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Page 2 Portland Observer February 23, 1989
“F
u o n tn ilA V H
illlN n
BROADWAY
BOUND
“ •BOJANGLES”
ROJANGLES” ROBINSON
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REPORT
Lee Thompson
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ROSETTA LENOIRE
RECEIVES ACTORS’
EQUITY AWARD IN NEW
YORK
Rosetta LeN oire, god daughter of the
great tap dance star, Bill "B o jan g les”
Robinson, and protege of famed musician, —
Eubie Blake, is a veteran show business
personality. From her beginnings in
revues with Mr. Robinson at age 15,
through her featured performance in Mike
T odd’s 1939 production o f the “ Hot
M ikado’ ’, her Broadway debut and T V ’s
“ A m en” in w hich she appeared as
Sherm an H em sley’s aunt, Ms. LeNoire,
for years before I met her has been a
recognized and respected figure in the
entertainm ent world. She is the original
“ Bubblin’ Brown Sugar,” that prompted
the title of Loften Mitchell’s hit Broadway
m usical that I did attend on its opening
night in the seventies. It w ent on to tour
the world.
AMAS REPERTORY THEATRE
CELEBRA TIN G ITS TW EN TIETH
ANNIVERSARY
The AM AS Repertory Theatre,
currently celebrating its 20th anniversary
season was founded with Ms. LeN oire’s
personal savings in her New York
basem ent in April o f 1969.
“ The
com pany,” Ms. LeN oire said, “ is about
love and am as m eans love in Latin. I
sim ply tty to live my life daily with love
and hope. If you love each one you
meet, then you will find your journey
through life an exciting and informative
holiday.” Right on, “ R osie,” as her
close friends lovingly call her.
Since those m odest beginnings AMAS
has produced over 50 original musical
work. The long-running “ M ama, I W ant
To Sing,” was first presented there. They
have also developed a children’s theatre
w orkshop and several com m unity
outreach program s .y while em phasizing
“ value o f harm ony betw een the races.’’
The current production at AMAS is Micki
G rant’s new musical revue, “ Step Into
My W orld,” which I saw this past week
in New York on opening night, featuring
an exciting cast o f professionals, such as
Jean Cheek, and some very talented
newcomers, Ellen Devem, Martron Gales,
David Girolmo, Evan Matthews, Deborah
W oodson, with dancers, Jennifer Brell
and Jeffrey Dobbs.
The songs have all been taken from
several shows o f M icki G rant who wrote
the Broadw ay hits, “ D on’t Bother M e I
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WAHT TO BUY
YOUR OW H HOME?
M O V E SIX
SPACES FORWARD
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(It'll take ¡ust a few minutes
to see if you can afford a HUD home!)
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If you've worked for two
years for the same employer
(or in the same occupation) and
you have a good credit record,
move ahead 1 space.
START
/ ■ Write the smaller amount of
either space 3 or space 5 here. As a
general rule, that's the maximum
amount you can afford for a
monthly house payment (including
property taxes).
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YOU DID IT!
Stop here and compute your Ad|usted
Income. That's your total gross
monthly income, less federal withhold­
ing taxes. Write your answer here and
move on.
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number in space 6 is more than
$550, then chances are good
that HUD has an affordable
home for you. Your next move
is to call your real estate
agent.
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Low monthly payments
and 3% down!
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Most of our HUD homes
are approved for FHA
Mortgage Insurance, which
makes them more afford­
able than ever. Plus, HUD's
bid process is easy
For listings of HUD homes
available now, look for our
big real estate classified ad
in every Friday and Sunday
Oregonian.
Multiply your Adjusted Income (from
space 2) by 0.38, then subtract $150 and
write the answer here. Then move on to
the next space.
Add up all your monthly debts (car,
loan, credit purchase, credit card,
child support and alimony payments
you owe every month) and then
add $150. Fill in the total here
and go to space 5.
^HUD
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If
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
ç 1989 by HUD, Portland Office.
You're almost home. Multiply
your Adjusted Income (from
space 2) by 0.53, subtract
the amount on space 4,
and write the result here.
Now move along.
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PLEASE NO TE: Individual circumstances vary as
do lenders' requirements fo r qualifying a prospective
buyer for a home mortgage The formula here is
intended only to provide you with a general idea o f how
a lender may view your financial condition as it applies
to a home purchase. For further information on loon
requirements, talk to your real estate agent or local lender
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by Garland
Rosetta LeNoire o f “ G im m e A B reak’ ’
and “ A m en” on T V , my dear friend,
mentor, founder and artistic director of
the AM AS “ Repertory Company of New
York has been selected as the first recipient
of an award established by Actors’ Equity
A sso c ia tio n to h o n o r “ a rtistic
contributions to the universality o f the
experience in the American T heatre” .
The Award, to be named in honor o f Ms.
LeN oire will be presented each year to a
deserving person or institution.
W HILE SHE IS STILL ALIVE TO
ENJOY IT
I spoke with Rosetta in New York this
past week while I was in the city at the
opening o f the new m usical revue at her
theatre and she beamed as she said how
wonderful it was that Colleen Dewhurst,
famed actress and president of the 40,000-
m ember actors’ union o f professionals
and stage managers had presented the
new Award to Rosetta “ w hile she was
still alive” and able to receive it and
enjoy it.
She was praised for her
com m itm ent to the concept o f non-
traditional casting, a practice long
supported by Equity. Ms. Dewhurst
said, “ W e believe Ms. LeN oire fully
exem plifies these practices in her life
and with the extraordinary institution,
AM AS Repertory C om pany"
The presentation was at the opening
celebration of E quity’s observance of
Black History Month, Monday, February
6,1989 at Theatre Four, the home o f the
long running Negro Ensem ble Company
in New York. Another dear friend of
mine, who is co-founder with me of the
Frank Silvera W riters’ Workshop (1973),
actress/director Billie Allen, directed this
portion of the program. Also given was
a performance by Equity’s Black History
M onth Repertory Company of a scene
from “ A nnaL ucasta” in which Rosetta
LeN oire appeared years ago along with
the late Frank Silvera on Broadway.
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C an’t C o p e ," “ Your Arms Are Too
Short To Box W ith G od” and a host of
Off and Off-Off Broadway shows. Micki
Grant’s long list o f shows, many of which
were directed by the highly acclaim ed
African A m erican woman director,
Vinnette Carrol, the person who first
introduced me personally to Rosetta
LeN oire and her theatre in 1973 after I
had stage managed and casted for Vinnette
Carrol in H ollyw ood back in 1967 and at
her ow n Theatre where actor, Sherm an
Hemsley and many others developed
and w orked before starring on TV in
Hollywood.
R osetta LeNoire, M icki G rant and
Vinnette Carrol, three great African
American women o f the theatre have
contributed so m uch to the theatre and to
those o f us who have known them
throughout the years. Right on to African
A merican women o f the theatre and its
great history during this Black History
M onth, 89.
CORRECTION OF AFRICAN NOBEL
PRIZE W IN N ER ’S NAME
A couple o f weeks ago I reported in
this colum n an article about the African
Nobel Prize winner whose name was
m is-spelled after we looked it up in an
earlier piece seen in another African
American W eekly here in town. The
correct spelling o f this world-known
author should be “ W ole” Soyinka and
not “ W ohle.” Mr. Soyinka is one of
N igeria’s most famous literary figures.
Right on, W ole Soyinka. W e hope to
present his plays and works here in this
city soon, for all of the com m unity to see
and understand why he is such a powerful
w riter o f African descent.
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PUBLIC NOTICE
THE STATE OF
OREGON
Senior Services Division and the
18 district area agencies on aging
may be developing requests for
proposals (RFP) during 1989; to
purchase some or the following
services:
Interested providers, be aware that
some service locations may be
extremely rural . Organizations
wishing to have their organizations
on a mailing list for RFP’s must
submit their request to:
Home care
Personal care
Nutrition (Congregate/Home
delivered meals)
Nutrition (Site management)
The agency(ies) may reject any
proposal not in compliance with
all prescribed public bidding
procedures and requirements, and
may reject for good cause any or all
proposals upon a finding of the
agency(ies) it is in the public
interest to do so.
Dexter Henderson
Senior Services Division
313 Public Service Bldg.
Salem, OR 97310
(503) 378-6087
Indicate in writing the type(s) of
service for which you wish to
com plete, along with any
geographic restriction, to the the
above address not later than
march 10,1989.
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