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#CATSMovie Trailer Shows Digital Fur Technology But Distracts Us with Jennifer Hudson’s Voice
Jenifer Lewis as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! Photo by Curt Doughty
Don’t act like you don’t know what day it is. Today is July 15th. A day that is undoubtedly in one of the top spots for the most celebrated made-up holidays in the world. It’s Jackie Washington Day. An icon made famous by the incomparable Black mother of Hollywood, Jenifer Lewis. If you’ve never watched the film Jackie’s Back to witness the outstanding performance Lewis gives as Jackie Washington you need to go to drop everything and watch it ASAP!
Presented as a mockumentary, Jackie’s Back chronicles the life and career of Jackie Washington (Jenifer Lewis), a 1960s/1970s R&B diva. After several years of toiling in obscurity, Washington decides to organize her own comeback concert with filmmaker Edward Whatsett St. John (Tim Curry) filming the event.
Jackie’s Back is a cult classic and is simply timeless although the filmed was released 20 years ago, June 14, 1999. Directed by the legendary Robert Townsend, the film also starred David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry, & Whoopi Goldberg with special appearances by Diahann Carroll, Liza Minnelli, Rosie O’Donnell, Chris Rock, Bette Midler, Charles Barkley, Don Cornelius, and many more!
She graced the Broadway stage on more than one occasion. If you read her book “The Mother of Black Hollywood” you’ll learn all about her theatre background. She was last seen as Motormouth Maybelle in the Broadway musical Hairspray in 2008.
She also keeps us cackling on ABC’s Black-ish:
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Kareem Lucas’ The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (or ‘iNegro’) Kicks Off Cherry Lane Theatre’s Mentor Project
Cherry Lane Theatre is proud to kick-off its Obie Award-winning Mentor Project with this year’s first production, The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (or iNegro) written by and starring Kareem M. Lucas, mentored by Craig ‘muMs’ Grant. The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro is directed by David Mendizábal and began performances on Wednesday, February 20 and runs through March 2 at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, NYC). Tickets are $25 ($60 for a three-show membership) and can be purchased by visiting cherrylanetheatre.org or by calling 866-811-4111.
This solo show of heightened poetry and raw self-reflection takes the audience on the subversive journey of a young Black man coming into himself, as he struggles to break free of what he holds onto most tightly. In iNegro – No one is safe. Nothing is sacred.
This marks the first show of three Mentor Project productions. Upcoming productions include three girls never learnt the way home, written by Matthew Paul Olmos and mentored by Taylor Mac (March 13 – 23, 2019) and The Climb written by C.A. Johnson and mentored by Martyna Majok (April 3 – 13, 2019). Casting and creative team TBA.
Craig ‘muMs’ Grant (left) & Kareem Lucas for Cherry Lane Theatre’s 2019 Mentor Project
The creative team includes set design by Wilson Chin, costumes by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Cha See, sound design and composer Mauricio Escamilla, and Kristy Bodall is the Production Stage Manager.
The Mentor Project, winner of an Obie Award for its dedication to helping early-career playwrights develop new work, each year partners an emerging author with a seasoned professional for a year of script work, rewrites, casting, rehearsals and a full production at Cherry Lane. Mentor Project is also the recipient of the James Kirkwood Award for American Playwrights.
This marks the 21st year if the Mentor Project which has helped develop works by playwrights such as Jocelyn Bioh, Katori Hall, Rajiv Joseph, and Antoinette Nwandu.