Who’s Culture is it Anyway?

A Review of the Potomac Theatre Project’s production of David Edgar’s Pentecost, Directed by Cheryl Farina David Edgar’s play, Pentecost is rarely produced because of its large and ethnically diverse casting requirements, the political and complicated nature of the subject matter, and because the play poses a question that most people find difficult to answer: what …

Bryonn Bain’s Lyrics from Lockdown Incredible True Story of Being Wrongly Incarcerated

Bryonn Bain’s amazingly true story needs to be told. Wrongly accused of a crime he didn’t commit due to a frightening combination of mistaken identity and racism, Lyrics From Lockdown is a haunting and beautifully written tale of Bain’s incarceration and transformation into a leading prison activist. The performance at the National Black Theater this …

Review: Children of a Future Age-Young Theater Artists Shine

The spirit of William Blake could very well be called the fourth character in this three-hander production of Knud Adams’ sophisticated Children of a Future Age. Doses of thick symbolic poetry are ladled into the story and blend seamlessly with the characters millennial speech patters, with poems emerging briefly like a whale peeking through ocean …

3 Things you need to know about the inaugural Harlem Arts Festival

Harlem is going through another renaissance. Whether it’s prime real estate, good food or arts & culture that you’re looking for, you no longer have to leave the neighborhood to get it.  To celebrate this revitalization and to capture the energy and essence of what’s going on Uptown, a group of local residents have created …

Harlem Theatre Arts Festival Opens With Magic and Empowerment on Stage: Review of POOF by Lynn Nottage

The first Harlem Theatre Arts Festival honored philanthropist Dhonna Goodale with the “Champion of Change,” Award for her work on domestic violence at the presentation of Lynn Nottage’s play, “Poof.” Pictured above (L-R) Actors Kimberlyn Crawford and C.J. Williams; District Leader Theresa Freeman; Joan H. Allen, Founder of The Harlem Theatre Arts Festival; Honoree Dhonna …

Under a Microscope: Stick Fly on Broadway

Kenny Leon is on fire. Just ask him. Two plays he directed are currently playing on Broadway to packed houses, featuring star performers, and are being considered in the context of his past work which include a slew of August Wilson’s plays, and Lorraine Hansbury’s classic, A Raisin in the Sun. When it comes to …

Renaissance has a Name: Harlem

Every show has an audience. The question is does the environment make the artist, or vice versa? It is critical that my neighbors in Harlem make an effort to join this conversation, and this play is a firecracker to ignite the process. When I attended Renaissance in the Belly of a Killer Whale last Sunday, …

Classical Theatre of Harlem and Hip Hop Theatre Festival present SEED, a Love Letter to Harlem

If you see one show this season, go see SEED. If you are a Harlem resident, you have absolutely no excuse not to see it. The show is playing at the National Black Theatre on 126th and 5th Ave right across the street from Applebees. This new play by Radha Blank is produced by the …

Tape Revival: At What Point is it Rape?

The first question that came into my head after watching Knife Edge Production’s remount of Stephen Belber’s Tape, was “Why this play? Why now?” Even as the query formed in my mind, I had already arrived upon the answer. Here is a play produced by actors, to give themselves meaty roles that would showcase them …

50 Bats. $10 Tix. 5 Plays. 3 Survivors. 1 Free Beer.

How do you get a bunch of twenty-somethings to go to the theater? With beer of course. The Bats, The Flea Theatre’s resident company of emerging artists, keeps their audiences coming back for more in their ongoing summer showcase #the SERIALS @ The Flea. For only $10 you get a ticket and a beer. And …

Mario Fratti’s Quartet: Symmetry and Equality in Four Movements

The walls of Mario Fratti’s apartment on West 55th St. are padded with the kind of well worn antiques, posters, and mementos that have witnessed a life in the theater. His living room window looks into the window that Tennessee Williams used to sit at in the mornings and write. They would wave to each …

Daniel Beaty’s ‘Tearing Down the Walls’ Sings of Harlem’s Challenges and Hope

As a proud Harlem resident, I considered it a privilege to be witness to the triumph of Daniel Beaty’s latest work, “Tearing Down the Walls,” now playing at the Riverside Theatre through May 29th. To attend this world premiere musical about Harlem is to take part in a community forum, where the audience’s reaction and …

Harlem School of the Arts Raises the Bar

Last month, from April 9-16, the Harlem School of the Arts Theater Department presented “Flyin’ West” written by Pearl Cleage and directed by HAS faculty member, Willie Teacher. Set in Nicodemus, Kansas in 1898, the play follows the lives of African-American homesteaders in the American West. Immersed in the rapidly changing and cataclysmic landscape of …

El Gato Teatro Makes Her Home in Harlem

El Gato Teatro, a dance theater collective led by Harlem resident, Gabriella Barnstone premiered its latest work Nuevo Laredo at Dixon Place last week. El Gato Teatro fuses dance, theater, text, music, and sheer entertainment to create powerful works of art and magic. The production features stunning mask work, sharp design, and a sound track …

Review of The Killing Room by Daniel Keene

Darkly comical and creepy, Australian playwright, Daniel Keene pays a visit to the end of the world and finds that the ancient themes of blood feud, brotherly competition, and greed still dominate. In the opening scene, a scraggly man in a dingy brown nightgown sits up on his hospital gurney and asks, “How can you …

James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave in roles of a lifetime: Driving Miss Daisy

By JJ El-Far I had the privilege of watching two of the greatest working actors on Monday night in Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy at the Golden Theatre. Both James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave alone could carry their own show, drawing in crowds and filling the house each night. Together, their ability was simply …

Driving Miss Daisy Actors Fund Special Performance

By: J.J. El-Far The Broadway company of “Driving Miss Daisy” has announced that their Special Benefit Performance for The Actors Fund will be dedicated to the memory of Vanessa Redgrave’s siblings, Lynn and Corin Redgrave. The benefit performance is scheduled for Monday, February 7 at 8pm. All proceeds will go to The Actors Fund. “With …

Theater Review: Harlem Renaissance Celebrity Wedding

Review of The New Federal Theatre’s production of Knock Me a Kiss Play By Charles Smith, Directed by Chuck Smith December 8, 2010 By: J.J. El-Far I had the pleasure of seeing the New Federalist Theatre’s joyful production of Knock Me a Kiss this past week at Abrons Art Center at the Henry Street Settlement. …