fist
ENTERTAINMENT
# ★
★
★
★
BEHIND T H E ;
SCENES
tt
Blacks H onored By Blacks F o r T h e ir Excellence In F ilm : Sidney Poitier
gave both a tearfull and touching acceptance speech upon receiving the
pioneer’ s award at the annually held Black Oscar Nominees Dinner. The
starstudded black-tie affair is hosted by a group o f East Coast black
businessmen to honor the achievements o f black oscar nominees who a ll too
often leave the celebrated award ceremonies w ithout the trophy. The group
also honors those who may have been overlooked. This year, it did a little
o f both, presenting awards to the Academy’ s two, lone black nominees
(Lam ont Dozier fo r best original song and W illie Burton for best sound
engineering), as w ell as handling out awards to Eddie M urphy and Forest
W hitaker, who many think should have been nominated fo r his outstanding
performance in “ B ird ,-th e life story o f Charlie Parker.
A ve ry B rooks M oo nligh ts A t T he Kennedy C enter: Avery Brooks, star
o f “ A Man Called H aw k” , recently opened his tw o and one-half hour, one-
man show—’ ’ Paul Robeson” —at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Turnout is expected to be near sellout fo r the one-month run. M eanwhile,
by day, Brooks is at work wrapping up this season’ s “ H aw k” episodes.
R & B singer Valerie Simpson (o f” Ashford &Sim pson) w ill guest on the last
episode to air A p ril 29,. An accomplished songwriter, Brooks (who helped
to score the show’ s theme song) penned both o f the tunes Simpson w ill sing
*
IB'DUJME)
ICIEIPCICT
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
ARTS CENTER
Bruce S m ith , ch o re o g ra p h e r/
drummer, like “ Bruce Lee” in red
tasseled-pants (c o lo rfu l costumes
designed by C honitia Smith), brought
the Northwest A frika n Ballet to the
Portland Center fo r the Performing Arts
Intermediate Theatre on Saturday night,
A p ril 8th, 1989. Caton Lyles, “ the
lio n ,” w ith his dreads and big frame
(lead conga & djembe kalim ba), Bruce
Smith (lead djembe & conga) and Israel
Annoh (on junn & conga) sounded the
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
drum call effectively.
T he scene opened at “ the
Marketplace” in this ideal afnean village
(played by Black Educational Center
com m unity). I l ’ s a boy-becomes-a-
man scene, who then seeks a bride.
They meet and and ‘ 'The Next Morning
scene, i t ’ s love w hile the business o f
*
*
*
head up an all-star tribute to jazz superstar Ella Fitzgerald. The ceremony
is scheduled for A p ril 28th, just three days after her 71st birthday. Am ong
those set to participate are the Pointer S isters, Patti Austin, Dionne W arw ick,
C lin t Eastwood, and Carol Burnett. Funds from the gala w ill go to the
Society o f Singers-a group o ffering assistance to singers in need. A series
o f annual trophies to be known as “ The E llas” has been established. O f
course, E lla w ill be firs t to get one. S h ort Takes: Actress-choreographer
Debbie A llen is still after the title role o f a film chronicling the life o f famed
dancer, Katherine Dunham ...R ichard R oundtree nabbed a m a jo r role in
an upcoming m ovie called” Bad Jim ” w ith John C lark Gable in Bad
Jim ” ...Aretha F ra n klin ’ s next album, “ Through The Storm ” vyill be in the
stores at the beginning o f May. The album features a duet w ith “ the
Godfather o f Soul” James Brown, who is currently servings tim e...And in
other music news, the first cut from “ 2300 Jackson Street —the long-
awaited endpaper on the part o f the Jackson c la n -th e ir fir s t fa m ily e ffo rt
since the V ic to ry to u r, is due o u t la te r th is m on th. The Epic album w ill
be released in M ay, w ith the o ffic ia l lineup o f Jermaine, Jackie, Randy and
T ito. O f course, M ichael and the clan’ s offspring are featured on the title
track...N ext week: we’ ll go backstage a t this ye a r’ s Soul T ra in A w ards.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
★
*
*
(Byltne=Serra Syndication)
G ladys K n ig h t Launches L in e O f H a ir Care P roducts: Gladys Knight is
trying her hand at business with th launching this month o f Knight Nutritional
H air Care Supplements. Thus far, the new venture is comprised o f 17 hair
products, including shampoo cu rl a c tiv a to r, and styling gel. A skin-care
and makeup line are yet to come. Said kn ig h t’ s K n ig h t’ s[s 27-year old
daughter Kenya, who handles much o f her business, the all-natural base line
is “ not geared toward the black hair, but we did have the black hair in m ind
when we formulated the product. We all use it.” Iron ically enough,
manufacturing for the product is done in Canada (Tronto), w hile the main
distributor is based in Las Vegas, where K n igh t makes her home. According
to her daughter, K night has always dreamed o f doing her own hair care line,
and is actually a licensed cosmetologist.
B la ck W om an Sues C a lifo rn ia L o tte ry A n d H its The Ja ckpo t: A
C alifornia black woman, Doris Barnett, was awarded $3 M illio n in her suit
against the C alifornia Commission. The 54-year old nurse filed a lawsuit in
LOs Angeles Superior C ourt three years ago, when a $3 m illio n “ Big Spin
prize was denied her after her prize landed in the $3 -m i Ilion slot, but seconds
after being declared a winner, the ball popped out and into a $10,000 slot.
A ll this happened in a televised ceremony. She refused to cash the $ 10,000
check that was mailed to her sometime later. Instead, she filed suit. Lottery
o fficia ls argued that it was the announcer w ho’ d made a mistake in
announcing her a winner before the mandatory five-second w aiting period
was up. Nonetheless, at the tim e o f this printing state lottery o fficia ls had not
decided whether or not they would challenge the ju r y ’ s verdict w ith an
anneal The C alifornia woman was also awarded $400,000 in damages.
G M ’ s Black Employees A sk F o r R e d ra ft o f $3 M illio n Settlem ent:
C alling themselves the ‘Concerned Black Salaried Employees” , a group
representing several hundred salaried black workers at General Motors has
¡said they w ill file a petition opposing a $3 m illio n scttlc-ment o f their
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
life
in the v illa g e goes on.
“ Waterbearers./Kina” dances were
performed by the women dancers,
choreographed by Bruce Smith.
“ The Boot Dance,” w ith Michael
H all (who also danced the role o f “ the
Young Man/Groom), Jerome Bumette,
Dwayne Golden and John Berry, who is
credited w ith Bruce Smith, fo r the Boot
Dance choreography, gave the large
turn-out audience a good h int o f the
concept. But we needed the sounds and
power o f more energy o f Africa to truely
make their “ brand new rubber boots”
sound and feel like the actual Z ulu
tribemen in Southern Africa. It’s always
a problem for American dancers or actors
unless they’ ve been there or trained by
Southern A frican teachers. It was a
short firs t act o f pageantry in the Y oung
man’ s rite o f passage,” preparation for
a search for a bride and a potential
wedding.
The important thing that was missing
during the bright, co lo rful concert
evening (besides the some o f the dancers
having problems keeping beads and
headdresses on), w ith its simple rituals
o f the life in an idealic A frican
com m unity, was the correct A frican
singing and more drama to heighten the
excitement o f the theatrical event. In
the firs t act, the “ Young couple ’ ’ meet
again to solidy their relationship
(performed by Nalaika Sm ith, Michael
Hall and choreographed by Ruby Bums).
And this new relationship gave us some
small measure o f a dramatic event. The
question that comes to mind: Is the
Northwest A frika n Ballet Company
giving us a concert w ith various dances
or a small ballet w ith a simple book and
dramatic plot?
(A note in the program has a picture
o f Egyptian Pharoah, Akhenaton and
his mother, Queen T iy, whom the caption
says, was also the mother o f “ the famous
boy king, Tutankhamen (K ing Tut). It
must be noted that while the great Queen
T iy raised young Tut, after the death o f
Akhenaton, it is not confirm ed that she
was his actual biological mother, but
probably his grandmother and or, o f
course, his god-mother. We don’ t want
to confuse our children o f Black History
at the Black Educational Center, now
★
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
do we?)
T H E STOREFRONT T H E A T R E
D E A L S P L A Y W R IG H T Y E A T S ’
SUPER H ER O E S
The Storefront Theatre reached into
its kinky bag o f theatrical tricks and
came up with, “ The Cuchulain Cycle,”
the Irish o f Iris h ' ‘ heavy m etal” mystic
* * * * * * ¥
J
*
*
*
*
five verse-plays o f the apparent ‘ ‘ father
*
o f the modem Irish Theatre, W illia m
*
Butler Yeats (played grandly by actor
Fritz Congdon in the “ Interludes” during *
*
the performence).
You can take your dinner or lunch to *
see this “ fu ll meal o f theatre” (3 & 1/ *
2 hrs) w ith super heroes and “ she-
*
roes” (Vana O ’ Brien, Trisia Todd,
A lyson A y n Osborn and Robin *
C hilstrom ) as gaelic as the Noh and *
Butoh plays are Japanese. Ric Young, *
who obviously believes that he was
*
Japanese in another life , directs the
*
opening Yeats piece, “ A tT h e H aw k’ s
W e ll” (1917) in the style and form o f *
the Japanese Nohy play (as the w riter *
intended). It makes a great mystery *
opener, to draw the audience into the
*
deeply m ystical “ astral plane” w orld
o f bird-gods and a quest for the healing *
water o f eternal life. The good magic *
s tu ff o f which comic book super-heroes *
are made. The thing that d id n ’ t work *
for me was the fig h t scene that lac
*
collision, punch and power. I thought
*
“ the bird-god, Guardian o f the W e ll”
(played by Evan Knapp) was great mime, *
but just appeared like it was going to get *
sick and “ throw up” instead o f fight *
“ Chuchulain, as a Young M an” on a
*
construction-site unhinged version o f
*
Stonehenge (by Henk Pander).
The super-hero o f the second piece, *
T h e
“ The Green H elm et” (1910) directed
by M ichael Griggs, even has a helmet
that rolls on little wheels across the
stage, remote controlled as the actors
speak. Complete w ith comic book
“ pop” signs that appear for a ll the
blood and gore “ super slo-m o” fig ht
scenes w ith great costumes (by Jane E.
Herrold) and masks (by R ick Bartow &
Daniel Fagereng. Griggs plays it for
“ camp” and a big “ laugh-in-drag.”
There is a “ Cat Person” w ith long
nails, (played by Evan Knapp) in mime
w ith no lines, at the feet o f “ The Red
Man, A S p irit’ ’ (played by Ted Roisum,
“ the voice” ), that really held all the
mystery and threat for my taste, in this
“ high-camp” masquerade.
*
Ric Young also designed the costumes
in three o f the plays, one o f which in
“ A t The H aw k’ s W e ll,” “ blow me
away,” when I discovered that “ The
Old M an” (played pow erfu llly by A1
Strobel) had an outrageous costume with
only one arm that kept me m arvelloing
after, and trying to see how w e ll they
had covered the actor’s arm. I thought,
what an interesting devise, only to
discover in the second play, “ The Green
Helmet,” and the third play, “ On Baile’s
Strand” (1904), directed by Allan Nause,
that actor, A1 Strobel, was playing “ The
Blind Man,” who was also “ one-armed”
(the actor’ s true handicap). Strobel
moved w ell and would fa ll all over the
set and deck w ith incredible s k ill and
ease. (So much for “ handicap-blind”
casting in this production.)
“ The Death O f Cuchulain” (1939),
directed by Keith Scales (Supervising
*
Director/dramaturg, credited w ith the
idea o f entire five-play project) used
the concept o f the Northwest Native
Am erican dress (again costumes are by
Ric Young) to close out the evening and
the final play w ritten by W illia m B.
Yeats, neats his death in 1939. The
problem that I had here is the “ playboy”
tanktop bra-less costume for the woman,
“ Eithne Inguba” (played by Trisha
Todd), that would offend Indian tribes
and tne non-climatic final dance moment
that could have worked better.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
affirm ative action lawsuit. C alling the terms o f the agree ment evasive
and not relative to their concerns, the group is hoping a federal court judge
w ill grant their petition fo r a redrafting o f the original settlement. General
Motors is standing by the settlement, stating that it gives them the chance to
“ redress some perceived inequities and at the same time strengthens G M s
existing systems to ensure a ll receive equitable treatment. ’ ’ A hearing on the
matter is yet to be set
..
. .
W h a t P ric e -W e ig h t Loss? W ell, former comedian turned nutritionist
D ick Gregory’ s charges $ 1,000 per week for his world-famous weight loss
program. The program, personally overseen by Gregory, is available at the
beachfront hotel he purchased in Florida’ s gulf-coast fo r several m illio n
dollars last fall. M eanwhile, G regory’ s Slim Safe Baha-mian liquid diet
form ula reported sales o f about $2.5 m illio n in 1988. Business B riefs: The
nation’ s first talking black d o ll h it the m ail-order marketplace last month
The Shining Star D oll, which was created by Vousctte M ille r ol F oil
Washington, M D , stands 25 inches tall and comes w ith recorded messages
that recite poetry as w ell as historical profiles o f eight prominent black
women...Next week: A black scu lp to r battles in the Supreme C o u rt over
*
*
T H E N O R T H W E S T A F R IK A N
B A L L E T A T T H E P E R F O R M IN G
the second child bom to Kennedy and her husband, B ill Overton.
CBS W ill R o ll W ith W h o op i G oldberg In “ Bagdad Cafe” Lead: New
W orld and CBS have teamed w ith New W orld T V for a half-hour C BS -TV
sitcom based on last year’ s surprise movie h i t - ” Bagdad Cafe.” The
ensemble comedy was purchased by the network for the 1988-89 season. A t
last word, exec producer Zev Braun is now negotiating for a m ajor name to
costar w ith Goldberg, who stars as the proprietor o f a red-neck bar in the
C alifornia desert, populated by oddball barflies. The series has a 13-episode
commitment. According to Braun, Bagdad Cafe “ isn’t yo urtypica l m ovie-
into-series property. T hey’re (CBS) taking a chance here. But...they can
afford to be more daring because they don’ t have as much to lose.”
A ll-S ta r L in e u p F o r G ala T rib u te T o E lla F itzg e ra ld : B ill Cosby w ill
ON THE MONEY
*
By G a rla n d Lee Thom pson
*
*
★
★
★
*
*
*
in the episode-one o f them, a duet.
I t ’s Nobody’s Business B u L .ia k e r’s all-pro guard Earvin “ M agic” Johnson
is quoted as saying that he has never dated actress Robin Givens (as recently
reported in a Supermarket Tabloid), nor does he intend to...On the home
front, actress Jayne Kennedy is set to give b ir th any day now. It w ill be
rig h ts to life-sized sculpture o f homeless fa m ily .
★
★
★
★
ir 1 r 1 r k
Page 5 Portland Observer April 20,1989
e
b
3 1 s t
o
n
A
n n u a l
.
y
*
F
*
a
s h
i o
n
F a ir
*
*
*
^ « 1
*
*
*
*
*
Sponsored b\
*
PORTLAND
CHAPTER
THE LINKS. INC.
*
*
*
FRIDAY
April 21. 1989
8:00 p.m.
University of Portland
Earle A. Chiles Center
5000 N Willamette Bv
Portland. Oregon
*
*
*
*
*
BENEFITING
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Links Educational
& Scholarship Fund
Tickets: $20. & $25.
Tickets Available
Mrs C s Wigs
707 N.E. F.cmonl
House of Sound
3606 N. Williams Ave
Earle A. Chiles Center
5000 N Willamette Blvd
4 )
Ticket prices include one year
su bscrip tio n to EBONY or six m onth ^-to JE T ^
*
*
*
*
IT’S TOUGH TO BE A BLACK HERO
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
I'ortLuul St.itc University
A frican
Am erican
PLAYWH Ir.llT S 8 T U I. II» CRAFT
x L DGACY
GARLAND L F F THOMPSON
P L A Y W R IG H T -F A C IL IT A T O R
SIS " I ® NIT PROBIJCIIW
MWW MV PW1BI1CIWIS. fllff
FWIOIICIIWS
M
I l BUM BI IBI SliCM • I l f W i MÏMS • M i l O T •
'«K • SMC HWS • J i MWI • MW BIBB
- > M -
MB #16 " « *1 6 »m» ~ '6» BUM S «MMM MV . WC 1 SBO
, w WC BNWT1. MNM » - Ï Pilli IkCMlIh - IMI CM« S S «l«f» W WK IX
L IN C O L N H A LL -
ROOM J 19
PORTLAND S T A T E U N IV E R S IT Y
S . N . HROAOWA. A I MARKET ST R EE T
FOR ENROLLM ENT A IN F O R M A T IO N C A L L :
UNDER T i l t
T IIL
ULACR
a r .P "
M A C K S T U D I I S O» P A R V IE N T
NFtlHI'.RGLU H A LL JOB
I S O I» 7 6 4 - M 7 7
L P O N L o R S III P OF
S T U D IE D
D EPA R TN I NT
tM. to-WEr
L
RANCH
7*.
I ’» * ’»
Starts Friday! Mt
•■ *% £ £ -
Ì