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Pg. 18 Your Stars
Black performers front & center at 74th annual Tonys
(Photo by Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions) (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
Audra McDonald (L) and Brian Stokes Mitchell perform onstage during the 74th annual Tony Awards at Winter Garden Theatre Sept. 26, 2021 in New York City. Tarik Davis, Christopher Jackson, James Monroe Iglehart, Leslie Odom Jr., Wayne Brady, Aneesa Folds, Lin Manuel-Miranda, and Chris Sullivan perform onstage with the group Freestyle Love Supreme.
By LINDA ARMSTRONG
Special to the AmNews
Inclusion reigned supreme at the 74th annual Tony Awards! Recognizing productions from the 2020 season, which was abruptly cut off by the pandemic, the awards show consisted of two ceremonies: the first, hosted by six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and shown on Paramount+; and the second, titled “Broadway’s Back!” and broadcast on both Paramount+ and CBS, hosted by Leslie Odom Jr. The glorious evening was held at the Winter Garden Theatre and it was packed with Broadway celebrities.
This year the Tony Awards put Black folks front and center, not only with its hosts, but with special awards. The Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre went to Irene Gandy, a press agent and Broadway producer; Woodie King Jr. for Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre; and Beverly Jenkins, a professional stage manager for over 30 years on Broadway. A Special Tony Award went to Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC), a non-profit organization which advocates for equity and inclusion for Blacks on Broadway, working in all matters from criminal justice reform to education reform to immigration.
Tony Award winners for the night began with David Alan Grier winning best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play for “A Soldier’s Play,” in which he brilliantly played Sergeant Vernon Waters. Anyone who saw Grier’s stellar performance knew that this was a well-deserved Tony. Grier humbly thanked director Kenny Leon for making him his first call when casting “A Soldier’s Play.” He was also glad to acknowledge the late Negro Ensemble Company director Douglas Turner Ward: “This is unbelievable. It means so much, Douglas Turner Ward cast me into the show. Doug came to see the play and was on stage answering questions, though he could barely speak because he was ravaged by cancer. I paused my dinner break to listen, he had the same passion, teaching and energy. He answered every question. It was amazing. It was awesome. I think of Adolph Caesar who was Serg with me in the movie version.”
“A Soldier’s Play” also won best revival of a play for director Kenny Leon and playwright Charles Fuller. Leon, who received a standing ovation, immediately began his speech calling out the names of those we have lost to police murders. He called out Breonna Taylor three times and George Floyd twice, exclaiming, “We will never ever forget you.” He poignantly continued, “We opened ‘A Soldier’s Play’ the same week we lost Kobi Bryant and his beautiful daughter Gigi. All lives are precious. I’m a graduate of CAU, a HBCU in Atlanta, Georgia and I want to say to all those students, present and yet to come, yes you can! To all the people in this room, we can do better. Charles Fuller wrote this play, no dis to Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, we need Ntozake sitting at the table, Melvin Van Peebles—we need to do better.” Now, with this win and the fact that seven shows will come to Broadway this season by Black playwrights, Leon was asked where are we at on Broadway? “As artists our job is to impact the world through storytelling. I don’t think we’ve come far enough, but this reset has given us the opportunity to start anew. The proof is in the pudding, what will it look like next year at this time? We have seven plays this season, but where will it go? We have to be part of the solution. It’s a wonderful beginning and it’s going to take all of us, the young and the old folks.” Leon, a founding member of Black Theatre United (BTU)—shared, “We did the New Deal for Broadway and we’re relentless, these organizations [BTU, BAC] have no intention of stopping from doing the work. They are committed and fierce. It’s our job to protect our future and to give our young people a chance. There are a lot of wonderful things that our young people are doing. It’s on us adults to get rid of this systemic racism. It’s on all of us adults to make our nest better.”
Adrienne Warren received the Tony Award for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical for her portrayal of Tina Turner in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” and it was a stunning moment! Warren emotionally thanked her family. She thanked Tina Turner, “for trusting me to bring her story home.” She thanked the cast. Warren, also a founding member of BAC, said, “The world has been screaming for change…I want to prepare this space for those who look like me. There are countless people working tirelessly to see that you can be here. I’ve gotten so much encouragement through this journey. This has been a six-year journey. I’m extremely moved by this. When I started this show I thought I had so much to prove, now I want to make things better for those who come after me.”
Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s president Britton Smith accepted the Special Tony Honors from Pulitzer Prize winning Black female playwright Lynn Nottage, who will have two productions on Broadway this season—the play “Clyde’s” and “MJ: The Musical.” Nottage was greeted by the capacity crowd with a standing ovation. Smith was candid as he said, “I’m only standing here because George Floyd and a pandemic brought us to a point to say enough is enough and for Black people to speak up! My biggest fear is that when Broadway comes back that opening will close.” Addressing the Broadway audience in the room, he said, “When this room decides to move behind us that’s when we’ll earn the phrase Black Lives Matters.” Talking about what this Tony
By LAPACAZO SANDOVAL
Special to the AmNews
Melvin Van Peebles, the pioneering African American filmmaker who is best known for his films “Watermelon Man” and “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” transitioned on Sept. 21, 2021, at his home in Manhattan. He was 89 years old.
The visionary filmmaker’s son, actor Mario Van Pebbles and The Peebles family announced the news in a joint statement with The Criterion Collection and Janus Films.
“We are saddened to announce the passing of a giant of American cinema, Melvin Van Peebles, who died last night, at home with family, at the age of 89. In an unparalleled career, Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape. He will be deeply missed,” the statement read.
“In an unparalleled career distinguished by relentless innovation, boundless curiosity, and spiritual empathy, Melvin Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape through his films, novels, plays, and music,” it added.
Eighty-nine is a tremendous age and what this cinema pioneer, Melvin Van Peebles accomplished is extraordinary. He was born Aug. 21, 1932, in Chicago, in a period in America’s history when people of color were given very few choices. What I am trying to communicate is that this filmmaker smashed glass ceilings left, right, and center. And in so doing the “impossible” his name will ring forever cemented in African American cinema immortality.
Van Peebles walked into Hollywood in 1970, with his debut film “Watermelon Man” and followed with “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” in 1971. His film which tells the story of a poor African American man fleeing from white police authorities was independently funded and shot by Van Peebles before receiving a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby to complete the project.
His son, Mario Van Peebles, brought his father’s legacy home. “Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth?”
Melvin Van Peebles’ death came shortly before the 50th anniversary of “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” and a celebration planned by the New York Film Festival. The Criterion Collection planned a box set to be released next week called “Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films.”
Image from the Feb. 24, 1973 edition of the AmNews
By ZITA ALLEN
Special to the AmNews
Ask Francesca Harper how she felt when Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle announced her appointment as artistic director of Ailey II, that internationally renowned AAADT’s acclaimed troupe of young talented dancers and she gushes with excitement declaring, “It’s kind of surreal.” Yet, in many ways the appointment seems a natural step in a rather remarkable career, as well as a promising beginning of a critically acclaimed dance company’s next chapter, and last but not least, as a perfect example of the circle of life.
Harper’s appointment opens the next chapter of Ailey II as it prepares for a much-anticipated return to live performances with the kickoff of its 2021-2022 season, beginning in December with participation in the AAADT’s annual New York City Center season. The Ailey II dancers will join the AAADT for the performance of Ailey’s classic “Memoria,” the tribute to Ailey colleague, dancer and master teacher Joyce Trisler. Then without skipping a beat Ailey II kicks off a busy 2022 with its own New York season March 23-April 3 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater along with a U.S. Tour. (THE TOUR IS BEFORE AND AFTER THE U.S. SEASON)
During a recent interview, Harper’s enthusiasm clearly communicated the energy of an artist ready to hit the ground running a quality the AAADT search committee must have found compelling after what AAADT Artistic Director Robert Battle said was, “an exhaustive international search done by a firm. We wanted to make sure we had a wide variety of people who we may not have thought of. There were so many great candidates but at the end of the day, we made the right choice for the right time. She came equipped.”
In fact, so many aspects of Harper’s biography makes this appointment feel like a homecoming. In fact, Battle mentioned that the multitalented Harper not only trained at the Ailey School before embarking on an extraordinarily successful professional career in dance, but regularly returned to teach and choreograph. What’s more, in addition to being “charismatic, caring and utterly brilliant,” Battle noted, “She knew Mr. Ailey and drew inspiration as a dancer from Ms. Jamison. And her vision for Ailey II will not only bring fresh perspectives to Mr. Ailey’s legacy, but also bring new voices to the stage and propel the Company forward. She is the perfect choice to lead Ailey II.” Ailey II is an artistically important part of the Ailey vision, says former Ailey dancer Sylvia Waters who served as that company’s first artistic director for 38 years after Mr. Ailey entrusted her with this smaller troupe designed to serve, among other things, as “a performance vehicle for the gifted and talented dancers of the Ailey School to teach them what it was to be in a company.” It’s done such a successful job of training future dancers that many Ailey II dancers have gone on to join the main company, AAADT, and many choreographers whose works were presented by the second company have gone on to create dances on the first company.
Battle’s excitement about the choice of Francesca Harper to head this important artistic entity is underscored by a resume that he and Bennett Rink, executive director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, found impressive to say the least. The multi-talented, multi-discipline Harper has had an impressive career as a dancer, choreographer, singer, actor, director, producer and teacher both in America and in Europe. She grew up surrounded by dance greats studying at the Ailey School, becoming a soloist with the Dance Theatre of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell, choreographed works for both of the Ailey professional companies and DTH, Hubbard Street II, and La Bale Da Cidade, among others, as well as works commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and her own The Francesca Harper Project; has been a principal dancer with Ballet Frankfurt, under choreographer William Forsythe, and a featured performer in Broadway shows; has served as a consultant for major film and stage productions; and has extensive teaching experience, with posts at Juilliard, New York University, Barnard, and The Ailey School’s joint BFA program with Fordham University. She is the daughter of the late Denise Jefferson, who directed The Ailey School from 1984 to 2010.
It is this last point, Harper says, that makes her appointment of Ailey II feel like life coming full circle.
“My mother, Denise Jefferson, was always my inspiration and mentor for teaching and giving back to the community. Through her work at The Ailey School she changed the landscape for young aspiring dance artists, including me, and was an unfailing example of courage and compassion. I feel I grew up at The Ailey School, and now, having performed and choreographed around the world, it is profoundly moving to me to come home, accepting the great privilege of leading Ailey II.”
Describing her reaction upon learning of her appointment, Harper says, “It just felt like everything was in alignment. “The moment that everything fell into place there was something that I was embodying,” she said recalling herself as a little girl visiting her mother in her own office as head of The Ailey School. Fast forward to today, Harper said, “I thought about the moment that I’m there working in the building again and my daughter comes in to hang out with me and sees my mother’s picture on the 2nd floor and then I think about all we’ve been through and the movement we’ve all been through,” Harper says referring to both her family’s involvement in the early Civil Rights Movement and the current Black Lives Matter movement and the heightened awareness of the need for diversity, equity and inclusion, for Blacks and for women, and the Ailey organization’s own legacy of art reflective of the cares and concerns of the world we inhabit. Harper says of her new appointment, “It feels so much bigger than me.”
Ms. Harper and the Ailey organization are also announced the appointment of Lakey Evans-Peña as rehearsal director of the company. A former member of Ailey II herself, Ms. Evans-Peña has been serving as a teacher and advisor for The Ailey School and will continue in that role while taking up her new responsibilities with Ailey II.
Renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers, Ailey II was founded in 1974 as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble. Since then, Ailey II has flourished into one of the most popular modern dance companies, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs, a reputation that will only be enhanced by Harper’s appointment.
Francesca Harper (Richard Termine photo)
By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH
Special to the AmNews
It has been announced that a new collection of remixes and greatest hits by The High Priestess of Soul will be released on Verve Records on Oct. 29. The first single from the album, “Feeling Good: Her Greatest Hits and Remixes” is a remix of Simone’s iconic song, “Feeling Good” by renowned DJ Joel Corry. Her voice is displayed with a soft echo performed atop upbeat dance music that would invigorate any dancefloor across the globe.
The album includes seven remixes from popular international DJs and bands like Rudimental and HONNE, and 19 memorable songs like “Strange Fruit,” “Mississippi Goddamn,” and “I Put a Spell On You.”
“Feeling Good: Her Greatest Hits and Remixes” offers Simone’s music through the lens of post-modern electronic music. This is not the first time that her music has been reworked at the hands of electronic DJs. Her music has been attractive to countless remixers, trying their hand and sharing their interpretation of the icon’s timeless works. This album, though, is a carefully crafted collection created under the guidance of Verve Records which has been releasing her music since 1995.
The expansiveness of the album is a great addition to a new generation of Simone listeners who wish to explore her recordings with fresh ears, to gain a new understanding of the civil rights icon who pushed the envelope in the 1960s until her death in 2003. The rejuvenation of her art is needed, as young listeners do not have the same outlets and outspoken role models who led this country into a new era as segregation slowly toppled under the feet of musicians and artists like Simone. Knowing that her music can touch the world in the 21st century should be comforting, even if purists feel that the electronic augmentation of DJ and musicians is not the best path for her original songs.
We must understand that everything moves forward, and there is a privilege that we hold in learning more and re-imagining Nina Simone’s songs for years to come.
(Courtesy photo)
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