Archive » Soul On Stage

This page contains 6 entries posted under the "Soul On Stage" category.

A 'Colored Girl' Can't Catch A Break

India Arie, who famously flipped Grammy the bird for being "increasingly political" was all set to hit Broadway in a revival of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf this September. But her Broadway debut will be delayed because they lost a backer. As in, they need some money. The revival is produced by Whoopi Goldberg and is based on a series of twenty poems by Ntozake Shange. Each poem is performed by a different woman identified only by the color she wears, a setup that, presumably, inspired the treatment for Erykah Badu's"Bag Lady" clip. For Colored Girls is a very important and groundbreaking work, in that it deals with a multitude of issues Black women have encountered since its inception and continue to encounter today. For a taste, check out a clip of Buena Batiste performing the "Lady in Green" monologue after the bounce. There's no word on when the current production will be rescheduled. [AP]

Afrobeat Legend Celebrated Onstage In 'Fela!'

After successful Broadway runs of musicals influenced by the music from pop artists such as Billy Joel, ABBA, and Bob Dylan, and the recent recognition of hip hop by this year's Tony Awards, what else is left? Sure, The Color Purple was huge smash prior to Fantasia's disappearing acts during the Broadway run, but what about off-Broadway, that frontier that is often host to some of the most experimental and artistic (and sometimes that can equal horrible) stage productions near The Great White Way? Fela!, the off-Broadway musical choreographed by the legendary Bill T. Jones and starring Sahr Ngaujah as Fela Anikupalo Kuti a/k/a the James Brown of Africa a/k/a the one artist on constant rotation in my household, will begin its nine-week run tonight and end on September 21st at 37Arts Theatre in New York City. Did I also mention that the musical is being performed and was arranged by neo-Afrobeat band Antibalas? To those of you who know your Afrobeat, you know this is not an event to be missed. And if anyone makes it to a performance, be sure to hit us up at iwasthere@soulbounce.com. For more information on Fela!, be sure to visit the official website. For a behind-the-scenes look at the musical, be sure to check the video after the bounce.

Hip Hop Recognized At The Tony Awards

At last night's Tony Awards, four Tonys were awarded to the cast and crew of In The Heights, a musical about a Dominican bodega owner and his crew in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood. Incorporating hip hop, salsa, merengue, and R&B, In The Heights took home some of the top honors of the night, including best musical and best choreography. Most notable, however, is In The Height's writer and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda's acceptance speech, which featured him dropping a freestyle verse as he thanked his mother, father, sister, brother, God, and likely anyone else who is usually mentioned during those speeches. Interestingly, In The Heights beat out Passing Strange, a musical about a Black teen from a dysfunctional Oklahoma family who leaves for Europe to then become the darling of the avant garde scene there. Although musicals are really not my bag, kudos to two musicals featuring people of color receiving top nods from the musical establishment.

[H/T: HHDX]

ill Mami | 06/16/2008 at 10:26 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

India.Arie To Be A 'Colored Girl'

And the good news keep on rolling in. The Hollywood Reporter revealed today that Grammy-winning recording artist India.Arie will be trying her hand at Broadway, starring in the first-ever revival of the classic Ntozake Shange "choreopoem" For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. The play, which will be produced by Whoopi Goldberg in association with Dream Team Entertainment, presents the stories of seven women of color from the African Diaspora, which should be right up India's alley.

Helping Arie with her moves will be legendary choreographer Hinton Battle, with Shirley Jo Finney slated to direct. The play begins previews in mid-July, with an early-August opening. Needless to say, we'll reserve judgment until the curtain rises. However, based on her limited acting resume to date, we're thinking India should use her prep time wisely.

India.Arie Starring in Broadway Revival of For Colored Girls [HR]

Harlem | 03/11/2008 at 3:30 PM | Comments (7) | Permalink

Badu Does 'Def'

The first time I saw Erykah Badu perform live, ironically, wasn't at a concert, but during the taping of the second season of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry at the Supper Club in New York City. What struck me wasn't so much her command of the stage (I could tell that from her videos). It was how all of that brilliant artistry and energy was wrapped in such a small package. In fact, she was so tiny, I almost walked right past her outside after the taping.

She was brilliant that night, performing two poems and wowing the crowd. Below is the routine that made the television cut, "Friends, Fans & Artists."

Harlem | 02/26/2008 at 2:30 PM | Leave a Comment | Permalink

When An Actor's Fed Up

Have you ever thought about what would happen if black actors got fed up with rappers taking all their screen roles? Ever think about what would happen if, feeling helpless and more importantly, out of work, those actors decided to take matters into their own hands?

SoulBounce was in the house last weekend for a special preview of a play that not only poses those questions, but plays them out in real time. Actor/writer/director J. Kyle Manzay and an ensemble cast that includes local New York radio personalities Ann Tripp (107.5 WBLS) and Deja Vu (Power 105.1), tackles the edict laid out a few years back by Samuel L. Jackson, who proclaimed he'd never do a movie with a rapper again. (Sure, he's since done exactly that, but do you wanna tell Sam that he's a hypocrite? Yeah, didn't think so.) His reasoning? They were taking jobs from trained actors.

Manzay's character, L.J., has been passed over for a lead role in a major motion picture in favor of the hottest rapper in the game, Datz Ridiculous. (You read that correctly.) L.J. and his boys decide it would be in the best interest of the acting community to kidnap Ridiculous, and well...hilarity and hypocrisy ensues.