Showing posts with label Riverside Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Riverside Church. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Friday, May 14, 2010
Black Men in America as Stressed-Out Strivers
“Through the Night”: Daniel Beaty in this solo show at Riverside Theater.
By ANITA GATES
NYTimes.com
Photo by: Sherry Rubel
“Run, black man, run,” Daniel Beaty says fiercely. “Run to your children — hold them tight.”
It’s not surprising that Bill Cosby is a fan of Mr. Beaty’s work. It brings to life everything that Mr. Cosby has spoken out about in recent years in terms of African-Americans’ taking responsibility for their own lives. And when Mr. Beaty takes up the topic, it’s not a speech. It’s a poem.
“Through the Night,” which Mr. Beaty is performing with his signature wit, grit and piercing lyricism, is a thing of beauty. Now in a limited run at the Riverside Theater in Morningside Heights, this drama has been described as a look at what it means to be black and male in the United States today, but its deepest meanings transcend race and gender.
Mr. Beaty’s work could be compared to many solo shows in which a performer portrays multiple characters, but his method is different, at least in this play. “Through the Night” has a clear-cut, linear plot that takes shape smoothly and artfully, and builds to a real-life crisis with a jolt of magic realism.
The black men in “Through the Night” are striving, and that is taking its toll, even on 10-year-old Eric, who is determined to develop a magic formula for his herbal iced tea. His father, Mr. Rogers (whose neighborhood is Harlem), is trying desperately to make a go of his health-food store, but people, it seems, would rather clog their arteries with so-called soul food.
Mr. Rogers’s one employee, Dre, is fighting the temptation to use drugs again while he waits for his first child to be born, praying that the baby will, unlike its parents, be H.I.V.-free. Eric’s pal ’Twon has won one battle — he is graduating from high school — but is struggling for the courage to go away to college in Atlanta, to a world that is foreign to him.
’Twon’s mentor, Isaac, a music-industry executive, works long, stress-filled hours, but puts almost as much energy into hiding the reason he’s 40 and unmarried. His father, a successful minister with a congregation of 10,000, is fighting for his life. He weighs 300 pounds, is diabetic and joins Overeaters Anonymous, but still wants creamy, chocolaty HoHos in the middle of the night.
Women are not seen that often, but they are a vital, cherished part of the men’s lives: Mr. Rogers’s long-gone mother, who cleaned offices to support her children (“I never saw you dance”), for instance, and his wife, who toils at a salaried job so her husband can keep his store going. And Mr. Beaty’s gifts are such that when female characters do speak through him, his demeanor and posture change in astonishing ways. I could swear he suddenly has breasts, but maybe that’s a trick of Jacqueline Reid’s lighting design.
“Through the Night” continues through May 23 at the Riverside Theater, in Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, at 120th Street, Morningside Heights; (212) 870-6784; www.theriversidetheatre.org.
By ANITA GATES
NYTimes.com
Photo by: Sherry Rubel
“Run, black man, run,” Daniel Beaty says fiercely. “Run to your children — hold them tight.”
It’s not surprising that Bill Cosby is a fan of Mr. Beaty’s work. It brings to life everything that Mr. Cosby has spoken out about in recent years in terms of African-Americans’ taking responsibility for their own lives. And when Mr. Beaty takes up the topic, it’s not a speech. It’s a poem.
“Through the Night,” which Mr. Beaty is performing with his signature wit, grit and piercing lyricism, is a thing of beauty. Now in a limited run at the Riverside Theater in Morningside Heights, this drama has been described as a look at what it means to be black and male in the United States today, but its deepest meanings transcend race and gender.
Mr. Beaty’s work could be compared to many solo shows in which a performer portrays multiple characters, but his method is different, at least in this play. “Through the Night” has a clear-cut, linear plot that takes shape smoothly and artfully, and builds to a real-life crisis with a jolt of magic realism.
The black men in “Through the Night” are striving, and that is taking its toll, even on 10-year-old Eric, who is determined to develop a magic formula for his herbal iced tea. His father, Mr. Rogers (whose neighborhood is Harlem), is trying desperately to make a go of his health-food store, but people, it seems, would rather clog their arteries with so-called soul food.
Mr. Rogers’s one employee, Dre, is fighting the temptation to use drugs again while he waits for his first child to be born, praying that the baby will, unlike its parents, be H.I.V.-free. Eric’s pal ’Twon has won one battle — he is graduating from high school — but is struggling for the courage to go away to college in Atlanta, to a world that is foreign to him.
’Twon’s mentor, Isaac, a music-industry executive, works long, stress-filled hours, but puts almost as much energy into hiding the reason he’s 40 and unmarried. His father, a successful minister with a congregation of 10,000, is fighting for his life. He weighs 300 pounds, is diabetic and joins Overeaters Anonymous, but still wants creamy, chocolaty HoHos in the middle of the night.
Women are not seen that often, but they are a vital, cherished part of the men’s lives: Mr. Rogers’s long-gone mother, who cleaned offices to support her children (“I never saw you dance”), for instance, and his wife, who toils at a salaried job so her husband can keep his store going. And Mr. Beaty’s gifts are such that when female characters do speak through him, his demeanor and posture change in astonishing ways. I could swear he suddenly has breasts, but maybe that’s a trick of Jacqueline Reid’s lighting design.
Read the entire article here: Black Men in America as Stressed-Out Strivers
“Through the Night” continues through May 23 at the Riverside Theater, in Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, at 120th Street, Morningside Heights; (212) 870-6784; www.theriversidetheatre.org.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Remembering the Honorable Percy Ellis Sutton"
Percy Ellis Sutton
1920-2009
former Tuskegee Airman
Media Mogul
Power Broker
Pioneering Civil Rights Attorney
Last week I had the honor of attending the homegoing service for Mr. Percy Ellis Sutton. The service took place at The Riverside Church, located on New York City's upper west side. People came out in droves to pay respect to the legacy Mr. Percy - "Jimmy" (as his family calls him) left to live on.
Reverend Jesse Jackson offered a personal tribute while Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Council Member Inez Dickins, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, to name few honored Mr. Percy's life with fond and exciting memories. Broadway veteran Melba Moore lended her vocal gifts by singing a selection of Amazing Grace, Stevie Wonder beautifully performed an emotionally exhausting but gentle version of his song As (I'll be Loving You Always), and Reverend Al
Sharpton delivered a radically stirring eulogy, which left me feeling even more inspired to continue to live in my personal journey and purpose as an affirming black gay man fighting for honorable love and respect for the human condition.
Attending Mr. Percy's funeral was completely educational for me. The life this man cultivated and the legacy that is living on is greatness. Although I didn't know him personally, I'm thankful for what he offered to the community because humbly I've been awarded with many of his gifts. Future Fans and A.A+W readers I am blessed this day to say: if you didn't know Mr. Percy, you really did!
Below, I'm leaving you with just a few highlights from his amazing life.
- Organizing and founding member of The New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus in the New York State Assembly
- Participant in the southern Freedom Rides, arrested 14 times and imprisoned at the dreaded Parchment Farm Penitentiary in Mississippi.
- Recipient of the 72nd Springarn Medal from the NAACP in 1987
- Organized the successful effort to have the Apollo Theatre receive NYC landmark designation
- Reopens the Apollo Theatre and operates it as a concert venue, television facility and recreates the tradition of the weekly Wednesday Amateur night show.
- Creator and Executive Producer of the nationally syndicated television show, "It's Showtime at the Apollo".
- Cofounder of the Annual HARLEM WEEK Festival.
- Authorized New York state legislation creating SEEK program at New York City Universities.
- Spearheaded the expansion of the Manhattan race to the five-boroughs; thus, creating the New York City Marathon.
- In 1971 with Clarence B. Jones, Wilbert Tatum and John Edmonds acquired ownership of the New York Amsterdam News.
- With his son Pierre M. Sutton founded the weekly newspaper The New York Courier.
- In 1980, created & operated Amistad DOT Venture Capital, Inc., a MESBIC (Minority Enterprise Small business Investment Corporation), with offices in Washington, DC and New York City.
- In 1993 established Apollo Theatre Records, a record label and recording company.
- Created ACTEL, a joint venture satellite telephone company with operations in Africa.
Think you didn't know Mr. Percy...think again. He rewarded us in so many ways.
In a time when it seems the economy has the best of us, or even when we personally feel either inadequate or unmotivated, this was a man who reinvented himself in so many ways, and inspires me to keep keeping on. From the words of Shakti Gawain, "when old dreams die, new
ones are created." Keep moving on and pushing through your dream, create new ones, or start over again and create a different life.
Have an A.A+Wsome Wednesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
THEFUTUREFORWARD.NET HEADLINES
LinkWithin
