Page 4 The Portland Observer
May 16. 1990
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WW E ntertainment bfiiBiBOBl
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P ulse & I mpulse : A M odern D ance S howcase
: B chind
by Lisa Collins
Ann M arie Jo h nson’s Biggest C hal­
lenge: Consenauve-she hates the term,
but it is perhaps the best to describe
Ann Mane Johnson, as well as Althea
Tibbs, the c harae ter she play s on NBC’s
top rated “ Heat of the Night ”. Last
season, Johnson’s role was pumped up,
due to the absence of co-star Howard
Rollins, sidetracked much of the season
due to problems stemming from a co­
caine dependency. “ When Howard
was gone for those five weeks, they
needed to concentrate on that second
crew and that was me,” Johnson says,
while being caught on guard at the
mention of Rollins, (and seeming to
want to stay off the issue). “ We used
the time to make Althea a little more
tangible. .. let her hair down. She dealt
with a lot of social problems. It was a
good season. It was nice to get some
attention and when he came back, it
ended.’’ But not before she was able to
prove that they’d hired a qualified ac­
tress. Fact is, Johnson says she has
nothing in common with her TV counter­
part. “ I’m an extreme militant. Ann
Marie Johnson speaks her mind much
more readily than Althea Tibbs would
ever. I don’t even look like her,’’ she
said pointing to her ruffled hair and ma­
keup. (She wears very little makeup
when she is not working.) However,
Johnson’s biggest challenge is getting
others to believe it. Presently on hiatus
and back at home in Los Angeles, Johnson
is hoping to stretch out with other film
opponumties-the chance to play a char­
acter nothing like Althea Tibbs. “ I live
off challenges,” Johnson said. “ After
all, acting is what 1 was bom to do.”
Meanwhile, “ Heat” casunate Geoffrey
Thorne, who is perhaps more brilliant
than he is “ Sweet,” doubled as a play­
wright last month, with the Los Ange­
les debut of * ‘Fall. ’ ’ The three-act play,
written and produced by Thome, and
presently running in Los Angeles, is a
contemporary drama that shows yet
another side of his multifaceted talent.
On the home front, word has it up-and-
coming recording artist Christopher Wil­
liams is soon to be a daddy... Also that
former Motown mogul Berry Gordy is
all set to tie the knot.
The Hollywood Beat: Kareem Abdul
Jabbar, newly retired from basketball,
just can’t seem (or perhaps doesn’t want)
to stay out of the limelight for long.
The hoopster just recently netted the
role of executive producer in an up-
Multnomah County Library Friends Gallery
coming movie called “ Recruiting Vio­
lations.’ ’ The film is about the relation­
ship between a white coach and his top
black college recruit. Kareem will use
this project to get his feet wet on the
production end of filmmaking. . . Mean­
while Sheryl Lee Ralph who intends to
stay very much in front of the camera,
just landed the leading lady role in
“ Randall and Juliet” , opposite Rich­
ard Dreyfuss. But, don’t let the title
confuse you. Ralph will play a cleaning
woman who opens the eyes of a com­
pany CEO to corporate backstabbing .
Short Takes: Danny Glover and El
DeBarge were part of a group of celeb­
rities making the trek to Oakland to
lend moral support to gospel star
Tramaine Hawkins as she taped her
first live video. . . In Los Angeles,
Spike Lee was honored with the Orson
Wells filmmaking award during the
American Film Institute’s annual film
festival. . . And A nita Baker is off and
running this week on her first world­
wide tour, with sold-out dates in Japan,
London and New York City. The tour
coincides with the release of her third
album, titled “ Compositions” . The
lead single “ Talk To Me” debuts this
week.
REGGAE SUNSPLASH
SHOW MOVED
presents
A STRO NG ER SOUL
W I T H I N A F IN E R F R A M E
Reggae S unsplash '90 concert,
originally scheduled at the Masonic
Temple, has been moved to the Sch-
nitzer Concert Hall, Portland. The
show time has also been changed
from 8:00 to 7:30. Tickets are SI 7.50
(not including service charge). Tick­
ets available at all Fred Meyer FAS-
TLXX outlets, Everybody’s Ticket
Centers, the Coliseum and Portland
Center for the Performing Arts box
office. Fore more ticket information,
call 224-TIXX.
Portraying
African-Americans in
the Black Renaissance
MAY 7
■
JUN E 2 0
Friends Gallery
Third Floor Rotunda
Central Library
801 S.W. 10th Ave.,
Profile of Dancer/Choreographer Ruby Burns of the Oregon Dance Consort
Depositing her infant daughter on a
secure spot of the studio floor and strip­
ping off several layers of African-in-
spired fashions, dancer Ruby Bums picks
up a large American flag and starts to
swirl it around. A flag?! Yes, indeed.
With a well-established reputation as
one of the region’s top interpreters and
teachers of African dance, Ruby is
branching out to explore the vocabu­
lary of American modem dance—and
American modern dance in the 90s is a
many-faceted artform.
It’s not such a huge leap for Ruby as
it sounds: trace any modem dance style
back to its roots and you’ll find that the
early pioneers drew heavily on folk and
ethnic themes for inspiration in their
work. Ruby herselfhas been greatly in­
spired by the work of modem dance
pioneer Katherine dunham who based
her style directly on various forms of
African dance.
Today, African dance is a highly
visible, enthusiastically received part
of Portland’s cultural scene, but when
Ruby arrived here in 1978 as a refugee
from New York City, this was harldy
the case. As a faculty member at Danc­
ers’ Workshop, as a choreographer and
performer, Ruby has played a vital role
in focusing attention on the diversity
and power of African forms of music
and dance. Now, in her recent and
upcoming work with the modem dance
company Oregon Dance Consort, she’s
building more bridges and utilizing her
powerful stage personality to interpret
dramatic works from another tradition.
New Location:
Portland Observer
4747 N.E. Martin Luther
king, Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
Portland
A free exhit>: organized by the University of M "nesota Art Museum with
funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Local Does Good , . .
. . . Found Within The z
Pages of Jet Magazine
I
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31 NW FIRST
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1
2 2 3 -9 9 1 9
M ay
T hurs
COLUMBIA THEATER
D el A
mitrti w
-17
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S tring
ed
COMPANY PRESENTS
A PLAY BY
F r i & S at 18 & 19
C urtis S a l g a d o &
JOHN FORD NOONAN
T he S tillettos
DIRECTED BY
PETER F0RNARA
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S u n .
L ittle W
M
THUR. FRI. SAT.
o r n in g
Stephine Sawyer, a native of
Portland, is on tour with the
Ebony Fashion Fair. Recently
featured w ith Paula Abdul and
Janet Jackson on the cover
page of Jet magazine-look for
Stephine in the May issue.
Best wishes to her.
on
21
F irst P erson
8 :0 0 PM
T ues
SUN. MAY 2 0 & 27
22
R a g in R o x
2 :0 0 PM
2 0 2 1 SE
& M
‘ S tar B a n d
MAY 4 - JUNE 2
The Main Ingredient (Cuba Gooding and Tony Silvester),
whose album I Just Wanna Loxe You, have resumed their place
as innovators among vocal groups, and their tasty musical
menu proves that they have The Main Ingredient for success.
Since the making o f their album, Jerome Jackson, form er lead
singer of the Nobles, has become the lastest member of the Main
Ingredient.
omen
20
T o a d &
W
ed
23
the
W
et
S pro ckets
BLVD.
SAT., MAY 26
6 p.m. - m idnight
RESERVATIONS
2 3 2 -7 0 0 5
$15.00 advance reserve (thru Ticfretmoiter)
$17.00 at-the-door
Support Our Advertisers!
Say You Saw It In The
KEYLARGO
31 NW FIRST
223-9919
Portland Observer!
Salem Arm ory
FIT THE FAIRGROUNDS
THE PARTV OF THE DECODE
★ TCIEVISED
Ron Steen
Dave Catney
Deirdre Ward
Brian Connelly
Pablo Marquez
Dorien de Leon
Serqiu Luca
Greer Ellison
Kenneth Goldsmith
Jerry Hahn
Laura Hunter
Nancy King
Terry King
DANCE CONCERT
Possible G uest lis t
Ucofc
Crozvfl s
Borneo
U-K'euj
T oa ^ o
u Generi
DANCING WITH DOC
TH< TV SHOW
★ FCA TURING
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AND DEUS VULT
DANCE COMPANIES
★ Join th e fun w ith the
# 1 p a rty anim al
★ SEE THE
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’oneLoc
BEST DANCERS/
MUSICIANS LIVE
★ This is n o t a
PLEASE CALL TONY
AT T1IE PORTLAND
OBSERVER EOR
i rle tickets :::::
@MS-0033 call S o » :
s it-d o w n e v e n t
com e p re p a re d to
p a rty h a rd y
Performances at $12.50 per person will be held
Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. on
June 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th at the Otis
Firehall. For further flyer or ticket information, call
994-5999
Brenda P hillips
And
A nthony P. A rm strong
\
PRESENTS
May 12 - June 3
Call 690-7328