Entertainment Archive (444)
James Tillman Sr., catcher with the Homestead Grays of Washington D.C., signs a program from the exhibit on baseball at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. Tillman was one of 16 Negro Baseball League players present at the exhibit. Photo by Roy LewisThe exhibition, titled “Jubilee: African American Celebration†at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (ACM), consists of priceless artifacts, documents, books, music, video, interviews, costumes, photographs and rare paintings by prominent artists as well as innovative installations from the 19th century and modern-day times.
“It reveals some celebrations that are no longer observed, some that are unique to specific regions, some that are specifically African American in scope, and others that incorporate a distinctive African American approach to traditional holidays observed by most Americans,†Director Camille Diraud Akeju said.
The exhibit revealed facts like the first Black festival and tradition to take place in the U.S. was “Johnkankus†or “Christmas Masquerade†originated along the West Coast of Africa by slaves was named after King John Conny or King John Canoe (different spelling origins) a legendary African chieftain.
“Michelle: A Biography†by Liza Mundyc.2008, Simon & Schuster
$25.00 / $28.99
217 pages, includes notes
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Courtesy Photo
They say that behind every great man is a woman who’s willing to give him a goose in the posterior when he needs it most.
Marc Antony had his Cleopatra. Henry VIII had his Catherine, Kathryn, Katherine, two Annes and a Jane. Harry would have been lost without Bess. Martin had his Coretta.
And Barack has Michelle.
By now, we know a lot about our future leader, but what do we know about the woman behind the office? You’ll find out when you read “Michelle†by Liza Mundy.
To truly know Michelle Robinson Obama, Mundy said, you need to understand where she came from. Born in a then-segregated area on the South Side of Chicago in 1964, Michelle Robinson was the second child of parents who raised her to be independent and strong-minded.
As a teen, Michelle attended a magnet school with other high-achievers, including the daughter of Jesse Jackson, Sr. Because the Robinsons encouraged their children to get the best education, Michelle chose Princeton, then went to Harvard and set her sights on becoming a lawyer.
Michelle’s family claims that she was always hard on her suitors. When she brought Barack Obama home for the first time, her brother Craig said, “I was thinking, ‘Nice guy. Too bad he won’t last.’†But last Obama did. They were married in 1992.
Opera singer Denyce Graves Courtesy Photo“Sophisticated Lady - An Evening with Denyce Graves†will feature the critically acclaimed vocalist and Duke Ellington School of the Arts alumna in a benefit recital on Feb. 25 at the Kennedy Center that will include classical music, pop, Americana, spirituals and jazz.
A benefit for the Washington-based performing arts high school, Graves is a D.C. native who is one of the opera world’s brightest stars. She rose to stardom after being raised by a single parent near the Blue Plains sewage plant in Southeast D.C. A graduate of Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory, Graves has performed in some of the world’s most renowned opera houses. Tickets for the singer’s home-town performance went on sale Dec. 10 at the Kennedy Center box office and are expected to sell out quickly.
Chuck Brown clasped his hands with joy and humiliation as District Mayor Adrian Fenty held Brown’s Lifetime Achievement Award high in the air for the crowd to see. The crowd applauded Brown continuously and screamed popular lines from his song. Photo by Khalid Naji-AllahOver 3,000 people came to the Third Annual Go-Go awards to witness the entrance of iconic figure Chuck Brown, know as “The Godfather†of Go-Go, and Rare Essence into the Go-Go Hall of Fame. The awards were held on Sun., Dec. 14. Though the building has not been constructed,
“We never had anybody to take the music into the right direction. And everybody has always been about money and about themselves. It takes a strong person to pull selfish people together,†said Moton.
Brown is credited as being the man who started it all. During the early 70’s, Brown and the Soul Searchers were respected as one of the top bands in D.C.’s live music scene. Their single, “Ashley’s Roach Clip,†contains a distinct beat sampled by hip-hop group Eric B. and Rakim. In 1978, Brown hit it big with a single that would become a funk classic “Bustin’ Loose.â€
Actress Yolonda Williams. Courtesy PhotoWilliams, who will be 45 in July, said recently, “I tried out for the part several times before, but they kept telling me I looked too young to be going through menopause. I still don’t look my age, but in these economic times, I will throw on a wig and look older if I need to,†she laughed.
A native of Texas, Williams plays an overachieving executive in the hit musical, which is about four women who meet in a department store and bond over their collective experience of menopause, and its accompanying hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings.
Jeanie Linders, author of the musical, said she wrote it to empower women. “It [menopause] launches them [women] into a new phase of their life, and when they are [in the] theater shouting ‘That’s me!’, then they know that what they are experiencing is normal,†Linders said.
“I resonate with my character, because in my younger life I was somewhat like that [her character, the Professional Woman],†Williams said. Williams said her aggressiveness has paid off as she becomes a more seasoned actress. “These days it’s hard to find someone over 40 who can act, dance and sing,†Williams said.
David “Popo†Winans Sr. died at the age of 74 on Wed., Apr. 8 from complications from a heart attack and stroke. Courtesy PhotoIn 1999, Winans was nominated for a Grammy for his solo CD "Uncensored." He and his wife Delores, known as Mom Winans, were nominated for their CD "Mom & Pop Winans" in 1989. She was at his bedside when he died, the statement said.
He was the father of BeBe and CeCe Winans, known for their hit "Addictive Love.†Four other children — Michael, Marvin, Carvin and Ronald — performed as The Winans, recording such songs as "Ain't No Need to Worry" featuring Anita Baker and “It’s Time.â€
“We are pacing ourselves in all aspects, like the name states, we evolve,†Moore said. They hired executive chef Earnest Datcher who mastered his culinary gifts at 1789 and Old Ebbit Grill.
Creating top-notch dishes for 18-years, he has the freedom to create an evolution of spices marrying flavors.
Walter Dallas Courtesy PhotoIn 2002 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Dallas is currently in the midst of a five-year tenure as Senior Artist-in-Residence in the Theatre Department of the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was recently named Co-Director of the University’s MFA in Performance Program, slated to debut in the fall of 2010.
He has worked on plays on and off Broadway, in England, Africa, France, and Russia. The list of theatre groups he’s been involved with includes the Negro Ensemble Company, American Place, Public Theatre, Yale Rep, Proposition Theatre, Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Alliance and Baltimore’s Center Stage, where he was a Director Fellow for the National Endowment for the Arts. Highly respected by the late playwright August Wilson, Dallas was asked by Wilson and Lloyd Richards to direct the world premiere of Wilson’s “Seven Guitars†at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Dallas talked to the Washington Informer about his work and the play “Blue Door.â€
Since 1990, the James A. Porter Colloquium held at the Armour J. Blackburn Center on the campus of Howard University has provided a forum for in-depth analysis, discussion and critique of African American Art. Started by art historian Dr. Floyd Coleman, the Porter Colloquium is the premier academic setting for innovative perspectives from leading and emerging scholars, artists and cultural critics.
Jessica Frances Dukes and Jenna Sokolowski Courtesy PhotoAmbitious both in its style (inspired by the big Hollywood epics of the period) and its content (a sexual mystery crossing boundaries of race and gender), “Antebellum†is the work of a passionate artist who reaches for big ideas and big emotions,†according to Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz. O’hara “always leaves his audience with much to ponder and debate,†Schalwitz said.
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