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Pg. 16 Your Stars
Jacob Ming-Trent as Falstaff and Joshua Echebiri as Pistol in “Merry Wives,” a hilarious adaptation by Jocelyn Bioh of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (Joan Marcus photo)
2021: The Year in Review in Black theater: reinvention, retrospectives, reflection
By LINDA ARMSTRONG
Special to the AmNews
2021 was a year like no other in theater as the pandemic continued to shut down regular theater and had theater companies having to figure out a new normal to present productions. Creative people got more creative and found a different way. It was also a year of reflection on different levels.
Jan. 17, 2021 set a mark for a banner year for Woodie King Jr. and his New Federal Theatre as this theatrical treasure marked its 50th anniversary. The New Federal Theatre has been producing plays since 1970 and has presented over 450 mainstage productions. It does and has always served as a vehicle for people of color and women to have the opportunity to create and tell our stories!
With COVID raging, theaters had to find a safe way to create and present their works. In February, New Federal Theatre was there as it presented a virtual play reading series to quench the public’s appetite for theatrical fare. It presented “The Meeting” by Jeff Stetson, which told the story of a meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a hotel room. It was powerfully performed by Beethovan Oden as Malcolm X and Joseph L. Edwards as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with Tyler Fauntleroy as Rashad. This engaging production utilized split screens to show the actors and was mesmerizing to watch. It also had phenomenal direction by Ajene Washington. Viewers were asked for a donation. The next reading in the series was of Mfundi Vundla’s “Widows” and it featured Zoleka Vundla, Phinki Wilson and Tanya Nomaziko Zondo with direction by Clinton Turner Davis.
COVID meant that theaters in general had to reinvent themselves. In February, Manhattan Theatre Club decided to do a virtual Curtain Call Series for free, which spotlighted plays from the past. Richard Wesley’s “The Past Is the Past” was a moving production that featured the riveting Ron Cephas Jones as Earl Davis and Jovan Adepo as Eddie Green. It told the tragic story of a father who meets his son that he abandoned years before. The play focused on the issue of Black men planting seeds in our communities, but not staying around to be fathers to their children. This production had stunning direction by Oz Scott.
February also saw the virtual premiere of “Freedom Summer,” a dramatic production written by Cynthia G. Robinson and brilliantly presented by North Carolina Black Repertory Company under director Jackie Alexander. While other virtual productions showed actors in isolated areas, this production gloriously was done in a theater with full set and costumes. That alone began to warm my heart. This play told the story of two Black sisters in 1964—the younger sister Carrie and older sister Nora. Nora is passing for white and about to marry a white man. The two actresses were spellbindingly captivating and were Nikyla Boxley as Carrie and Mariah Guillmette as Nora.
One of the most important aspects of telling our stories is capturing our theatrical history. While this was not presented on a stage, documentary filmmaker Juney Smith—the same man who previously documented Woodie King Jr. in “King of Stage: The Woodie King Jr. Story”—now turned his lens to documenting the journey of theater veterans such as actors Arthur French, Count Stovall and Marie Thomas, along with playwrights Richard Wesley and Dominique Morrisseau, Crossroads Theatre Company founder Ricardo Khan and Black lead Broadway producers—Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey in his film “King Arthur & The Count,” which came out at the end of March.
In April Audible gave audiences a theatrical experience to remember as it recorded and presented Liza Jessie Peterson in her phenomenal one-woman show about the criminal justice system and its mistreatment of Blacks and minorities—“The Peculiar Patriot.” The performance was recorded live at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theater in Manhattan in front of a live audience. This poignant work got its first breath of life at the National Black Theatre in 2018 and three years later it’s on Audible!
In May, Woodie King Jr. announced that after 50 years he would retire as producing director of New Federal Theatre. June 30th would be his last day. Then this precious jewel would be in
the hands of the marvelous Elizabeth Van Dyke! King has a legacy to be honored, admired and cherished!
In June, the Broadway League’s Multi-Cultural Task Force, headed by Aaliytha Stevens and Brian Moreland, did an inaugural outdoor Juneteenth Celebration on Broadway between 43rd and 44th Street. Everyone who attended had proof of vaccination and wore masks. This event spotlighted the great talent of Black actors who are in numerous Broadway shows including “The Lion King,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Girl from the North Country,” “Caroline, Or Change,” “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” “Moulin Rouge,” and Keenan Scott II performed from his play “Thoughts of a Colored Man.” Theater legend and Tony Award winner Ben Vereen addressed the crowd and Tony Award winner Lillias White was the host. The
See REVIEW on page 17
Inside the “What to Send Up When It Goes Down” rehearsal at the Fishman Space in the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Saturday, June 19, 2021 (Donna Ward photo)
Robert Ri’chard of Amazon’s ‘Harlem’—A single father with his heart on his sleeve
By LAPACAZO SANDOVAL
Special to the AmNews
At the center of Tracy Oliver’s (“Girls’ Trip”) hit 10 episode comedy series “Harlem” (on Amazon Prime) is love, pure and simple. The gifted scribe created relatable characters, all searching for the person that makes their hearts sing. The comedy focuses on Camille (Meagan Good) and her “unbreakable sisterhood” which includes the romantic Quinn (Grace Byers), the masculine-presenting lesbian and up-and-coming tech maven Tye (Jerrie Johnson), and the outspoken, gifted singer, Angie (Shoniqua Shandai).
And much like Starz’s “Run the World” (also set in Harlem), and Issa Rae’s masterful work, “Insecure,” it’s men, in three of the women’s lives, who play a significant role.
One of the leading men is played by Robert Ri’chard (“One on One”) who plays Shawn, a young, single father who is an exotic dancer and is pursuing a relationship with Quinn (Grace Byers), a corporate fashion boutique owner and budding designer.
Robert Ri’chard starred in the Nickelodeon sitcom “Cousin Skeeter,” and has appeared, as himself, on the hit Nickelodeon game show, “Figure It Out.” He played Samuel on “Touched by an Angel,” a troubled teen whose brother is in prison for shooting a man. He has also appeared in films such as “Coach Carter” and “House of Wax.” His breakout role was in the TV adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel, “The Feast of All Saints,” where he played the young Marcel who becomes a man within society. He has been professionally acting since the age of 13.
We caught up with Robert Ri’chard to discuss his role in the hit show “Harlem.”
Robert Ri’chard on his sleeve.
Robert Ri’chard: (laughing) Thank you. Yes, the way all of the men are represented, in “Harlem,” they do have their hearts on their sleeve and their emotions are out there.
AmNews: Robert, tell me about your character.
RR: Well, my character is a man, and this is America. And in America, you have to get to work and take care of your family. My character has a son and he has to look after his son. And by any means necessary. Just like every hard-working American, I will do anything for my kid.
(Andre Harris photo)
AmNews: Tru’ dat.
Amsterdam News: What a wonderful surprise. I love how Sean wears his heart
RR: And second of all, my character is the kind of guy that every girl deserves as a date. Because he is not afraid to fall in love. He’s already fallen in love with Quinn, and you can see that from the moment that they met and the way that he looks at her. If you go back and watch the show, he is enthralled with being like, ‘I love you. I’m going to take care of you. And I understand we might come from different sides of the track, but that doesn’t matter when
someone cares about another person.’ AmNews: Great point.It’s a lot to unpack. RR: He’s letting Quinn stay with his son. That’s a pretty big step in any relationship, it’s a trust factor. I know everybody is home right now if you have kids, there’s that moment where it becomes actually, ‘Okay, we’re that close? Then, I’ll let you look after my seed.’ And he’s got that going for him. And I love Shawn’s character for that. And we’re going to see more from Shawn. He puts her on the spot. He’ll talk to her face to face and say, ‘Listen, don’t try and discredit who I am as a person and our relationship because you have friends who are white-collar.’ AmNews: What do you think his superpowers are? RR: Shawn’s super exciting. I mean, he’s a guy that every girl wants to fall in love with, right? I mean, number one, he’s fun, and he can dance. And he’s fallen in love before too, you know, two feet in [and gotten heartbroken]. He’s fearless. He’s not afraid to fall in love and show his hand, B:8.75" which is sharing that he has a kid. And T:8.75" he wants her to meet his kid. Yeah, that’s S:8.5" pretty brave.
DON’T MISS THIS ELECTRIFYING BROADWAY PREMIERE ABOUT TRUST AND SURVIVAL
Written by DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU
Directed by RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON
With CHANTÉ ADAMS, JOSHUA BOONE, BRANDON J. DIRDEN, ADESOLA OSAKALUMI, PHYLICIA RASHAD
Scenic Design MICHAEL CARNAHAN Costume Design EMILIO SOSA Lighting Design RUI RITA Original Music & Sound Design ROB KAPLOWITZ Projection Design NICHOLAS HUSSONG Original Music & Lyrics JIMMY KEYS aka “J. KEYS” Choreography ADESOLA OSAKALUMI Hair & Wig Design COOKIE JORDAN
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