quot;Fast Five&quot; (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Adepero Oduye, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Emma Stone, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Paula Patton, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Viola Davis, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Zoe Saldana, &quot;Colombiana&quot; (TriStar Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Anthony Mackie, &quot;The Adjustment Bureau&quot; (Universal Pictures)
&mdash; Charles Parnell, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Don Cheadle, &quot;The Guard&quot; (Sony Pictures Classics)
&mdash; Jeffrey Wright, &quot;The Ides of March&quot; (Columbia Pictures)
&mdash; Mike Epps, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Bryce Dallas Howard, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Cicely Tyson, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Kim Wayans, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Maya Rudolph, &quot;Bridesmaids&quot; (Universal Pictures)
&mdash; Octavia Spencer, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
&mdash; &quot;I Will Follow&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; &quot;Kinyarwanda&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; &quot;MOOZ-lum&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
&mdash; &quot;A Separation&quot; (Sony Pictures Classics)
&mdash; &quot;Attack the Block&quot; (Screen Gems)
&mdash; &quot;In the Land of Blood and Honey&quot; (FilmDistrict)
&mdash; &quot;Le Havre&quot; (Janus Films)
&mdash; &quot;Life, Above All&quot; (Sony Pictures Classics)

DOCUMENTARY

Outstanding Documentary - (Theatrical or Television)
&mdash; &quot;Beats, Rhymes &amp; Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest&quot; (Sony
Pictures Classics)
&mdash; &quot;Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey&quot; (Submarine Deluxe)
&mdash; &quot;Sing Your Song&quot; (HBO Documentary Films)
&mdash; &quot;The Rescuers&quot; (Michael King Productions)
&mdash; &quot;Thunder Soul&quot; (Roadside Attractions)

WRITING

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Arthur Harris, &quot;Reed Between the Lines,&quot; Let's Talk About Ms.
Helen's Son Part 1 (BET)
&mdash; Prentice Penny, &quot;Happy Endings,&quot; The Girl with the David Tattoo (ABC)
&mdash; Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil, &quot;The Game,&quot; Parachutes....Beach Chairs
(BET)
&mdash; Vali Chandrasekaran, &quot;30 Rock,&quot; It's Never Too Late For Now (NBC)
&mdash; Vince Cheung, Ben Montanio, &quot;Wizards of Waverly Place,&quot; Wizards vs.
Angels (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
&mdash; Cheo Hodari Coker, &quot;SouthLAnd,&quot; Punching Water (TNT)
&mdash; Janine Sherman Barrois, &quot;Criminal Minds,&quot; The Bittersweet Science
(CBS)
&mdash; Lolis Eric Elie, &quot;Treme,&quot; Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?
(HBO)
&mdash; Pam Veasey, &quot;Ringer,&quot; Oh Gawd, There's Two of Them? (The CW)
&mdash; Zoanne Clack, &quot;Grey's Anatomy,&quot; I Will Survive (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)
&mdash; Alrick Brown, &quot;Kinyarwanda&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; Ann Peacock, &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)
&mdash; Dee Rees, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Elizabeth Hunter, Arlene Gibbs, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Tate Taylor, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)

DIRECTING

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Jay Chandrasekhar, &quot;Happy Endings,&quot; The Girl with the David Tattoo
(ABC)
&mdash; Kevin Hooks, &quot;Drop Dead Diva,&quot; Mother's Day (Lifetime)
&mdash; Leonard R. Garner Jr., &quot;Rules of Engagement,&quot; The Set Up (CBS)
&mdash; Miguel Arteta, &quot;How to Make It in America,&quot;  Mofongo (HBO)
&mdash; Salim Akil, &quot;The Game,&quot; Parachutes/Beach Chairs (BET)

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
&mdash; Ernest Dickerson, &quot;Treme,&quot; Do Watcha Wanna (HBO)
&mdash; Ken Whittingham, &quot;Parenthood,&quot; Opening Night (NBC)
&mdash; Kevin Sullivan, &quot;NCIS,&quot; Tell-All (CBS)
&mdash; Paris Barclay, &quot;Sons of Anarchy,&quot; Out (FX Network)
&mdash; Seith Mann, &quot;Dexter,&quot; Get Gellar (Showtime)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)
&mdash; Alrick Brown, &quot;Kinyarwanda&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; Angelina Jolie, &quot;In the Land of Blood and Honey&quot; (FilmDistrict)
&mdash; Dee Rees, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Salim Akil, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Tate Taylor, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[L.A. funny girls set to rock Burbank comedy club Flappers]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/LA-funny-girls-set-to-rock-Burbank-comedy-club-Flappers-137157218.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137157218</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:15:28 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[



BURBANK &mdash; Comic legend and nearby Toluca Lake resident Bob Hope once quipped to President John F. Kennedy when receiving a gold medal for services to his country, &ldquo;I feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of character to fight it.&rdquo;

While a good dose of humility is usually a good thing, the business of show sometimes requires more than a bit of chutzpah and the city&rsquo;s hip Flappers Comedy Club will bear that out, spotlighting a quintet of mostly new faces for its &ldquo;Girls Rock Comedy Show,&rdquo; debuting Jan. 19.

The event is the brainchild of stand up comedian and seasoned PR executive Chey Bell, who will be joined on stage by Chase Bernstein, Michelle Buteau, Taylor Collins and Kennelia Stradwick.

Bell, who said she feels now is the time to step out into the limelight after promoting comics and other showbiz talent in the past, describes her own oeuvre as being &ldquo;brutally honest.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very real. I talk about controversial issues, including the fact that I&rsquo;m bi-sexual. It&rsquo;s interesting because people are often intrigued and have a lot questions about the lifestyle,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I talk about it because I think it&rsquo;s necessary that our community confronts and understands it and doesn&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s some kind of freak show.&rdquo;

Channeling her inner Steve Wright &mdash; &ldquo;Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect&rdquo; &mdash; Bernstein&rsquo;s dry, quirky delivery is a souffl&eacute; of random thoughts and sayings.

&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really know how to describe it, I talk about random things and try to make them relatable,&rdquo; said Bernstein, a Los Angeles native, who has been on the circuit for 18 months.

&ldquo;I like the awkward moments when people don&rsquo;t realize they are being funny, but they are. Like stupid stuff when someone goes in for a hi-five, but the other person didn&rsquo;t see them and they have to walk away, but no one saw it but you.&rdquo;

Describing her first open mic as a &ldquo;three minute adrenaline rush,&rdquo; Bernstein contended that at this point she just wants to have fun and not get caught up about thinking of a career or management.

&ldquo;I want to keep doing this for as long as I can. I think if you just keep working hard and get out there as much as you can then eventually it will happen,&rdquo; she added.

Meanwhile, sassy New Jersey-raised Caribbean and quick-witted Buteau is a contrast in energy, and although a relative newcomer, she has appeared on George Lopez&rsquo;s former late night chat show and Seasons 5 and 6 of NBC&rsquo;s &ldquo;Last Comic Standing.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Why am I a hot comic right now?&rdquo; I don&rsquo;t know, that&rsquo;s like asking why do you think you&rsquo;re pretty,&rdquo; she shot back to a reporter. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a great question and I wish someone else would answer it. No, because I like to tell it like it really is. I don&rsquo;t know, I just wanna be real. At the end of the day, I just wanna a hug.&rdquo;

Buteau recalled that she was working in New York for NBC when colleagues took note of her comic barbs and that prompted her to check out a number stand up shows where &ldquo;all the guys would joke about their penises.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I thought that was boring, so I just started and didn&rsquo;t stop and now I&rsquo;m here. It&rsquo;s good that women are getting their voices heard, they don&rsquo;t have to be a sidekick on a sitcom.&rdquo;

She added: &ldquo;I always wanna be workin, I wanna be like Joan Rivers with brown boobs. As long as I&rsquo;m on stage I&rsquo;m happy, I don&rsquo;t need health insurance, I&rsquo;m cute.&rdquo;

From the outrageous to the cerebral in Flint, Michigan native Stradwick&rsquo;s universal take on the comedy firmament.

Utilizing a natural stage presence, she can be found on weekends hosting at &lsquo;Marty&rsquo;s&rsquo; comedy club, located on Sunset Boulevard and North Martel Avenue.

&ldquo;I think what makes me different is I don&rsquo;t really focus on being different, everyone has their journey, things they are good at, their own past,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I just focus on doing my own thing. I try to be universal and write and perform stuff that everyone can relate to.&rdquo;

For instance, she likes to do these different, little voices where she relates stories about her mom trying to get at the pastor or a thug brotha trying to be sweet, but his manhood gets in the way and he doesn&rsquo;t really know how not to look like a punk when he&rsquo;s trying to tell you he loves you.

According to Stradwick, she owes her quick wit to her father&rsquo;s musician side of the family.

&ldquo;They were always on, always performing,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not as quick around them, but I think I&rsquo;ve made it a point, especially in my adult life, to kinda internalize things that are going on, so if someone asks me what I think I can be quick with a response.&rdquo;

For most comics the bane of their lives are hecklers, but two-year veteran, Collins, swears her best shows to date have been when she&rsquo;s been harangued by the punters.

&ldquo;I can honestly say my best shows have been when I&rsquo;ve gotten heckled &hellip; my wit will just snap on them,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been heckled pretty well lately. One guy told me I look like his friend, Mike. I definitely went off on him. Then, I had a chick come up and like physically attack me, trying to steal the mic.

&ldquo;She was wasted; I don&rsquo;t even know what set it off, I think I might have said something  about &lsquo;girls don&rsquo;t be whores,&rsquo; and maybe she took it the wrong way. [Anyway] I was saying &lsquo;you don&rsquo;t wanna do this,&rsquo; talking to her like a puppy dog. Then, finally I just gave her the mic &hellip; I was like here, what are you gonna do with it. Her friend pulled her back, and was like &lsquo;I&rsquo;m so sorry.&rsquo;&rdquo;

Having grown up in San Diego, Collins first set her sights on being an actress, but &ldquo;you had to get in touch with your emotions, and I don&rsquo;t have any,&rdquo; before acting boredom led to her browsing comedy books and being invited to an open mic in Santa Monica.

Right now, she is also focused on getting as much experience as possible in front of every different type of audience, even if they scare her silly.

&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m scared of Black rooms, a lot of times they&rsquo;re tough,&rdquo; Collins opined. &ldquo;But, I wanna hit the road and play to different towns every night, and then I can call myself a real comic.&rdquo;

*****UPDATE*****UPDATE*****UPDATE

The Jan. 19 event has been re-scheduled, according to Bell bumped by the club for a show by the Montreal Comedy Festival. Details may follow.



Photo: (l to r) Taylor Collins, Chase Bernstein, Chey Bell, Michelle Buteau and Kennelia Stradwick. Credit: Courtesy photos]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[PR Exec Chey Bell wants to ring in the opportunities for funny women]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/PR-exec-Chey-Bell-wants-to-ring-in-the-opportunities-for-funny-women-136124618.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">136124618</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:15:07 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[



With the stellar box office of &quot;Bridesmaids&quot; and slew of current female written and produced sitcoms, such as &quot;Whitney,&quot; &quot;2 Broke Girls&quot; and &quot;The New Girl,&quot; it seems a good time to be a woman in comedy.

That's good news for Bay Area native Chey Bell (@talk2cheybell), a stand up comedian that moonlights as a seasoned PR executive, who will be performing and producing her first comedy show, &quot;Girls Rock Comedy,&quot; at Burbank's hip Flappers Comedy Club, Jan. 19, 2012.

Bell has performed on the circuit for a number of years, but notes that it's still largely a men&rsquo;s game and Black female comics are even less visible.

&quot;Opportunities for female comics are few and far between.  I want to use my talents to help promote the next &quot;funny it girl&quot;, whether its me or a fellow comedy colleague,&rdquo; she said.

Thus, joining Bell that night will be a quartet of funny women, including Kennelia Stradwick, Michelle Buteau, Chase Berstein and Taylor Collins.

The Wave's entertainment reporter and comedy buff Olu Alemoru, will follow along for the ride.

Info: Ticket link is at http://h2f.net/h2fnew/index.php?pg=seats_page&amp;id=11347&amp;meetid=014c6b9486ce050

Photo: Chey Bell will be producing her first comedy show, &quot;Girls Rock Comedy,&quot; at Flappers Comedy Club, Jan. 19, 2012. Credit: Courtesy photo]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Author activist Akuyoe Graham lifts spirits of troubled L.A. youth]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Author-activist-Akuyoe-Graham-lifts-spirits-of-troubled-LA-youth-134802233.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">134802233</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:33:23 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Who am I? Why am I here?

On the face of it, straight forward philosophical questions; but for an innovative arts-based writing project that is turning around some of the regions most troubled youth, it&rsquo;s the kind of contemplation that is providing winning results.

This Saturday marks The Spirit Awakening Foundation&rsquo;s 4th annual &quot;Voices of the Unheard: Epiphany&rdquo; benefit performance, a reading of inspiring works by current and former at-risk youth who live or formerly resided in probation camps within the juvenile system.

Some 30 essays will be read by four mentees, along with professional actors, beginning at 3 p.m., at the Lost Studio Theatre (second floor), 130 S. La Brea Ave., and benefit proceeds will go to toward satellite writing programs in Culver City, East Los Angeles, South Central and Lancaster beginning in January.

Founded by Ghanaian native, Akuyoe Graham, an actress/author and activist, Spirit Awakening (spiritawakening.org) is a nonprofit that seeks to inspire at-risk youth to find their voice and awaken their spirit.

It was inspired by her own epiphany in creating the one-woman play, &ldquo;Spirit Awakening,&rdquo; which in turn led Graham to set up the award-winning writing program, &ldquo;Writes of Passage &mdash; Unmasking Your Authentic Voice.&rdquo;

According to Graham, the play evoked a journey of self-discovery from her moving from Ghana to Britain as the daughter of a single African mother, relocating to the States and re-discovering her deeper, spiritual self.

She said those lessons have helped youngsters like Johnnie Alcantra, a standout student who will be reading from his own composition.

&ldquo;He&rsquo;s 18 or 19 and I met him about three years ago,&rdquo; Graham said.

&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just been released after two years of detainment where he was facing 25 years to life without the possibility of parole.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the details of his case &mdash; I&rsquo;m an advocate, not a lawyer &mdash; [but] Johnnie&rsquo;s a brilliant writer by anyone&rsquo;s standards. He will be there to tell his own story and read from his own work.&rdquo;

Graham added: &ldquo;I met Johnnie while he was incarcerated in the compound division at juvenile hall &mdash; that&rsquo;s like the maximum security component. He was a wonderful student and great writer. What touched me was his quietness; there wasn&rsquo;t the kind of rage that a lot of the youth had, especially in the compound. He was also attentive and insightful, his writing showed clarity and maturity beyond his years.&rdquo;

Explaining that the curriculum is designed to not only unlock the student&rsquo;s creativity, but to make them think, Graham revealed that her program goes a little further in getting at the root causes of their often destructive behavior.

&ldquo;We really go to those places that perhaps other people may not want to go with these kids,&rdquo; she said.

&ldquo;The questions we ask them to contemplate and reflect on are relatively simple, yet they can be deeply confronting: &ldquo;Who am I? What is my purpose for being alive? Who am I, underneath what my family and friends think about me? What do I think about me, underneath?&rdquo;

Graham continued:&rdquo; How many of us in modern society take the time to be still enough to listen to the wisdom that resides within our own beings. Especially, for teens where there&rsquo;s so much peer pressure; you have to look a certain way, do a certain thing, have a certain attitude. They&rsquo;re imprisoned by the masks they wear.&rdquo;

Despite unearthing talent like Alcantra and a few years ago a young man called Tony Staples, who&rsquo;s working on a book, Graham noted the intention of the writing program is to spark re-discovery.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had students go onto UCLA, USC and Berkeley,&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;I want Wave readers to come out on Saturday, whether they buy a ticket or make a donation. No one is ever turned away. I want a full house so these children know they are supported. That is the intention.&rdquo;


Photo: &quot;We really go to those difficult places that perhaps other people may not want to go,&quot; Graham said about her Spirit Awakening Foundation. Credit: Courtesy]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

			



				
	
	
	


		

																	
						
		
		


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Robin Givens likes what she's doing 'right now']]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Robin-Givens-likes-what-shes-doing-right-now-134078848.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">134078848</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:49:40 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Robin+USE-web.jpg" length="127210" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/WAVE/2bb46a3dd89ddbe4a6a486d92bad80b92054aa4d_fl9.mp4</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

For three consecutive weeks, as she walked up the steps of the Pasadena Playhouse during rehearsals for Pearl Cleage&rsquo;s &ldquo;Blues For An Alabama Sky,&rdquo; Robin Givens felt as if she was entering a theater comparable to anything found on London&rsquo;s celebrated West End.

Little did she know that Los Angeles nearly lost that jewel of a space last year, one of a precious few places that consistently gives a platform to works about the African-American experience. Givens hadn&rsquo;t been aware of fears in arts circles that the playhouse may have been forced to close, otherwise, &ldquo;As emotional as I get, I would have been crying my eyes out. &hellip; Its loss would have been a tremendous loss for the arts,&rdquo; said the actress, who will turn 47 on Nov. 27.

The playhouse is now thriving, and Givens&rsquo; role in &ldquo;Blues&rdquo; &mdash; a tale set at the onset of the Great Depression, as its effects begin eroding the ebullience of the Harlem Renaissance &mdash; marks her first work on stage since a successful Broadway run in a 2006 production of Chicago. It co-stars Kevin T. Carroll, Kadeem Hardison, Robert Ray Manning Jr., and Tessa Thompson.

On a recent break from rehearsals, Givens sat down to discuss her fondness for artistic director Sheldon Epps, how changes in personal dynamics have provided more time for passion projects and the challenges of playing a new role.

What did you think when you first read the script?

I was in love. I read it, I don&rsquo;t even know what I was expecting, nothing really. But Sheldon is such a wonderful director, and I wasn&rsquo;t familiar with the piece, so I had no expectations. So I sat in bed, had put the kids to sleep, and I just couldn&rsquo;t put it down afterward. I couldn&rsquo;t stop reading it, I couldn&rsquo;t put it down.

What did you love about it?

It&rsquo;s like a slice of life, you know. You find these people at a certain time in their lives, and they&rsquo;re all these ordinary people with dreams, but we catch them at a stage when they&rsquo;re all a little bit &hellip; desperate in some sorts, especially my character. But they love each other. I mean they really, really love each other. But I think it&rsquo;s just in the interest of the time, when the Harlem Renaissance enters the Depression, yet these people are having a wonderful time with their relationships and their love for one another. Yet there is still this desperation for time and holding onto their dreams that they once had.

Your character, Angel gets emotional in this play. Is it difficult for you to get into this character and assume her emotions?

No, it&rsquo;s not. The only difficult part is that I will literally put on some make up, and a little mascara in the morning, but then like two hours into rehearsals, we will take a bathroom break, and the mascara has run black all down my face [laughs]. As I&rsquo;m talking to you &mdash; we just finished our first run &mdash; I&rsquo;m trying to get it together, my hair is all over the place, and black is running down my eyes. So it is intense, because so much goes into separating yourself from your character. And realize that you&rsquo;re talking to me two-and-a-half weeks into our rehearsal process, so there&rsquo;s still this big part of me that wants to share with her what I know, so things go better for her. I just think to myself, &lsquo;If she [Angel] just had more faith, if she just had the ability to be still and wait, things would be OK.&rsquo; But she is forever trying to &hellip; manipulate things the way she wants it to be, which is basically, to be happy, in love and live life in a very free way. But they&rsquo;re in Harlem, yet they have this dream of going to Paris and she starts to believe that it can never happen, but if she had some faith, it would work. But instead she&rsquo;s always trying to take things into her own hands.

Projects set in the Harlem Renaissance era aren&rsquo;t new to you. What attracts you to the stories of that era?

You&rsquo;re right. I did &ldquo;A Rage in Harlem,&rdquo; and I did an interesting French piece called &ldquo;Foreign Student&rdquo; that was sort of set in this era too. It was an interracial love story. I love these pieces. I grew up with all of these types of films and watching actresses like Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, those times, where women were really feminine but really strong, and I loved that. When women were called dames &hellip; when you could play pool with the guys and drink with the guys or joke with the guys but still look good in a dress. Also quick wit, the language of the women of those times, I like those women. Angel is like that. She is strong in so many ways, but not in others, where sometimes she&rsquo;s like this little bird that needs to be taken care of.

How different would you say women of today are from women of that era? Do you think they could relate to one another?

I think they could. The women in this play are dealing with a depression in the background, and so are women today, with what&rsquo;s going on right now with the economy, and a major recession, a lot of the language from then, sort of applies right now. There&rsquo;s another character in the play that she loves so much, her dear friend that is gay. &hellip; Even certain issues with what&rsquo;s going on with gay rights right now that I think that people will be able to relate to. The story will not seem so far away with the issues that are going on right now. So maybe even as women &hellip; things will seem more current.

How have you liked working with Sheldon Epps?

Oh my God, I love him. I am so in love with him, I&rsquo;m just in love with his brain. I mean, I love all of him, but he&rsquo;s just so smart. &hellip; He is wonderful, and especially with me. He&rsquo;s my kind of director. He&rsquo;s firm, but he&rsquo;s gentle. He pushes you and nudges you, but he gives you freedom to find what he feels &mdash; which is 99.9 percent of the time &mdash; where the character should be, but he lets you kind of get there on your own. Let me put it this way, he knows where the character should be, but he lets you get there, and he will nudge you back into place when you&rsquo;re off track. He&rsquo;s exceptional.

What do you look for in your characters before taking on a role?

Something that touches me. What&rsquo;s nice about having been a mom now for 18 years and giving so much to that, one&rsquo;s in college, and one&rsquo;s in middle school, is that now I can really concentrate on what I love doing. So I look for things that move me. Whenever people ask me what I would like to be doing, I always tell them that I like to be doing what I&rsquo;m doing right now.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Michael Jackson's mother, three children, attend Cirque du Soleil opening]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Jacksons-mother-three-children-attend--131016133.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">131016133</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 3 Oct 2011 14:38:11 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Jackson+Cirque470.jpg" length="28569" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[Michael Jackson's mother and his three children spent the weekend immersed in the pop icon's music, dance and imagery as they attended the premiere of Cirque du Soleil's 'Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour' in Montreal, Canada, Sunday.

Katherine Jackson, who sat through four days of disturbing testimony in the trial of the doctor charged in her son's death, agreed with the Michael Jackson estate and Cirque du Soleil just last week to attend the opening performance this weekend, according to a source close to the Jackson family.

The agreement is a sign Katherine Jackson and the men who now control her son's estate as executors have reached an understanding that should ease the tensions that erupted in probate court soon after Michael Jackson's death in 2009, the source said.

Jackson's mother waged a legal challenge against lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain, who were named as executors in her son's will, but dropped it several months later. Relations between the Jackson family and the estate have been tense from that beginning.

Katherine Jackson, along with Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson, will not return to Los Angeles until next Sunday when they return following the Michael Forever Tribute show in Cardiff, Wales, Saturday, the source said.

With several of Michael Jackson's brothers and sisters also traveling to the Wales concert, most of the Jackson family's eight seats in Dr. Conrad Murray's trial will likely go empty until next week.

Jackson's children never saw their father perform live on stage, but the Cirque du Soleil show promises for two hours to 'capture the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations.'

The road tour will reach at least 47 cities in the United States and Canada over the next year.

The circus company, legendary for its creative and acrobatic performances, first talked to Jackson seven years ago about the possibility of a Jackson-themed show, Cirque's president said when the agreement with his estate was announced in April 2010. The estate and Cirque du Soleil are equal partners.

The MGM Mirage has signed on to host the Las Vegas residency starting in 2012. The hotel also will open a nightclub based on the Jackson show, the hotel said.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Stage Review: ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ flows smoothy in Downey show]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Stage-Review-Singin-in-the-Rain-flows-smoothy-in-Downey-show-131363253.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">131363253</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 7 Oct 2011 15:03:40 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Musical.jpg" length="19081" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — Sophistication? Bah, humbug.

In these times of slow economy, joblessness and war in the Mideast, most people probably want to get away from the serious issues with something corny but cute.

And Downey Civil Light Opera's production of 'Singin' in the Rain,' being staged for the next two weekends at the Downey Civic Theater, 8435 E. Firestone Blvd., does that.

First staged in 1952, with story by Betty Comden and Adolph Green; and music by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, the plot takes place in Southern California in 1927.

There is actually an historic basis to the plot similar to how life was changed by the iPhone and iPod in recent years. The invention of talking movies changed things in Hollywood drastically, with many of the big stars of the silent screen were unable to compete when forced to speak, not just go through silent motions.

Thus the plot: beautiful but vain silent move star, played by Charlotte Carpenter, has a squeaky, nasally voice so her singing and speaking must be dubbed in behind the scenes by an unknown actress who has a great voice, played by Andrea Dodson, as her studio switches to 'talkies.'

Carpenter, a veteran of many Downey Civic Light Opera productions, retains the squeaky, New York type manner of speech and even sings a song with it.

Unlike most of her other productions, Carpenter does not get the guy, but she does get a pie in the face.

(For those who saw the popular movie, Dodson plays the part played by Debbie Reynolds, cute, perky, upbeat. Dancing buddies Mishi Schueller and Arthur D. Johansen play the Gene Kelley and Donald O'Connor parts, respectively, and do it very well.)

Schueller and Johansen are in sync. They dance well together but are also good hoofers in solo parts. Schueller also can sing, (possibly better than Gene Kelley).

Johansen solos in 'Be a Clown,' in which he goes through a series of pratfalls and slapstick humor while both singing and dancing and hardly missing a beat as he pulls himself off the floor.

Schueller does the famous Kelley number 'Singin' in the Rain,' with actual rain falling indoors.

Executive producer Marsha Moode adds rain-making to her usual masterful stage production. The rain came from overhead sprinklers and fell in small streams onto a set made to look like buildings, with the set having the capacity to hold most of the water.

'We still had to mop up a bit afterwards,' Moode said.

More Moode magic, with the aid of stage manager Sally Casey Bell, were two short film clips of Carpenter and Schueller enacting  a 1920s silent black and white movie with jerky motions of the technology of that time.

Dancing by the two men, plus a group of talented hoofers ranging in age from children to older adult, maintained the fast pace of the production under the choreography of Janet Renslow.

The pit band, directed by Jimmy Vann, came in a bit too loud and enthusiastic on the opening overture but settled down as the play continued.

The band provided the music for all of the songs, including 'You Stepped Out of a Dream,' 'All I Do Is Dream of You,' 'Make 'Em Laugh,' 'You Were Meant for Me' and the title song.

'The first act was grueling. We had 14 scenes and production numbers,' said Moode, of the performance which went off very well Oct. 1. There were just six scenes and the finale in the second act.

Worthy of note is longtime DCLO veteran Michael McGreal, who usually has bit parts, but got into the main act as a diction teacher caught in the middle of a dancing spoof by Schueller and Johansen.

Besides the four leads, Moode again juggles a large cast with 11 secondary players and a dancing/choral ensemble of 31.

By the way, if you like color, give credit to costume manager Elizabeth Bowen, who has the female dancers clad in 1920s fashions, while the men wore suits of yellow, red, orange, green and purple.

The production schedule continues with shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and next weekend.

Moode said season tickets are still available for the next two productions, 'Red, Hot and Cole' (the music and life of Cole Porter) weekends Feb. 16-March 4; and 'The Pajama Game,' playing weekends June 1-17.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

			



				
	
	
	


		

																	
						
		
		


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Q&A: 'Ghetto Klown's' John Leguizamo]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Questions--Answers-John-Leguizamo-on-Ghetto-Klown-Life-is-a-rollercoaster--ride--its-up-and-down-130754803.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">130754803</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:33:58 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Ghetto+Klown.jpg" length="115581" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/WAVE/71ed44cb55f4802f3848a79147fbcff6c0ea98ef_fl9.mp4</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Just like so many other resident of the East Coast, during Hurricane Irene&rsquo;s wrath, actor John Leguizamo found himself pulling water out of a nearby lake to flush the toilets in his upstate New York country home. He found himself washing his face in the pool and charging his cell phone at a nearby restaurant.

The no power and no water and being stuck indoors for the first day was fun for the comedian and his family, but after the second day and then the fourth day, it wasn&rsquo;t fun anymore.

&ldquo;It was a pain in the neck,&rdquo; Leguizamo said in a telephone call from restaurant near his Rosendale home, where he had been sitting for a few hours, ordering what seemed like 1,000 coffees just so he could use the restaurant&rsquo;s free WiFi and electricity to charge his cell phone and iPad. &ldquo;This was worst than being snowed in. &ldquo;We had no toilets, no running water, no nothing. It&rsquo;s been horrible, and I think the people in the restaurant are starting to wonder about me and my kids being here so much.&rdquo;

It has been a few weeks since then, and thankfully the weather has cleared up. Otherwise, Leguizamo would have had to cancel the 15 performances of his one-man show, &ldquo;Ghetto Klown,&rdquo; scheduled for the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, starting this Friday.

In an interview, he discussed the new show, why performing is like therapy and why he&rsquo;s still excited about a sloth named Sid.

 You&rsquo;ve said that &ldquo;Ghetto Klown&rdquo; is like free therapy for you. How is that?

In the show, I&rsquo;m saying a lot of things that people normally don&rsquo;t want to tell anybody but their therapist or their publicists, but I&rsquo;m putting it out there. I&rsquo;ve always felt that if I&rsquo;m putting something out there as raw as this, then I&rsquo;d better get something back, something big, as in therapy.

You&rsquo;ve always been very open about your life, career and struggles and accomplishments? Do you think there&rsquo;s a reason why so many people are afraid about being open, emphasis on the afraid part?

Yeah, I mean nobody wants to do it, nobody wants to reveal that kind of stuff. It makes you look like there wasn&rsquo;t any magic. Everyone wants to walk around and pretend that it happens easily, that things just happened easily, that they&rsquo;ve always had success, but that&rsquo;s not the way it is. And I was hoping that with this show, if you show all the downsides, all the fights and all the struggles and all the ups and successes, then you have an accumulation of a life, because that&rsquo;s how life is. Life is up and down &mdash; it&rsquo;s a roller-coaster ride. It&rsquo;s not all uphill or downhill, you know.

Does being yourself pay off? In looking at IMDB, you haven&rsquo;t stopped working since you got in the business?

I&rsquo;ve always enjoyed what I do and I feel really lucky that I can make a living out of my career. I love everything that I do, but the one thing that brings me the most joy is doing my one-man shows and that&rsquo;s the one thing I can really sell, where I can be my full self and &ldquo;Ghetto Clown,&rdquo; it&rsquo;s different than the rest of the shows, because it&rsquo;s where I can really be myself, more than I ever have been. I show a little rage, and the hilariousness and the ridiculousness, and I make fun of myself and at the same time, for the first time, I&rsquo;m doing some impersonations, like Al Pacino, Patrick Swayze and Don Johnson &hellip;  people I&rsquo;ve worked with in flicks.

Who has had the most influence on you and on what you&rsquo;re doing now?

I have to say it was Al Pacino. I&rsquo;ve got to say him, because he&rsquo;s one of the great great actors, and he knows how to be himself better than any other actor. When we did &ldquo;Carlito&rsquo;s Way&rdquo; together, he was always telling me to do less and be more myself and I was just a cocky, brash young actor, and I just wanted to do it my way. But I learned from him and he was patient enough to deal with this young buck.

From one-man shows, actors usually want audiences to learn something about themselves. What have you learned about yourself from doing one-man shows, especially from doing &ldquo;Ghetto Klown?&rdquo;

I&rsquo;ve learned something different each time. First of all, you learn that life is just material. Life is to be made fun of and the more you can make fun of yourself, the more resilient you are, the more you can bounce back. From &ldquo;Ghetto Klown&rdquo; I&rsquo;ve learned that I was a fighter, I was a scrappy guy and I had high standards in all the movies I went into; I wanted to make them better but sometimes not everybody was on the same page and we were going to have some conflict. And sometimes, the conflict was for the better, sometimes conflict was just conflict and nothing got done, but that&rsquo;s the battle of being an artist. You want to make things better, you want to elevate everyone around you and yourself.

You always give credit where credit is due, in giving credit to those who have opened the doors for you. But you&rsquo;ve opened doors for others too. How do you feel now knowing that you&rsquo;re one of the pioneers for other Latino performers? The doors still aren&rsquo;t wide open, but you&rsquo;re there, still holding that door open?

I&rsquo;ve helped, sure, I&rsquo;ve put my door in the door to try and keep it open. I&rsquo;ve stuck my foot out there and the door has closed on my foot a few times, I&rsquo;ve got some bruises on my toe and my bunion, to prove it, but I feel really proud of it. Before I wasn&rsquo;t able to really understand or appreciate that, but now I do. I see all these young Latino people coming up and saying that they want to be performers, want to be artists, and writers and directors and some of it is inspired by my work, so yeah, that makes me feel incredibly proud. I think that at the bottom of my work, I think that&rsquo;s something that I always wanted my work to be &mdash; inspiring. I wanted it to make people feel like they can go and do what I did, and they could feel they could celebrate being Latin.

I know Latino performers are out there and you know they&rsquo;re out there &mdash; but seriously, where are they?

Oh, they&rsquo;re out there. There&rsquo;s a lot of us, but unfortunately, we&rsquo;re not working as much as we should be. We&rsquo;re 15 percent of the population, and we contribute a trillion dollars in buying power in this country, we keep this country going and we&rsquo;re not represented correctly. I think the problem is in the studio system. The studio system is so full of fear, especially now with the recession that they&rsquo;re not taking risks. Latin people are dying to see Latin content and Latin material. They&rsquo;re hungry for it, but the studios are not putting the product out there. They&rsquo;re not nurturing it, they&rsquo;re not shaping it, they&rsquo;re not selecting it, cause it&rsquo;s there, they&rsquo;re just not understanding it. So it&rsquo;s going to take us, to do it ourselves. We have to do it ourselves. Spike Lee did it himself, the Hudson Brothers did it, I mean we&rsquo;re just going to have to do it ourselves.

You&rsquo;re still doing films, so why return to the stage? Is it because of the lack of work, or because you just love taking your craft back to the stage, where all actors get their start?

I love the stage. I love doing the one-man shows. It&rsquo;s a place where I have total control of my work, and I have total control over what I say and I have total freedom. But yeah, it is part of the whole thing that we can do things ourselves, and if we can do it ourselves, then I do do it myself. All of it. This way nobody can tell me nothing. &hellip; If I put it out there and people dig it, why not? On Broadway, we&rsquo;ve won all the prizes for one-man shows. The Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and audiences were White, Black, Latin, of all nationalities. If we put our product out there and it&rsquo;s good, everybody will come and see it.

When comedians come to your neck of the woods, who do you like to go see take the one-man show microphone?

I love Kat Williams, he&rsquo;s one of my favorites. Chris Rock has always been a special favorite of mine. George Lopez is hilarious. I think he&rsquo;s really funny. Shocked when they canceled his show. I was going to be on his show on the last day, but I couldn&rsquo;t fly out from New York with such a short notice. His show being canceled came out of nowhere. It looked like it was doing good, so I don&rsquo;t understand what was going on, but he&rsquo;ll always come back, he can&rsquo;t be kept down.

What do you look for when reading a script? Is there anything that John Leguizamo will just not do? 

I definitely look for the number of lines. (laughs) I want to know how long the character lasts in the movie, those kind of things. Do I get shot in the first act, after people run out for popcorn, do I get shot after that, yeah, that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m looking for.  &hellip; I won&rsquo;t do dumb stuff, where it&rsquo;s all gratuitous and my character gets mistreated and gunned down for no reason. I won&rsquo;t do dumb drug dealers. I don&rsquo;t mind being the lead drug dealer, but I don&rsquo;t want to be some small banana that&rsquo;s just serviceable.

In &ldquo;Ghetto Klown&rdquo; you&rsquo;re using material from your life. From what&rsquo;s happened since you put this together, has there been any new material that you would like to add to it, or are you building it up for an entirely new one-man show?

This Irene Hurricane for sure. Here I&rsquo;m washing my face, we lost power, electricity, we lost water, we lost our toilet, I&rsquo;m literally getting water from the lake and putting in the toilet to flush it, I&rsquo;m washing my face in the pool, and I have to go to a nearby restaurant to use their WiFi and their bathroom and their electricity with my kids. So I have to order like a thousand coffees just to use up their electricity and their bathrooms. (laughs)

This is the first time you bring &ldquo;Ghetto Klown&rdquo; to L.A. Do you find that audiences on the West Coast are different from audiences on the East Coast?

Oh yeah, in Los Angeles, they&rsquo;re rowdier. L.A. was rowdy, I loved it. I thought New York was rowdy, but L.A. is rowdier. New York will talk at me more, but L.A. has more energy, L.A. celebrates the show more. People leaving this show have told me that this show was life changing. I know that people have connected with me before, but with &ldquo;Ghetto Clown&rdquo; people really feel that it&rsquo;s life-changing, and that&rsquo;s really thrilling.

You&rsquo;ve said that you want &ldquo;Ghetto Klown&rdquo; to be your magnum opus &mdash; that you want to celebrate your life now, not after you&rsquo;re gone.

I have spent years crafting every ounce of it. I&rsquo;ve spent the last eight years really crafting it, and the last three performing it. My motto is to enjoy everything I do right now to the most, not wait for later, because there might not be a later. The Thai people have a word, I&rsquo;m not sure how you say it, but it means to enjoy everything you do, whatever it is, just take the most pleasure out of everything that you do.

How do you see Latinos in the arts now, in 2011?

Latinos can&rsquo;t be held back anymore, we&rsquo;re not accepting &ldquo;No&rdquo; as an answer anymore. So that&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re seeing some great writers like Christopher Dias do their thing. &hellip; There&rsquo;s a lot of talent out there right now. People are going out there &hellip; and they&rsquo;re writing their stuff, and performing it, directing it, we&rsquo;re everywhere.

Are you looking forward to seeing &ldquo;Ice Age 4&rdquo;?

I don&rsquo;t know why, but this one was the most fun. I think the script is really funny and we have this new directors who have a really great sense of humor, so I don&rsquo;t know, I think this is the best of them all. It has the best humor and the best story. I think the first one had the best story, and the second and third had better humor, but I think this one has both.

After playing the same role in three movies, a lot of actors might turn down the offer to do a fourth. What made you return to Sid for a new installment of &ldquo;Ice Age&rdquo;? Is it that no one can do the character the same way you do?

(Talking in the Sid voice) That&rsquo;s exactly it! If you have a great character and they&rsquo;re writing really good stories and the producers really care, one would still do a ton of things, a ton of sequels if they&rsquo;re taking care of the quality of the material. And Lori Forte, really takes care of the quality of the material and Blue Sky [Studios], they don&rsquo;t mess around. They perfect it and perfect it until it&rsquo;s right.

One hundred years from now, how do you want people to remember you?

I want them to feel that my work was as raw and as honest as it is today; that even then, people will be afraid to do what I do.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

			



				
	
	
	


		

																	
						
		
		


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Activist accepts Katt Williams' apology for anti-Mexican rant]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Activist-accepts-Katt-Williams-apology-for-anti-Mexican-rant-128921708.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">128921708</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 1 Sep 2011 14:48:49 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/williams_katt_470_phoenix.jpg" length="96714" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/WAVE/70ca73f908e5949b589656f1d7cdeef1_fl9.mp4</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; An Arizona civil rights activist says he accepts Katt Williams' apology for an anti-Mexican rant during a comedy show in Phoenix last weekend, but he's calling on the comedian to return to the city to &quot;show his commitment to the Latino community.&quot;

&quot;What he said was borderline hate speech and racially offensive,&quot; said Rev. Jarrett Maupin, who is organizing a boycott of Williams' stand-up act. His words could also create &quot;violence and tension&quot; in the community, he said.

Williams, an African-American comedian known more for his erratic behavior than his jokes in recent months, issued a written statement through his publicist Wednesday that included an apology.

&quot;My remarks were not meant to be offensive,&quot; Williams said. &quot;I want to apologize if my comedy act was taken out of context.&quot;

&quot;I sincerely appreciate my fans within the Mexican community and would never intentionally go out of my way to offend them,&quot; he added.

Video of the rant, delivered during a performance at the Celebrity Theater Saturday night, was posted online. Williams singled out a man seated near the stage and asked him if he was Mexican.

&quot;It appears to me y'all like it over here a lot,&quot; Williams then said.

He then launched into his tirade.

&quot;Do you remember when white people used to say 'Go back to Africa,' and we'd have to tell them we don't want to? So if you love Mexico, [expletive], get the [expletive] over there!&quot; Williams said to the man.

As the rant turned into a back-and-forth profanity-laced argument with the man, Williams exclaimed, &quot;We were slaves, [expletive]. You just work like that as landscapers.&quot;

Several times during the outburst, Williams sang parts of the U.S. national anthem and chanted &quot;USA, USA, USA.&quot;

&quot;His comments were extremely inappropriate, particularly knowing the climate here in Arizona,&quot; Maupin said.

The state has been a political battleground in recent years over passage of an immigration reform law.

&quot;He crossed the line with his comments about going back to Mexico, his comments about the historical aspects of how the Southwest became a part of the United States from Mexico,&quot; Maupin said. &quot;Much of it didn't make sense, and that is the dangerous part of this.&quot;

Williams' &quot;flippant statements reflect poorly on the African-American community and there's noticeable tension in our community,&quot; he said. &quot;Celebrities' comments can lead to violence and tension in the community.&quot;

The written apology is not enough, Maupin said. &quot;I accept the apology if it's sincere, but his remarks were offensive.&quot;

The &quot;real test of his commitment&quot; is Williams' willingness to do more.

&quot;My challenge to him will be for him to return to show his face, to show his commitment to the Latino community and his commitment to civil rights,&quot; he said.

He suggested that comedian Tracey Morgan's return to Nashville, Tennessee, this summer to personally apologize for anti-gay remarks in a stand-up show there is an example of how Williams can make amends.

&quot;We can meet in a church, we can meet in the Celebrity Theater, wherever he feels comfortable,&quot; Maupin said.

Maupin said he was surprised by Williams' rant because his previous dealings with the comedian were positive.

&quot;I have compassion for Katt Williams,&quot; he said. &quot;It's up to him to let the community know if he's going through some personal or professional challenges.&quot;

Williams' often raunchy style has drawn comparisons to comedy legend Richard Pryor, but Maupin said there is a &quot;noticeable difference&quot; in Pryor's joking about race and what Williams said in Phoenix.

Williams began his career as a stand-up comic. His career breakthrough came with the 2006 HBO special &quot;Katt Williams: Pimp Chronicles Pt.1.&quot;

The last two years, however, have been highlighted by several arrests and other incidents at clubs.

CNN's JD Cargill contributed to this report.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

			



				
	
	
	


		

																	
						
		
		


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Novelist Sapphire pushes the envelope in follow-up]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Novelist-Sapphire-pushes-the-envelope-on-follow-up-126152003.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">126152003</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:08:20 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/DSC0066211.jpg" length="21149" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/WAVE/6a61e6125da7b8ef20256b20e2406406_3600.mp4</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Her debut novel &ldquo;Push&rdquo; &mdash; which was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie &ldquo;Precious&rdquo; &mdash; pulled no punches in its depiction of one girl&rsquo;s life in the inner city. 

It is no wonder, then, that Sapphire is just as forthright when speaking her mind off the page.

Born Ramona Lofton, the author taped an interview July 24 for the KCRW-FM literary show, &ldquo;UpClose Salon with Bookworm Michael Silverblatt,&rdquo; which was recorded at Soho House in West Hollywood. It will air Aug. 4.

The author was promoting her new novel, &ldquo;The Kid,&rdquo; a similar haunting tale that chronicles the struggles of Precious&rsquo; son, Abdul, told in a relentlessly graphic internal monologue.

In a reading before the main interview, Sapphire set the scene for the book as on the morning of his  mother&rsquo;s funeral, 9-year-old Abdul is refusing to wake up from a dream about her, sensing a painful reality:

&ldquo;In the dream it&rsquo;s Mommy&rsquo;s birthday party and she&rsquo;s holding me in her arms kissing me and dancing with me. Our house is smelling like lasagna, wine and people, mostly girls sweating and perfume. One girl is smoking weed. Everyone is laughing. Mommy puts me down and goes to open her presents. She&rsquo;s sitting in the blue armchair under the light. All the people have presents in their hands and are holding them out to her. A lady, who looks nice but when she smiles all her teeth is black, is holding out a pretty present tied with a gold ribbon.

&ldquo;No! No! NOOOO! I want to say, but no words come out my mouth, and Mommy takes the box. And I want to stay asleep, even though I know it&rsquo;s a bomb and I&rsquo;m not dreaming anymore, and if I was dreaming, the bomb would be exploding now. And now that it&rsquo;s too late, my voice would be loud &hellip; I  squeeze my eyes shut, &lsquo;cause when I open them, when I stick my head out from under the covers, my mother will be dead and today will be her funeral.&rdquo;

Sapphire had some choice words for a Los Angeles Times critic, who had dismissed the novel claiming she did not want to be in the mind of such relentless misery.

&ldquo;Well, she wouldn&rsquo;t say that about Proust,&rdquo; replied Sapphire. &ldquo;She can be in his mind for 14,000 pages as long as he&rsquo;s educated and White.&rdquo;

Meanwhile, on killing off the character that made her name, Sapphire was unapologetic and unrepentant.

&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t writing a romantic fantasy,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I was through with the character &hellip; to continue would have felt like going on a sentimental journey. I felt like I was satisfied, that I had finished that book.&rdquo;

And Sapphire, recalled a poetic backstory to the writing of the follow-up.

&ldquo;One of my colleagues in my writing class in New York, a brilliant professor, said after the success of the movie &hellip; you&rsquo;ll have to write the son of Push. [But] I was the only one who wasn&rsquo;t laughing,&rdquo; she noted.

&ldquo;Then I got this letter from this elderly Black reader in Carolina. It was written on that old time note paper with patterns that your Grandmother would use. She said that she couldn&rsquo;t get around and relied on those mobile library trucks.

&ldquo;She&rsquo;d just read the novel &lsquo;Push&rsquo; and said she couldn&rsquo;t sleep without knowing what happened to the little boy. I wrote back telling her that he was a fictional character and he was going to be all right because he was made up and not real.&rdquo;

Photo: Sapphire and KCRW host Michael Silverblatt share a moment before the taping. Credit: Olu Alemoru


]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Q&A: Alan Mingo Jr. in Shrek, The Musical — ‘There’s a lot  of physicality’]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/QA-Alan-Mingo-Jr-in-Shrek-The-Musical--Theres-a-lot--of-physicality-125976878.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">125976878</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:15:38 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/ShrekTour-web2.jpg" length="142281" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

HOLLYWOOD &mdash; When you think of summer entertainment, you probably imagine over-the-top blockbusters with spectacular special effects and stories that hit the big screen without much depth.

With that in mind, the forces behind the colorful, family-oriented &ldquo;Shrek: The Musical&rdquo; (playing through July 31 at the Pantages Theatre) are offering some small measure of counterprogramming.

With book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, Jason Moore and Rob Ashford direct the stage adaptation of the successful Dreamworks film series about an ogre, his unlikely lady love, and their melting pot of friends in the Land of Far, Far Away.

In the scene-stealing role of Donkey, popularized onscreen by Eddie Murphy, is Alan Mingo Jr. The stage veteran sees his newest part as a welcome bullet point on a lengthening r&eacute;sum&eacute; that includes some of Broadway&rsquo;s biggest productions &mdash; including &ldquo;The Lion King,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rent,&rdquo; &ldquo;Hairspray&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Little Mermaid.&rdquo;

With a week of the Pantages production already complete, Mingo took some time out from his busy schedule to discuss his new love for children&rsquo;s movies, stepping into Murphy&rsquo;s hooves and why he sees roles like his latest as &ldquo;art in its own way.&rdquo;

Did you audition for the role of Donkey?
No, I didn&rsquo;t. I was doing a musical in Kansas City, &ldquo;A Christmas Story,&rdquo; and I took a day off to go to New York to audition at the last minute. I wasn&rsquo;t sure what role I was auditioning for, but I was sure they were looking at me for the role of Donkey. Before I auditioned I did watch the first movie one last time, you know to see what I could pull off the animated characters. But I had never seen the Broadway show, so I didn&rsquo;t know how similar the stage show was or wasn&rsquo;t to the movie. More than anything, I just used my instincts, like how I dealt with playing Simba. The audition was nerve wracking though, because I hadn&rsquo;t watched the Broadway show, so I wasn&rsquo;t sure what they were looking for.

How does auditioning for a role of a human character differ from auditioning for a role of a magical creature?
There&rsquo;s a lot of physicality you need to hearken on because you&rsquo;re still a human, but you have to take on the physicality of the animal that represents the character &mdash; and yet, you&rsquo;re asked not to be a carbon copy of the movie character, just close enough.

What do you love about playing Donkey?
I love this character. With him, you can pretty much say anything, whatever comes to his mind, and pretty much whatever comes out of his mouth, yet he&rsquo;s probably the smartest character in the show. (laughs)

What&rsquo;s it like to play a role Eddie Murphy&rsquo;s voice made famous?
There&rsquo;s pressure there, I will tell you that. Eddie&rsquo;s comedic timing is always on par, and his voice is so recognizable, that if you hear him in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, you will know that it&rsquo;s him. Well, unfortunately, I&rsquo;m not an Eddie Murphy impersonator at all, but I make the character believable with some of Donkey&rsquo;s signature speech patterns, and shock responses. It&rsquo;s not a replication of Eddie&rsquo;s Donkey, but Donkey is recognizable. In this show, audiences aren&rsquo;t watching Eddie Murphy, they&rsquo;re watching Donkey, so hopefully I make him believable.

Has Eddie Murphy seen the show?
Not that I know of, but since we&rsquo;re in Los Angeles, hopefully, he will bring his family to see the show, and to see someone else breathe life into a role he&rsquo;s been doing for years. I&rsquo;m sure he will get a kick out of it.

As a character actor, how do you make sure that you&rsquo;re not pigeonholed into the same type of roles over and over again in movie-to-stage shows like &ldquo;Shrek: The Musical&rdquo;? 
It&rsquo;s a delicate balance. I can relate to actors who have that sensibility, who wouldn&rsquo;t take roles like this. I mean here I am now, and in the fall I will still be in L.A. for a role in &ldquo;Memphis&rdquo; playing right here at the Pantages. I sincerely understand when actors want to do August Wilson plays, and Suzan Lori-Parks plays, but the reality is that there aren&rsquo;t that many plays out there for us. We all have to start somewhere. I mean look at television, there&rsquo;s so few roles out there with staying power. Thing is, we can&rsquo;t limit our work to artful pieces, because if we did, then a lot of us would not be working. I mean you have to always have that fight in you, you should never limit yourself. I don&rsquo;t. But at the same time, in our journey, we have to continue asking for art for people of color. I mean, I get it, I get what people are fighting for because I&rsquo;m fighting alongside everybody else for more artful roles for people of color. But I have to be thankful at the same time, because I haven&rsquo;t stopped working since grad school. I&rsquo;ve had work back-to-back for a decade. We can&rsquo;t just get mad anymore, it&rsquo;s just the way it is. What we need to do is get more people to come out and support our artful pieces so that they could have the same type of commercial success.

Freelance Writer William B. Torres contributed to this story.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Downey Civic Light Opera to stage ‘Singin’ in the Rain’]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Downey-Civic-Light-Opera-to-stage-Singin-in-the-Rain-130366903.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">130366903</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:08:56 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — The Downey Civic Light Opera opens its 2011-12 season with the musical 'Singin' in the Rain,' beginning with a preview performance at 8 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 E. Firestone Blvd.

Subsequent performances are at 8 p.m. Sept. 30, Oct. 1, Oct. 7 and 8, and Oct. 14 and 15, with matinees at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and Oct. 16.

'Adapted from one of the great movie musicals, with one of the greatest song and dance sequences ever filmed and staged, this story of plucky youngsters trying to outwit the studio star system of the 1920s has unfailingly charmed the hearts of audiences everywhere,' said Marsha Moode, executive director of the the Downey Civic Light Opera and producer of the musical.

Popular songs include 'You Stepped Out of a Dream,' 'All I Do Is Dream of You,' 'You Are My Lucky Star,' and the title tune, 'Singing in the Rain.'

The latter is done with real water on stage, Moode said.

Ticket prices are $35 for orchestra seats and $30 for balcony seats. Tickets for children 12 and under are $15 and students with identification are admitted for $25.

Tickets for the special preview performance Sept. 29 are $25 for all seats.

Senior rush tickets are available for $25 at the box office 15 minutes before the show starts on a first-come basis, Moode said. 

Information: (562) 923-1714.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Musical Review: Volpe shines in Downey staging of ‘Funny Girl’]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Musical-Review-Volpe-shines-in-Downey-staging-of-Funny-Girl-123566194.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">123566194</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 9 Jun 2011 11:07:40 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Funny+Girl+review.jpg" length="23810" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — Do not compare the Downey Civic Light Opera production of 'Funny Girl' with the 1968 movie of the same name featuring Barbra Streisand or the New York ethnic humor of 'The Nanny.'

There are similarities, of course, but the Downey production, playing weekends at the Downey Civic Theatre through June 19, deserves to stand on its own.

There have been major revisions of the original 1964 Broadway play by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, based on a book by Isobel Lennart, says Marsha Moode, executive director of the civic light opera association, who also produced and directed the local play.

'We have added new characters not in the original play,' said Moode, who likes to give as many people of all ages as possible a live theater experience.

She is true to form in 'Funny Girl' with a cast of 19 main and feature characters, and a singing and dancing ensemble of 47, ranging in age from children to senior citizens. And all were great.

'Funny Girl' is the story of Fanny Brice, a star vaudeville singer and comedienne in the first part of the 20th century. 

The Downey version focuses on Brice's start in stage musicals produced by the renown Florenze Ziegfeld Jr., played by John F. Briganti; and her romance with gambler Julius (Nicky) Arnstein, played by DCLO veteran Robert Standley.

Arnstein and Brice were married from 1918 to 1927 in a passionate but stormy union. He ended up leaving her with two children after serving 18 months in jail for embezzlement.

But by far and away the show is built upon the talent of Karen Volpe in the title roll. Although I said don't compare, I must say Volpe's Yiddish humor and mannerisms compared favorably with that of 'The Nanny' and her voice matches that of Streisand belting out a song.

Volpe is great at Yiddish humor but her acting range, from happy to angry to sad, is tops and she even dances a little.

Speaking of dancing, the numbers choreographed by Denai Lovrien and the music of Jimmy Vann and his 10-member pit orchestra easily fit the mode of the Charleston era.

Also kudos to costume director Elizabeth Bowen, and her elaborate 1920s outfits with lots of feathers and the beautiful leggy chorus girls, which reproduce the style of Flo Ziegfeld.

Most noticeable are the wide stairs from which actors climb over the top from behind and sing and dance their way down the stairs, a set used frequently in the Busby Berkeley movies of the 1930s.

Sets are also worthy of mention, as the DCLO used many more elaborate ones than in past productions. The set designer was Mark W. Keller. His works included several outdoor and inside mansion scenes on the main stage and many kitchen, drawing room and makeup rooms on the side stages.

Although Volpe and the real Fanny Brice (judging from pictures) are not unattractive, Brice was repeatedly told at her start that audiences want their show girls to be beautiful.  Brice knew she wasn't, so she added comedy to her dance routines to successfully win over the audience.

The real Fanny Brice was actually married three times. First was a brief marriage in her teens, then came Arnstein and later showman Billy Rose, in a marriage that lasted from 1928,  shortly after Arnstein left, to 1938.

At the end of the Downey production, Brice picks up the pieces from her broken marriage to Arnstein and vows to continue, which she does very successfully.

There were many musicals, a movie or two and the long running radio favorite 'Baby Snooks,' where Brice, in her 40s, portrayed a young, mischievous child.

As a singer, Brice is credited with many popular songs, but the only ones featured in the Downey production were 'People,' made famous by Streisand; and 'Don't Rain on My Parade.'

Other songs originating with Brice included the humorous 'Second Hand Rose,' also done by Streisand, and the more dramatic 'My Man.'

'Funny Girl' continues at the Civic Theatre, 8435 E. Firestone Blvd., at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again June 17 and 18 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and June 19.

Ticket prices are $35 for the orchestra, $30 for the balcony, $15 for children 12 and under and student tickets with identification at $25.
Information: (562) 923-1714 between 1 and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA['The Last Appeal' draws tears, applause ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/The-Last-Appeal-draws-tears-applause--120842269.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">120842269</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:20:40 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

It&rsquo;s not often you see five people of different races on death row, but that is exactly the case in &ldquo;The Last Appeal,&rdquo; a play about tragedy, forgiveness, faith and redemption.

Held at the New Life Christian Center, the show surrounds Titus Freeman, a Black man whose physical abuse as a child &mdash; at the hands of his father &mdash; leads to him having repressed anger and ultimately makes bad decisions. He finds himself on death row awaiting his execution &mdash; with Kurtis, a White skin head always looking for an altercation; Clayton, a Black man whose faith in God makes him a role model for the other inmates; Doc, an older White gentleman suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; and Randy, an Asian man who was falsely accused of his crime &mdash; after a store robbery goes awry and ends in the death of local store owner Ivan Parks, the husband of a famous pianist, Trisha. Determined to get released, Freeman writes a letter to the governor every day while his brother, who feels obligated to set him free, hires a trial lawyer to work the system. In order for Freeman to be pardoned, he must revisit the events of his childhood and make amends with his crime, while Trisha must open up a haunting secret that has plagued her life for more than two years causing her to put a halt on her career. In the end, the truth about Ivan&rsquo;s death is revealed and the men on death row find salvation.

Not knowing what to expect, &ldquo;The Last Appeal&rdquo; captured its audience on April 22, drawing laughter, tears and at the end a roaring applause.

While the set revolves around the inmates&rsquo; jail cells, set designer Kevin Constant, with the help of artistic director Trey Fernald and a number of lighting designers, were able to provide the flexibility needed to transform the stage into a number of quarters, including a counselor&rsquo;s office &mdash; to which Trisha must visit in order to relieve years of depression and regain confidence in her craft &mdash; a visiting room &mdash; where the inmates families get one-on-one time &mdash; and an execution chamber, without ever removing the constructed jail cells. Lighting played a key component in making this happen, by stripping light from areas that were not meant to be seen and placing a large spotlight on the areas that were.

This technique was best used during one of the more riveting scenes. Flash-backs are best suited for novels and films, where they can easily be developed and understood by the respective audience. But, Fernald was bold enough to attempt to incorporate the narrative, and it paid off. All it took was timing on behalf of both the lighting designers and the characters. Needless to say, it was magic.
Music also helped with the transitions from scene to scene and set the tone for each moment the audience found themselves in.

Though a wider net could have been cast to enlist a Hispanic person as one of the inmates, the entire cast was able to compensate with their superb acting abilities. This could be that the Eastern Sky Theatre Company was graced with talent who have had stints in Hollywood and on Broadway. 

A moment that had nearly everyone in tears and grabbing for the closest box of tissue &mdash; which seemed to be in every isle &mdash; came as Kurtis was dragged off by guards to be executed. The former hot-head had found a companion in Clayton after the two realized they had something in common: comic books. These cartoon-filled pieces of literature allowed their relationship to blossom and opened up Kurtis to the idea that other races were worth getting to know. But no sooner as he comes to the realization does his doom day come. Passing by Clayton&rsquo;s cell, the two grasp each other&rsquo;s hands &mdash; and share a few kind words &mdash; before Kurtis is ripped away, never to be seen again.

In the end, the play is a great piece of work that will tug at your heart, Christian or not. The cast&rsquo;s next stop is May 5 at Los Angeles Mission, 303 E. 5th St., in downtown Los Angeles. For more information visit http://www.thelastappealplay.com.

Caption: In &quot;The Last Appeal,&quot; a play about tragedy, forgiveness, faith and redemption, Clayton (left), a Black man on death row whose faith in God makes him a role model for the other inmates, and Kurtis (right), a White skin-head looking for an altercation, set aside their differences after they find a common interest: comic books. (Photo courtesy of Eastern Sky Theatre Company)]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Samuel L. Jackson to portray MLK on Broadway]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Samuel-L-Jackson-to-portray-MLK-on-Broadway-120141529.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">120141529</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:43:28 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Samuel+L.+Jackson.jpg" length="19791" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[He's played many memorable characters on screen, but now Samuel L. Jackson will portray a legend on stage. The actor is set to make his Broadway debut portraying Martin Luther King, reports Deadline.

Jackson will star in the upcoming drama 'The Mountaintop,' which takes place on April 3, 1968 — the night before the civil rights leader was assassinated. The story will follow King as he retires to Room 306 in Memphis' Lorraine Motel following the legendary 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech.

When a mysterious woman delivers his room service, he is forced to confront his past and his legacy.

''The Mountaintop' is a brilliantly conceived gem of a play. An ambitious work of fiction that is powerful, heartbreaking, humorous and exhilarating,' said producers Jean Doumanian and Sonia Friedman in a statement. 'We are thrilled to be bringing Katori Hall's remarkable, Olivier-winning work to New York, and to present a singular new American voice to Broadway audiences. And we are honored to be presenting the Broadway debut of the great Samuel L. Jackson.'

'The Mountaintop' will begin performances on Sept. 22 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with an official opening on Oct. 13. Tickets will go on sale at a later date.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

			



				
	
	
	


		

																	
						
		
		


					    	    	                						        	 	
				


	 				
	
	
		
	
	
	 
					
	
	
		
	
	
	 
						
						
	
	
		
	
	
			 
										
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
						
	
	
	
	
	
						
					
	
	
		
	
	
																																						
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																						
																																		
	
	
		
	
	
						 
																			
																							
	
	
		
	
	
					
	
	
		
	
	
		 
							
				
		
		
	
				
	                 	 		 		



 		 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Provocative stage piece deconstructs racial slurs]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Provocative-stage-piece-deconstructs-racial-slurs-119721389.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">119721389</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:47:59 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Race-cards+NWC11.jpg" length="14688" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/WAVE/f9253800e934eaceee82439c60c41174f62f1de8_3600.mp4</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

One could say that in the last decade there have been seismic waves of shock reverberating around the issue of race in America.

With the election of the nation&rsquo;s first Black president, we&rsquo;re now in the era of the Tea Party, Arizona&rsquo;s contentious immigration law and fulminating commentators like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Then, there have been the ethnic insult media meltdowns; Michael Richards&rsquo; N word in 2006, Don Imus&rsquo; Nappy Headed Hos in 2007, Gilbert Gotfried&rsquo;s recent anti-Japanese bad taste joke, and not to be outdone Mel Gibson, who combined slurs against Blacks and Latinos while raging against women and Jews.

Therefore, the return of the racially inspired and provocatively titled performance show, &ldquo;N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk, might almost seem tame by comparison.

But the renowned production, concocted in 2002 by three UCLA students, Rafael Agustin, Allan Axibal and Miles Gregley and their teacher mentors, is delighting audiences playing until April 23 at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater, located at 4800 E. Hollywood Boulevard.

Famously, patrons waited for two hours to get into the show on its debut and a group of people picketing actually went in to see the performance.

Two years later it transferred to the Los Angeles Theater Center and then toured over 30 states, selling out venues coast to coast.

More commonly known as NWC, the latest version features Agustin and  newcomers Jackson McQueen and Dionysio Basco.

The show is co-written and co-directed by Liesel Reinhart and Steven T. Seagle.

A manic mixture of stand up, sketch comedy, monologues, hip hop rhymes and slam poetry, the cast also reveal their emotional selves as they cleverly deconstruct the hatefulness of racial slurs and attitudes.

The now infamous opening has the three actors emerging from a backdrop of colored squares gleefully singing each of the three asterisked insult words and the jokes come thick and fast for the next hour and a half.

McQueen lists his 10 reasons why he wants to be Latin; Ricki Ricardo, Samba, the work ethic, culture, family and women occupy the other spots.

Agustin dreams of becoming the Chinese Superman, here to fight for &ldquo;truth, justice and feng shui&rdquo; and Basco jerks and locks as the next rap star.

Photo: (l to r) Rafael Agustin, Jackson McQueen and Dionysio Basco literally play the race cards in 'NWC.' Credit: Courtesy of Speak Theater Arts




]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Veteran playwright Talbert's stirring Pantages debut]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Veteran-playwright-Talberts-stirring-Pantages-debut-119369019.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">119369019</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 6 Apr 2011 17:14:10 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Veteran playwright David E. Talbert made a stirring debut at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre this weekend and probably had quite a few of the fellas thinking about retraining as plumbers.

Talbert&rsquo;s &ldquo;What My Husband Doesn&rsquo;t Know,&rdquo; which starred former Destiny&rsquo;s Child Michelle Williams and Brian White (&ldquo;Stomp the Yard&rdquo;), played to a raucous, female-centric crowd for its Sunday matinee.

With 20 years of urban stage plays under his belt, Talbert knows how to work his niche &mdash; sex, religion and redemption.

There&rsquo;s also a twist that wasn&rsquo;t wholly convincing, but was certainly a crowd-pleasing payoff.

Williams plays Lena, a rich but neglected housewife whose older, workaholic husband Franklin (Clifton Davis), unwisely hires a young employee Paul (White) to fix a plumbing problem at their opulent home.

Paul is a man of a few polite words, but the reaction of Lena&rsquo;s over-bearing best friend, Falana (Tiffany Haddish), says it all as she almost passes out in the throes of sexual avarice.

&ldquo;How long have you been laying pipe?&rdquo; is one of Falana&rsquo;s more repeatable lines when the three are introduced.

If Haddish gets the biggest laughs, it&rsquo;s the now famous shirtless scene that brings audible gasps when Paul seduces Lena after she is upset that Franklin bails on her surprise 40th birthday party and can&rsquo;t even muster a phone call.

That takes care of one of the key ingredients.

The redemption comes later as Lena tries to end the dangerous affair and the religion opens the drama as she relates the story in a flashback to her pastor.

Photo: Michelle Williams and Clifton Davis experience marital difficulties in David E. Talbert's &quot;What My Husband Doesn't Know.&quot; Credit: Courtesy]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Q&A: David E. Talbert: ‘The audience is much more aware —  and has evolved a lot faster than I thought’]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/QUESTIONS--ANSWERS-DAVID-E-TALBERT-The-audience-is-much-more-aware---and-has-evolved-a-lot-faster-than-I-thought-118965929.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">118965929</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:08:00 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/DAVID-TALBERT_exp.jpg" length="117168" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

He&rsquo;s been called an impresario and a wunderkind, but David E. Talbert would happily settle for &ldquo;good.&rdquo;

&ldquo;What else at the end of the day really matters?&rdquo; he asked during an interview this week. &ldquo;Good is probably the most important word that I would like people to use when referring to me 100 years from now.&rdquo;

So far, the reviews for his latest touring play, &ldquo;What My Husband Doesn&rsquo;t Know,&rdquo; have done their part to honor that request. Starring Michelle Williams and Brian White, the tale of modern-day marital woes arrives in Southern California this week.

On the telephone with The Wave from Montgomery, Ala., the award-winning playwright, author and filmmaker discussed the new production and what he&rsquo;s learned about himself over the last 20 years in show business.

How is the show doing?

It&rsquo;s going very well. We&rsquo;ve got a good group of performers. With every show, you close your eyes and say a prayer, and say &lsquo;Thank you Lord.&rsquo; &hellip; With this show we get standing ovations nightly, and that doesn&rsquo;t always happen, but thank God it&rsquo;s happening with this one.

That&rsquo;s hard to believe. Why do you say that?

Well, you can write it and put it out there, but you can&rsquo;t control how the audience responds to it. Fortunately, I&rsquo;ve had more hits than misses but this one has a certain magic to it, it&rsquo;s a mix of film and theater and novel, the three mediums that I work with mixed all together in the storytelling, so people  can feel like they&rsquo;re listening to a novel, and watching a movie and a play all in one.

What prompted you to do this particular show like this?

This is my 20th year anniversary in the business, so I just wanted to come out the gate and let it be special. And I haven&rsquo;t toured a play in a few years, so since I&rsquo;ve been playing around with all three of these mediums, just figured OK well let me put some of this knowledge to use.

With the success Tyler Perry has reached taking his stage plays to film, and even with Ntozake Shange&rsquo;s play have success on the big screen, do you think the market for &ldquo;urban&rdquo;- themed productions is at its prime?

I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s just this time, I think there&rsquo;s always been a time. I&rsquo;ve been doing this for 20 years, so you know, I think that anytime you have something good, that you can present it to the audience is a right time.

Do you ever question why, in the 21st century, there still exists a need for an &ldquo;urban&rdquo; genre? Why do people still think that there is no market for productions about people of color?

What in this country has ever been altogether? (laughs) I don&rsquo;t think the entertainment industry is going to be anything different. There&rsquo;s always been a market for these kinds of films &hellip; from Gordon Parks and the &ldquo;Learning Tree,&rdquo; from Shaft and the blaxploitation films, from &ldquo;Uptown Saturday Nights&rdquo; from Spike Lee&rsquo;s movies, from the hood movies, there&rsquo;s always been an audience for entertainment that has African-American cast members, so this isn&rsquo;t anything new. The only difference now is that Hollywood isn&rsquo;t controlling it anymore, it&rsquo;s not just being run through their filters anymore. That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s new.

Who was August Wilson to the theater community?

A master of dialogue. One who chronicles our history.

Does the industry feel a void because of his passing? Who is the voice of Black theater now?

Any time there is someone great who passes, it does leave a void, because he occupied a space for so long. And you know, he was always referred as the one, the voice of African-American theater. He left a void, and now we&rsquo;ve gotta figure out who is that voice of &ldquo;the Broadway theater.&rdquo; Is it Suzan-Lori Parks, is she going to get the mantle? I don&rsquo;t know.

With your plays, what type of niche are you trying to carve out with your work?

There is really no niche &mdash; it&rsquo;s just good entertainment. The only niche I want to carve out is that people leave my plays saying they had a good time, that they loved the story, that they believed the characters, that it&rsquo;s more than worth the price of my ticket.

In your work, we hear a lot about love, lust, and temptation. Why all the love and heartbreak? Some people write about their own lives, others write about other people&rsquo;s loves and losses. What type of research do you do for your plays?

What inspired me to start writing was a broken heart. That was when I started writing &mdash; from that. So I probably don&rsquo;t stray too far from that because affairs of the heart are what speak to me. The only research I do is life. There is no better research than life and listening to people. One of the greatest attributes of a writer is the ability to listen.

So is this why people often talk back to your plays &mdash; because people can relate to the themes of  human love and heartbreak? How do women respond to your plays?

Yes, that&rsquo;s right. Women, well, there&rsquo;s a sort of twinkle in their eyes. And I know what that means. That means thank you, this was an 8 course meal. And they&rsquo;re full, and I get that look, and I know they&rsquo;re full.

How about from men?

Well, I don&rsquo;t do male-bashing in my plays, because I&rsquo;m a man and I write it, I have to enjoy it first. So the men who are being brought to the plays, which is usually the case, they end up enjoying the play, because there is something for everybody.

What do you hope audiences learn from &ldquo;What My Husband Doesn&rsquo;t Know?&rdquo;

That you really have to take care of business at home. The person in your life, whether it be your husband or your wife, your girlfriend or your boyfriend, pretty much you have to take care of business at home and not get so consumed with work outside of the house, that you miss out on what&rsquo;s going on on the inside of the house.

In your opinion, is this what&rsquo;s leading to high divorce rates in our communities?

No, but I wouldn&rsquo;t dare attempt to answer that question with a two-and-a-half hour play. But I think that it is something that couples will think about. That&rsquo;s what I try to do with my plays, not so much preach, but just give audiences food for thought, and people get out of it what speaks to them.

I know you&rsquo;ve learned something about yourself after every one of your plays. What has this one taught you?

I&rsquo;ve learned that the audience is much more aware and has evolved a lot faster than I had thought. I&rsquo;ve learned that I have to catch up with my audience now &hellip; to make sure that I stay on track with how audiences have evolved with what I&rsquo;m doing on stage. And so that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;ve learned with this: Here I thought I was doing something next level with this one, and the audiences are telling me that they&rsquo;ve been waiting for it, and telling me to bring it on &mdash; which is beautiful for me &mdash; to have learned that audiences have been waiting.

&ldquo;What My Husband Doesn&rsquo;t Know,&rdquo; plays April 1 at the Long Beach Terrace Theatre in Long Beach and on April 2-3 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Former Destiny's Child Michelle Williams tackles dramatic role]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Former-Destiny--118550454.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">118550454</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:48:17 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Next month in Hollywood, former Destiny&rsquo;s Child singer Michelle Williams will grace the Pantages Theater stage in playwright David E. Talbert&rsquo;s hit touring production, &ldquo;What My Husband Doesn&rsquo;t Know.&rdquo;

Billed as a tale of &ldquo;lust, lies and temptation,&rdquo; the play also stars Morris Chestnut (&ldquo;V&rdquo;) and Brian White (&ldquo;Stomp the Yard&rdquo;).

Williams plays Lena Summer, a woman who seems to have it all &mdash; rich husband, big house, loving daughter &mdash; but a lack of intimacy that drives her into the arms of a dangerous suitor.

Having revved up her post-Destiny&rsquo;s Child career with favorable notices for roles in the musicals &ldquo;Chicago&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Color Purple,&rdquo; Williams is now tackling her first dramatic role.

On the eve of a Tuesday night performance in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Williams talked to The Wave about how she snagged the role, working &ldquo;the urban circuit&rdquo; and the dangers of having it all.

For those unfamiliar with David E. Talbert&rsquo;s work, what can they expect?
If you&rsquo;re not familiar with a Talbert play, you can expect all types of different layers of laughter, drama, romance and pure craziness. There&rsquo;s always a story, even amongst the laughter and that&rsquo;s something people can take home as a message.

Talbert, who burst onto the theater scene in 1991 with the stage play &ldquo;Tellin&rsquo; It Like It Tiz,&rdquo; has been compared to Tyler Perry. Do you agree?
Well, of course Tyler is definitely well respected, just like David. I know David&rsquo;s been doing this for 20 years plus. I&rsquo;d say David&rsquo;s work has a little more ... he raises the bar. It&rsquo;s not your typical African-American play. There&rsquo;s a level if excellence in his writing, first and foremost and the way he directs his plays; he blocks them like it was a film. Then, the quality of people he attracts plays a huge difference. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m doing it. I&rsquo;m not ashamed to be in a play on the &ldquo;urban circuit&rdquo; as they call it. [But] you can get some plays on the circuit that are just ridiculous and I&rsquo;m not going to put my brand on the line for that.

How did you get the part?
Dave called me in December when I was in London and I asked him to send me the script &mdash; which he did via e-mail. I read the first few pages and it was pure laughter and then when he told me the cast he had in mind I didn&rsquo;t hesitate to join the production. He [actually] tried to get me for another show five or six years ago, but I was already obligated to do &ldquo;The Color Purple.&rdquo; We started rehearsing in January and I really did strike up an instant rapport with the cast.

What&rsquo;s your take on Lena?
Well, I think a lot of women can identify with my character. They are women whose husband&rsquo;s are CEOs, are well to-do, stay at home and raise the children and are there when the husband gets back. She holds the house down and he gets so absorbed in his career that he kinda forgets &hellip; he once built a relationship, now he has this amazing construction business, but he&rsquo;s forgetting to build his home. Men sometimes think ... well, I buy her whatever she wants, she&rsquo;s got the nice house/cars/diamonds and she can splurge on anything. It&rsquo;s like, okay, that&rsquo;s fine &mdash; but can we at least just watch TV together for 30 minutes and cuddle?

So, is it a female empowerment message?
I wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily say that, because it&rsquo;s also [saying] women be careful what you wish for. You all ask for a rich man, but he has to work continually to provide that level of living.

&ldquo;What My Husband Doesn&rsquo;t Know,&rdquo; plays April 1 at the Long Beach Terrace Theater and April 2-3 at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.


Photo: Michelle Williams stars with Brian White in David E. Talbert's &quot;What My Husband Doesn't Know.&quot; Credit: Courtesy]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Musical Review: Downey Theatre offers songs and story of Irving Berlin]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Musical-Review-Downey-Theatre-offers-songs-and-story-of-Irving-Berlin-116848778.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">116848778</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:39:35 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Irving+Berlin+.jpg" length="53308" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — Those attending the Downey Civic Light Opera's production of  'The Melody Lingers On: The Songs of Irving Berlin,' at the Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 E. Firestone Blvd., must wait a while for the music, but it's worth the wait.

Instead of an opening overture with some of the 1,250 songs written by Berlin, who was born Israel Baline on May 11, 1888, executive producer Marsha Moode opens with the curtain up and sets raised showing the rear of the theater. Extras portraying stagehands and wardrobe people wander around as if getting ready for a production.

There are sound checks, some practice verses by singers before the stage manager gives the OK to start.

Even then the music is delayed as Katherine Henryk, portraying Mary Ellin Berlin Barrett, Berlin's daughter, reminisces about show business before stepping onto a side stage where she remains throughout the show reading her memoirs of her parents, on which the production is based.

Then the music, songs and dances come on hot and heavy with some 30 Berlin numbers.

They range from his first hit in 1911, 'Alexander's Rag Time Band;' through World War I ('Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning'); the Roaring 20s, ('Shaking the Blues Away'); the 1930s ('Easter Parade' and 'White Christmas'); the 1940s during World War II ('This Is The Army, Mr. Jones'); to the 1950s, with the musical 'Annie Get Your Gun' which included 'There's No Business Like Show Business,' to the final 'God Bless America,' which was actually made famous by radio singer Kate Smith in 1938.

Berlin's intriguing life story, including the death of his first wife, Dorothy Goetz, who became ill and died after their honeymoon in 1912, to his marriage to socialite Ellin Mackay in 1926 and the crib death of his only son days after he was born, is narrated by Henryk.

Berlin died in 1989 at age 101, a year after his wife died at age 85. They had four daughters. They stayed married during many separations, such as several years Berlin spent in Hollywood writing for movies in the 1930s; and during World War II, when Berlin, then in his late 50s, toured the battle grounds of Europe in World War II as a morale booster to the troops.

During the program, Moode played snatches of authentic recordings of Berlin, Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor singing 'Mandy,' Walter Winchell praising Berlin on his 50th birthday in 1938 and Kate Smith singing 'God Bless America.'

John Racca, as Berlin, also reminisces about his early childhood and sings songs such as 'I Love A Piano,' while Susan Dohan portrays Ellin Berlin and joins Racca with selections such as 'What'll I Do?' and 'Play a Simple Melody.'

But Moode, always seeking to spread the spotlight, assigns many of Berlin's favorites to talented singers who are not members of Actors Equity as are Racca, Dohan and Henryk.

They included veteran Downey performer Kit Wilson (who can really hit the high notes), singing 'Mandy' in a quartet as well as 'Easter Parade' and 'God Bless America;' Michael McGready, 'Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning;' Valerie K. Jasso, 'Heat Wave;' and Crystal Cooper, doing a perky rendition of 'You Can't Get a Man With a Gun,' from 'Annie Get Your Gun.'

Some 30 dancers and chorus members provide backup for most of  the selections.  Memorable ensembles include dance routines to 'Alexander's Rag Time Band' and 'Shaking the Blues Away,' choreographed by Cate Caplin and Christopher Beroiz.

Credit also goes to Jimmy Vann, musical director and conductor of the pit band, who played numbers ranging from rag time in the early part of the 20th century to movie selections from the 30s and Broadway tunes in the 50s.

The always charming and quick-witted Moode was taken by surprise during her usual intermission comments when friends brought her a bouquet of flowers.

'I almost don't know what to say,' she quipped, before announcing that the group's final performance this year will be 'Funny Girl,' June 2-19.
She said next year's productions include 'Singing in the Rain,' ("on stage, not outside,' quipped Moode) 'Red, Hot and Cold;' and 'Pajama Game.'

Moode also introduced the audience to Amber Vogle of Venuetech, the private firm hired by the city to operate the 700-seat Downey Civic Theatre. Vogle said the private company plans to add more programs next year (in addition to the Downey Civic Light Opera and the Downey Symphony Orchestra) and to provide a full-time box office.

'The Melody Lingers On" will be staged at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. March 4 and 5 and 2:30 p.m. March 6.

Tickets are $35 for orchestra seats, $30 for balcony seats, and $15 for those 12 and under and $25 for students with identification, Moode said.
Senior rush tickets for senior citizens will be available at the box office 15 minutes before show time if seats are still available.

Information: (562) 923-1714.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			







						
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Debbie Allen adds urban flavor to holiday classic]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Debbie-Allen-adds-urban-flavor-to-holiday-classic-111635574.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">111635574</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 9 Dec 2010 16:26:11 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[



Photo: Debbie Allen's twist on 'The Nutcracker' will benefit her Crenshaw based dance studio. Credit: Gary McCarthy

Dance legend Debbie Allen returns to the stage for the first time in five years this weekend flexing her creative muscle in putting a new twist to a perennial holiday favorite.

Allen&rsquo;s production of &ldquo; The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker&rdquo; will be performed at UCLA&rsquo;s Royce Hall Dec. 8-10, a gala showing on Dec. 9, and public performances Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The shows, in which all the proceeds will go to the Crenshaw District&rsquo;s Debbie Allen Dance Academy, feature former child stars Raven-Symon&eacute; and Jaleel White and Carlo Imperato.

Taking its cue from the original story, a young girl Kara receives a Nutcracker filled with hot chocolate after a grand family party.

When she falls asleep the Nutcracker comes alive and she follows him to wonderful lands: Candy Cane Lane, Egypt, Jazzland, China and the Land of the Kimono Dolls.

The story, penned by Allen, is narrated by three wisecracking mice: Harvey, Schmink and Buckey, whom she portrays.

Allen, who has called on some very famous friends like Motown founder Berry Gordy to keep her nonprofit academy in business, has a superstar line-up as well,  with Raven-Symon&eacute; and White performing for free, and Emmy and Tony award winning puppeteer Michael Curry lending his designs to the project.

Meanwhile, superstars such as Mariah Carey, who donated the use of a song from her new album entitled &ldquo;This Christmas II You,&rdquo; and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and Denzel and Pauletta Washington, who are sponsoring student shows that will bring in thousands of youngsters to see a vibrant mix of music and dance, have all contributed to making &ldquo;The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker&rdquo; possible.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s such a classic, I&rsquo;ve grown up with it and anyone in the dance world ends up doing the Nutcracker,&rdquo; Allen said.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been asked by many people to create a holiday classic and I&rsquo;ve been involved in many different Nutcrackers and decided to do my own. The audience can expect a great time, a visually stunning production with real touching moments.&rdquo;]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Justin Lee Miller: Minor role, major player]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Justin-Lee-Miller-Minor-role-major-player-105983823.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">105983823</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:51:42 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Justin+Lee+Milleruse.jpg" length="27530" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[When it comes to major productions like the touring version of 'The Phantom of the Opera,' the principals normally receive all of the attention and acclaim. 

But when a standout performer like Justin Lee Miller agrees to take a minor role in a big show, it's not unusual for his name to pop up in the rave reviews that greet the cast in city after city. You can credit his attention to detail, and a dedication to his role that applies to each part he takes, no matter how small: Miller has been portraying the role of the stagehand Joseph Buquet in the Music Box Company's national tour of 'Phantom of the Opera' since 2006. He's now in what may be his final days in the role, with the touring company playing its last set of performances, including a run at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood that closes Oct. 31. 

''Phantom' is a part of the American culture,' Miller said of the musical penned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, about a madman who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House. 'We've been to cities where people will go several times to see the show, and they will come every year several times,' he said. ''Phantom' is its own mini-universe, it's its own world, it has a universal appeal, from traveling all across the country, and throughout the world, I've learned that when 'Phantom' … comes into cities, it's like a tradition for fans to go see it. … I'm very honored to have been a part of that tradition for all these years.'

Three U.S. national tours of the musical have grossed over $1.5 billion in combined box office sales. When the Music Box Company concludes its run on Sunday, the three touring companies will have played 216 engagements in 77 cities for a combined total of 36 years and over 14,500 performances.

When Miller first saw the show back in the late 1980s, he was still in high school. 'This production has been running so long, it's sort of like its own institution,' he said. 'This company alone has been running for 18 years. I first saw 'Phantom' when I was in high school, and it's still running, and there are people in this show who were in that production. There's also a company member who is 19 years old, she was a baby when this company first opened, and now she's playing one of the principals.'

Although the musical has been a big part of Miller's life for years, it isn't the only place audiences have enjoyed his work. He recently played one of the leads in a production of 'Porgy & Bess' at the Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna, Italy, and has been in several other national tours, including a production of 'Kiss Me Kate.' Following a short vacation in the Philippines after 'Phantom' closes, Miller said he has been called to reprise his role as Porgy, this time with the Atlanta Opera Company.

A native New Yorker, Miller has traveled America and the world as an actor, a privilege he says that has opened his eyes.

'Honestly, I don't think Americans ever really see America,' he said. 'If I had to say anything really about the entire experience, I've learned more about America and the American landscape than I have anything else. People usually have a narrow world view, but as an actor, being on the road every four to six weeks, you get to see the country. That's probably been more of a learning experience than anything I've done on stage.'

The Phantom of the Opera closes Oct. 31 at the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 468-1770]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Musical Review: ‘No, No Nanette’ is yes, yes at Downey Civic Theatre]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Musical-Review-No-No-Nanette-is-yes-yes-at-Downey-Civic-Theatre-104509844.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">104509844</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 7 Oct 2010 10:46:14 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/No+No+Nanette.jpg" length="40024" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — The name of the musical is 'No, No Nanette,' but the theme, based on one of its songs, is 'I Want to Be Happy.'

Downey Civic Light Opera turned the negative into the positive and succeeded in making the audience happy after the humorous song-and-dance performance Saturday night.

The show continues at the Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 E. Firestone Blvd., at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again Oct. 15 and 16 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 17.

Written and first staged in 1925, the music by Vincent Youmans captures the feeling of the Roaring 20s with several spirited dance numbers featuring the Charleston and similar dances although the two main songs are 'I Want to Be Happy' and 'Tea for Two,' two standards that still survive after 85 years, notes executive producer Marsha Moode.

Based on the book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel and lyrics by Harbach and Irving Caesar, the story features 'Nanette' a just-coming-of-age young woman, played by Andrea Dodson, whose voice shows opera training. She also dances well.

Nanette was raised by a prim and proper aunt and wants to experience life on the wild side with her friends before settling down to marry boyfriend Tom.
Thus, the 'No, No' admonition, mostly by her aunt, comes from her requests to party and dance the Charleston.

Nanette finally gets her wish and gets to party with her friends at her guardians' home in Atlantic City. And one of the wildest dancers, in the closing number is the aunt, played by Julie Simpson who, in real life is a speaker at Christian women's retreats.

The action centers on a house on the Boardwalk where Uncle Jimmy, (William T. Lewis) takes his niece to Atlantic City to make her happy and to get away from three young women to whom he previously gave money to 'make them happy.'

Although there was no hanky panky, the appearance of the three young women is embarrassing and would look bad to his wife, not to mention his customers, since he is a successful Bible publisher although he has never read the book.

Uncle Jimmy gets his lawyer friend, played by John Racca, and the latter's legal apprentice, Tom, to 'buy them off.'

Tom, Nanette's fiancee, is played by Derek Rubiano, who did a commendable job Oct. 3 as a stand-in for the regular Tom, Peter Schueller. Schueller missed the weekend shows to be best man at his brother's wedding in Kansas, Moode said.

Not knowing of Uncle Jimmy's plans, the attorney and Tom decide to close the deal at the Atlantic City location.

Meanwhile, their respective wives, Aunt Betty and Lucille, played by Charlotte Carpenter, also decide between the two of them to spend a quiet weekend in Atlantic City.

The reactions, when everyone finds out the others are there, are humorous and of course everything works out by the final dance number.

Moode notes that the original play was just a short comedy with songs. The play was adapted by Burt Shevelove for a 1970 production in which he added the dance routines based on Busby Berkeley movies of the 1930s. It works fine thanks to the efforts of choreographer Janet Renslow and Nathan Wise, plus  some 20 young dancers.

Moode said several changes were made for the Downey production. Most noticeable is when the orchestra, directed by Hector Salazar,  plays the traditional overture, giving the audience a preview of the songs to come, Mood brings out several of the cast members to perform brief versions of their numbers.

The attractive Susan Dohan plays Pauline, a cantankerous maid whose comic scenes answering the doorbell and vacuuming add another original feature.
How Pauline finally confronts her nemeses the vacuum cleaner, and seemingly sends it away with out touching it, is hilarious.

Tickets are $35 orchestra, $30 balcony. Students with identification pay $15 and senior citizen may purchase tickets for $25 during senior rush, 15 minutes before the curtain for any seat still available.

Information: (562) 923-1714.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Recession hits Downey Civic Light Opera]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Recession-hits-Downey-Civic-Light-Opera-103647614.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">103647614</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:09:07 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Marsha+Moode+.jpg" length="58052" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — Recession or not, the shows must go on, according to Marsha Moode, executive director and producer of the Downey Civic Light Opera as she prepares to begin the organization's 55th season with the musical 'No, No Nanette,' on weekends from Sept. 30 to Oct. 17 at the Downey Civic Theatre, 8435 E. Firestone Blvd.

Subsequent productions are 'The Melody Lingers On,' the songs of Irving Berlin, Feb. 17-March 6; and 'Funny Girl,' June 2-19.

'Live theater is struggling,' said Moode, who has been with the civic association 23 years, first as public relations director and since 2000 as executive director and producer. 'This will be my 21st show,' she added. 

'Live performances are an endangered species. Besides the current recession, we have to compete nowadays with large-screen television with cable TV shows, DVDs and computers. You can even watch a movie on your cell phone. Society has gone into gadgetry,' Moode said.

Other problems in getting people out of the house to the theater, especially in Southern California, are traffic and costly admission prices.

'To see the show, 'Wicked,' you had to pay $125 for a good seat, $75 for a bad seat plus $40 parking,' Moode said of the recent musical at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles.

But Downey, with a smaller venue, some 738 seats, has advantages over the larger theaters.

'We can produce a play for less, we have free parking and the lowest admission in the area,' Moode said. 'Season ticket holders pay $32 for an orchestra seat and $28 in the balcony. For non-patrons the cost is $35 orchestra, $30 balcony,' she noted.

There also is a student fee of $15 with identification, a senior rush ticket 15 minutes before each show where older residents can buy any seat available for $25. There are also group rates. 

'The larger the group, the bigger the discount,' Moode said.

Getting people in the audience is just one part of Moode's job. Directing the cast is another.

'Three of my leads have missed rehearsals because they are out of state. One is fulfilling a military obligation in Texas, one has a performance in Las Vegas and one had made plans for a trip to Hawaii before she auditioned, but I hired her anyway,' Moode said.

Another cast member is a rabbi who missed last week's rehearsals to observe Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

All are expected to be back for opening night.

But another cast member will miss a weekend because he will be best man at his brother's wedding in Kansas. Another actor will play two parts and fill in for the groomsman.

Moode said she is directing a cast of 34, including many of her loyal performers who fight area congestion to come to rehearsals and the shows from throughout the Los Angeles area. The closest performers live in Whittier, South Gate and Long Beach.

Some of the more familiar stars include Charlotte Carpenter, Bill Lewis, Susan Dohan and John Rocca. But one veteran performer, Ann McBride Peck, who appeared in 21 shows, has moved to Oregon with her husband.

However, the one with the most performances, Michael McGreal of Long Beach, who has appeared in 23 shows, will be back.

Soprano Andrea Dodson, who studied opera and is a great tap dancer, plays the lead role of Nanette.

The play was written in 1925 by Otto Harbach, Frank Mandel and Vincent Youmans and was very short, a romantic comedy featuring three couples.

It was updated for a successful Broadway revival in 1971 by Burt Shevelove, who added some Busby Berkley-style dances of the 1930s.

The main songs, which have endured for 85 years are 'Tea for Two' and 'I Want to Be Happy,' Moode said.

A third struggle is paying the bills. It costs $100,000 for a show with 10 performances. Expenses include royalties on the production, rental of the theater from the city, paying the stage crew, renting sets and costumes and paying stipends to all performers.

The city charges the group another $600 per show for a second house manager.

'The recession has reduced sponsors and advertisers, but we have some loyal patrons. About 95 percent of the season ticket holders renew subscriptions. We are hanging in there,' Moode said.

Show times are at 8 p.m. Sept., 30, Oct. 1 and 2, Oct. 8 and 9 and Oct. 15 and 16 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 10 and 17.

Information: (562) 923-1744, or visit www.downeyciviclightopera.org.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[L.A. actress pays homage to theater legends Horne, Dandridge and Dee]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/actress-homage-theater-legends-Horne-Dandridge-and-Dee-101182514.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">101182514</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:26:20 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/HS-BlackdrTheatrical.jpg" length="18682" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge and Ruby Dee — three legendary Black actresses who blazed a trail on stage and on screen.

Now in particular their theater exploits are to be celebrated in 'Trailblazers from the Past,' a one-woman play by Los Angeles based working actress Millena Gay.

Gay, a Washington D.C. born former modeling pageant winner who eschewed a career in law to train and study in New York before moving to L.A. in 2005, has numerous television, theater, commercial and independent film credits.

Her TV work has included roles in 'NY Undercover,' 'General Hospital,' 'All My Children,' 'One Life to Live' and BET Networks show 'Played by Fame,' while also treading the boards here in productions like 'Commitment vs. Phobia,'  'The Power of My Will' and 'To Know Him Is To Love Him.' 

Originally scheduled to perform 'Trailblazers' as part of the NAACP Theater Awards at the end of this month,  Gay will play the three actresses in their younger heydays; Horne in 'Stormy Weather,' Dandridge in 'Carmen Jones' and Dee in 'A Raisin in the Sun.'

'Except with Dee, there will be a unique twist because I'll play her in both her younger and older days. How? You'll just have to come and see,' said Gay.

According to Gay, with the NAACP Theater Awards postponement what was planned as a ten minute piece she is now considering expanding to half an hour.     

She has submitted the piece to 'An Evening with the Sistas' theater festival in October and will be updating all and any performance information on her website www.mymillena.com.

'The inspiration for me to do the production came just a few weeks ago in light of the NAACP Theater Festival,' said Gay.

'Members of the theater committee came to see 'To Know Him Is To Love Him,' where I played Estelle  and I had gone to a friend's play at Stella Adler where I saw some of the members there and they gave me a flyer for the awards night.'

She added: 'I think there are some female legends out there that have never been fully acknowledged and recognized for their contributions to entertainment, especially Ruby Dee, who is over 80 and just got her Academy Award. 

'In doing the research I had no idea how many awards and accolades she had won singularly as well as with Ossie Davis. Its things we're just not exposed to and information I want to share and educate people with.'

Gay, who herself has written and directed off Broadway and off off Broadway shows, has assembled a top team including award-winning playwright Mildred Dumas, theater-nominated director Angela Duckett Batravil, vocalist Arthur Richardson, choreographer Efe and celebrity stylist Larry Sims.

'They are all people I've worked with in the past and I just called them up and they said 'okay, let's go,' and they are helping me realize this dream,' said Gay.

Having formed her own production company called 'Honey Peach Productions,' Gay is on her own trailblazing path, developing two features, three shorts, a webisode and the one-woman show.

'If you want to work you have to create your own. I've written ever since I was 5 or 6 and been in the game long enough to know you've got to use every resource available to you,' she said.]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


					    	    	                										        	


 
	
	
	 	
					
	                 	 		 		



 		        	 

			



				
	
	

		
  
  
     
            	  	  
		

									

																											
						
		
		


					    	    	                										        	


 
	
	
	 	
					
	                 	 		 		



 		        	 

							
																											
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Video: A modern twist on 'Taming of the Shrew']]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/Video-A-modern-twist-on-Taming-of-the-Shrew-99900484.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">99900484</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 3 Aug 2010 15:47:35 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	

		
  
  
     
            	  	  
		

									

																		



															<enclosure url="http://cdn.bimfs.com/LAWAVE/38029a14ae71b857ec26e3600ed1992d.jpg" length="false" type="image/jpeg" />
																																																						<video>http://cdn.bimfs.com/LAWAVE/38029a14ae71b857ec26e3600ed1992d.flv</video>
																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[The Actors' Gang began free productions Saturday of "Katie the Curst," a modern twist on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew."

Shows continue weekends through Aug. 29.

The Actors' Gang at The Ivy Substation. 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. (310) 838-GANG (4264)]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[At home with the dark matter]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/At-home-with-the-dark-matter-99526899.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">99526899</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:04:47 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Stoop+Stories+6-web.jpg" length="11956" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[To borrow from 'Star Wars'' most quotable Sith, Darth Vader, Dael Orlandersmith's new play gives audiences a chance to look into the real dark side.

As 'Bones' opens this weekend at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, Orlandersmith, who just closed her one-woman show 'Stoop Stories' there, isn't going to physically appear in the new production.

She is aware, however, that due to its graphic nature, audiences will either really take to the script, 'or they're really going to hate my guts.'

The press releases about 'Bones' do the show no justice — but that's for a reason, the playwright said this week in a telephone interview from New York. 'I want people to be surprised when they see it,' she said. 

After a detailed description of the show's premise, and the dark side of her characters' lives, secrets and anxieties, Orlandersmith spoke freely on what motivates her to explore such themes.

'It's always been that kind of work, I've always drawn to that kind of stuff, I like to call it dark beauty,' said Orlandersmith, who recently had another piece, 'HorseDreams,' rejected by another theater because of its subject matter.

'I've always liked that kind of edgier work opposed to the sun shiny pastel-colored stuff you see a lot of out there.'

For this reason, she said, she applauds the Center Theatre Group artistic director Michael Ritchie, because of his history of taking chances on new work.

'There aren't many [who] are taking a chance on new plays, it's all become about commerce, you either have an old play, a revival with a name director or a name actor, or you have a lot of escapisms — like the 'Addams Family' and 'Spider Man' in New York — that's way over budget if you ask me,' she said. 'It's all become about commerce, movies turning into plays, like 'Hairspray,' you have someone like Scarlett Johansson who wins a Tony. She's not a stage actor … you have people she was nominated with who have been on stage [for years]. I'm not saying she's bad, I've heard she's good. But the reason she's there is to draw money — it's about commerce.'

Her own work, which pushes envelopes of every size and shape, is meant for audiences that 'still want to be challenged,' said Orlandersmith.

Directed by Gordon Edelstein, the cast of 'Bones' features Khandi Alexander, Tessa Auberjonois and Tory Kittles. It tells the story of a mother and her grown children, a family unable to move forward from a damaged past. As graphic accusations come to light, the story treks between divergent memories of the children and their mother. It becomes so intense, said the playwright, that 'you can almost feel their angst in your bones.'

The story is about a dysfunctional family, but what may surprise audiences, is that Orlandersmith, who describes herself as a Black American of Caribbean descent, wrote with a diverse cast in mind.

'It's written in a way where any race can relate to it,' she said. 'If we are talking about universalism, you have to be honest. Here you have this Black woman who has one kid who is Black and another who is White, and — guess what? — it's biologically possible. … I did it this way, because if we are gong to move toward universalism, we need to put it into theater.'

Even the most perfect families harbor some form of dysfunction, she said. 'A lot of times when families are really screwed up, no one will cop to the truth,' she said. 'It's like a lot of times, during arguments … no one can agree because there is a disjunction … and because of the hurt and the dysfunction that is happening … and things can get so bad … it's far-fetched because no one can remember what the hell went wrong, because they're filled with so much pain and angst.'

Had she written 'Bones' with an all-Black cast, then people would assume that 'this only happens to Black families,' she said. 'But that's not the case at all, it happens to all of us. … Aside from the universalism, this reality has a dark side,' she added. 'This happens to a lot of families … this is the type of stuff that is real, that is universal.'

Orlandersmith also said that while she writes for all audiences, she takes care not to take away from anybody's 'authenticity, ethnicity or race.'

'I'm just looking at things that are universal, just human … because I am interested in the darker side of human nature. We can't go through life thinking there aren't two sides — a bright side and a dark side.'

Maybe 'Bones' isn't for young audiences, but in a lot of ways Orlandersmith does want to reach out to parents and ask them how they are raising their children. Are they raising them to be individuals as opposed to being extensions of their parents?

'You have to have sunshine and rain if you want plants to grow, you can't have one without the other,' she said. 'It's the same in human nature. I think a lot of times people [while growing up], are denied access to the dark side, people, parents shield them from it, and they want their kids to grow up knowing the reality they want for them. But it's not really reality.'

'Bones' opens July 31 at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, and runs through Aug. 8. (213) 628-2772]]></description>
										</item>
			
													
																					
				
						


	

			



	


		

																	
						
		
		


	

							
															
								
				
		
                                           											
									
				
											<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Musical Review: ‘Carousel’ plays on emotions of its audience]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/stage/95541999.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">95541999</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 3 Jun 2010 11:43:02 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



															<enclosure url="http://media.wavenewspapers.com/images/Carousel+.jpg" length="126418" type="image/jpeg" />
																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[DOWNEY — Usually patrons leave a performance of the Downey Civic Light Opera smiling, but at least on one night, if not more, they left crying.

'The women [leaving] were complaining that their mascara was ruined,' said Florence Moode, mother of producer-director Marsha Moode and vice president of the Downey Civic Light Opera Company Board of Directors behind President Holly Jacobs.

The reason for the tears was the poignant but uplifting end of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Carousel,' where main protagonist Billy Bigelow comes down from heaven to help his daughter and his widow who have had a difficult life since he was killed earlier in the play trying to pull an armed robbery.

So there you have the plot for one of the darkest musicals by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, known for their happy songs.

Their 1945 musical production was based on the Ferenc Mohnar's play 'Liliom,' written early in the 20th century in Europe.

Rodgers and Hammerstein kept the story line but moved the location from Hungary to New England and Americanized the show with music such as the 'Carousel Waltz,' 'June is Bustin' Out All Over,' and 'When I Marry Mr. Snow,'  along with the lyrical 'If I Loved You,' and the up-lifting 'You'll Never Walk Alone.'

The play has a religious overtone, with the main character coming back after his death to find forgiveness and redemption. Or it could be viewed as a love story/tragedy such as 'Romeo and Juliet,' or as a realistic story of people trying to cope with being unemployed.

'Many people can sympathize with a young couple out of work and expecting a baby,' Marsha Moode noted in comments to the audience during intermission.

Once again Moode has put together a fine cast with great voices but this time with dramatic acting ability.

Two dances choreographed by Janet Renslow are interesting, but one dance/sea chantey while good, was not necessary to the story. A production number of 'June Is Bustin' Out All Over' was lively and appropriate.

The most significant dance was a ballet style number by newcomer Denai Lovrien, who earned her degree in dance from the University of Arizona in May  2009.

In her dance she portrayed Louise, the rebellious, angry and lonely teenage daughter of Bigelow, trying to live down her father's shame and headed in the same direction he ended up. She is the one Bigelow must save.

The ensemble selections give Moode the opportunity to use a large number of young, talented performers in which she specializes.

She uses some 50 characters, about 30 of them in the chorus and ensemble. All get mentioned in the program and a stipend as Moode tries to interest young people in the theater.

The main characters, members of Actor's Equity Union, did well. They included Robert Standley as Bigelow, the tough, rash ladies man who turns to crime to get money for his expected child; Jill Van Velzer as Julie, the female lead; and Ed Kreieger as the Starkeeper in heaven and the earthly pastor Dr.  Seldon.

However, not being in a union does not mean the other performers are inexperienced and less talented. Prime examples are Andrea Dodson as Carrie and her whimsical number, 'When I Marry Mr. Snow;' and Mr. Snow himself, Downey theater veteran Kit Wilson.

Long-time Downey Civic Light Opera performer Ann Peck McBride returns and does her usual good job with the key song of the production, 'You'll Never Walk Alone.'

Performances at the Downey Civic Theatre. 8435 Firestone Blvd., continue at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again June 11 and 12 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and June 13.

Information: (562) 923-1714.
]]></description>
										</item>
			
							</channel>
	</rss>

