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Jaamil Olawale Kosoko Presents #Negrophobia at American Realness

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American Realness is an annual festival of contemporary performance, in its seventh season, held at Abrons Arts Center. Housing seventy events by nineteen artists, ensembles, and scholars has the Abrons jam packed with the innovative work they are known for cultivating. Off-site shows span as far across town as MoMA P.S.1.

I don’t know about y’all, but when attending festivals of this kind, I come expecting to see new, ambitious works, and I especially come to support stories that reflect the voice of my people.

Well, I think I found something that has equal parts ambition and fresh insight into Black manhood.

Artist, Cultural Strategist, Curator and Writer, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, presents #negrophobia, a social commentary, and critique to bring light to perceptions of “grief, misogyny and black patriarchal constructs of masculinity housed within the chaotic frame of a body and mind on the verge of psychosomatic collapse.”

In short, he wants to expose the eroticism and fear that comes along with being a human in a Black male body.

#negrophobia was originally commissioned by Gibney Dance Center and is made possible with the support of friends of anonymous bodies and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund with residency support from the Bushwick Starr and Miami Theater Center. Harlem Stage also helped make this production possible.

Kosoko was the co-curator of the 2015 Movement Research Spring Festival and the 2015 Dancing While Black performances at BAAD in the Bronx. He contributes to the Dance Journal (PHL), the Broad Street Review (PHL), and Critical Correspondence (NYC). Kosko has participated as a fellow with DeVos Institute of Art Management at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is an inaugural graduate member of the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance (ICPP) at Wesleyan University.

Head over to the Lower East Side to see Kosoko’s work
January 8, 2016 – January 17, 2016
at Underground Theater as part of American Realness at Abrons Arts Center.

Friday, January 8, 5:30 PM
Saturday, January 9, 8:30 PM
Sunday, January 10, 5:30 PM
Monday, January 11, 8:30 PM
Sunday, January 17th, 1 PM
Run Time: 75 minutes

For more information on the festival visit americanrealness.com.

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Celebrity Takeover

Tituss Burgess Has New Music, A New Movie, & No Time For Mess + The Preacher’s Wife Musical Update

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Tituss Burgess' Saint Tituss EP cover
Tituss Burgess' Saint Tituss EP cover

On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Tituss Burgess gave us an update on his musical adaptation of the 1996 movie, The Preacher’s Wife – starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. On the late-night talk show, a viewer called in to ask if there had been any updates regarding the show and Burgess shared that:

“ We are very close to signing with a hot-shot producer in New York, which means that the show is closer to appearing in London or here. But there’s also a recent development which could delay it for the better. You’ll find out about it later”

So not only do we know that the musical is still on its way to bless us, but there is an announcement about the show on the way! If you ask me, this is incredibly exciting. Tituss Burgess’ career has gone from stage to screen, and his abilities as an actor and singer are undeniable. Knowing that we are closer to seeing his skills as a musical theatre composer is mad exciting. Watch a clip from the interview above.

While we wait for The Preacher’s Wife Musical, listen to Burgess’ newly released EP Saint Tituss. Burgess sings his face off as he skillfully talks about issues that are personal and political — all while wrapping things up with a joyous celebration of resilience as positivity. He also has two songs that feature Daniel J. Watts including the single 45

St. Tituss is available on Spotify, apple music, and other streaming platforms.

He also has a new movie on the way. “Dolemite Is My Name” starring Eddie Murphy along with Burgess, Mike Epps, Chris Rock, & more will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. A national release date has not been set as of yet but is sure to be on its way.

 

While discussing the new movie during the same interview, Cohen asked Burgess about his relationship with Murphy. The way Cohen presented the question insinuates there might have been a problem between the two because of a ‘problematic past with the gays’ on Murphy’s part. The response given by Burgess is swift and loaded with “you tried it, but you won’t get me”:

“He wasn’t problematic for Tituss. We had a wonderful time. We talked about Dreamgirls and he should have won the Oscasr, I believe. He was great. Any troubles he may have had with gay people I guess are gone because he loved me.”

It is the following facial expression and the interaction that comes afterward that makes live television great. You can see Burgess say something to someone off-camera which leads Cohen to ask what he’s saying. Burgess replies with a soon-to-be iconic response to everything: “Keep going, girl. Do your show.”

and this is why we live.

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Coming Soon

The Public Theater Will Present Hercules Musical & Hercules Is Black!

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The Muses via Hercules film

We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know when. Back in 2017, we reported that a musical adaptation of the Disney movie Hercules would be headed to Broadway. Now we can confirm that is somewhat true.

Hercules will be the latest Disney musical to be made for the stage and will play Off-Broadway at the Public Theater’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park. As the final show of the Shakespeare in the Park season theater season performances will run August 31 through September 8 with a reading set to take place in April.

The role of Hercules will be played by a Black actor, according to the casting notice

The musical will include the Oscar-nominated “Go the Distance, along with other songs from the 1997 animated film by Alan Menken & David Zippel. Presented through an arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions, the show will be directed by Lear deBessonet.  The creative team also includes a book by Kristoffer Diaz, & choreography by Chase Brock.

Before Hercules, Kenny Leon will direct the Much Ado About Nothing May 21 through June 23 to begin the Shakespeare in the Park season.

Casting for all both productions will be announced at a later date

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Twitter: @BroadwayBlack

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