J anuary 05, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age 4
ENTERTAINMENT
NPR Celebrates Black H¡story Month
Actress Esther Rolle (top left) in “
“Juke Jo:nts & Jubilee"; James Reese Europe and his Harlem Hellfighters Band (bottom right) in
Horizons' “Fanfare for the Warriors”; George Clinton (bottom left) in Afropop Worldwide.
Coming in February, many Na­
tional Public Radio (NPR) member
stations nationw ide will air a mix of
documentary, music and cultural pro­
gram s in celebration of Black History
M onth.
A two-part documentary, “Aint
G onna Be Treated This W ay,” ex­
plores the experience o f A frican
Americans in the Great Depression.
Hosted by award-winning theatre and
television actress Esther Rolle, the
programs use folksongs from the Li­
brary of congress, eyew itness a c ­
counts, archival recordings, and rarely
heard period blues in its presentation
o f black social history in the '2 0 s and
'3 0 s.
Now in its fifth season, the re­
nowned series AFROPOP W ORLD­
W IDE presents four special programs
in addition to its regular, weekly of­
ferings. From gospel in A labam a to
soca in Trinidad, from Afro-Atlantic
women vocalists to soukous from
Z aire, A FRO PO P W O RLD W ID E
will demonstrate the global influence
o f A frican-rooted m usical styles.
G e o rg e C lin to n , B ob M a rle y ,
L ad y sm ith B lack M am bazo and
K anda Bongo Man are among the
diverse perform ers featured on these
special AFROPOP W ORLDW IDE
program s throughout the month of
February.
In another NPR special, The
United States Marine Band pays trib­
ute to African American composers.
Under the direction o f Colonel John
R. Bourgeois, “The President’sO w n”
will perform Fela Sow ande’s African
Suite, M arvin C urtis’ “The City on
the H ill” (w ith the Philander-Smith
College Choir), “Solemn Prelude” by
Ulysses Kay, and Ronald Hockett’s
a rra n g e m e n t “ From R a g tim e to
Sw ing” featuring w orks by Scott
Joplin “Jelly Roll” M orton, Duke
Ellington and Fats W aller. This hour­
long program is produced by Andy
Trudeau.
Bringing together the music of
the house party, the roadhouse and
the church, “Juke Joints & Jubilee”
features and exuberant blend o f secu­
lar and sacred music created by black
A m e ric a n s. H o ste d by N P R ’s
Vertamae Grosvenor, this two-hour
special showcases the talents o f the
soulful, hard-rockin’ Holm es Broth­
ers, singer/pianist F ontella Bass,
North Carolina bluesm an and juba
dancer John Dee Holeman, and the
dynamic gospel quartet, The Birming­
ham Sunlights. “Juke Joints & Jubi­
lee” is produced by NPR and the Na­
tional Council for the Traditional Arts.
National Public Radio has been
producing culture and information
programs on and by African Ameri­
cans since the m id-1970s and has
displayed its com m itm ent to the cel­
ebration of B lack History Month since
1979. NPR has won numerous awards
for its ongoing effort to present diver­
sity in American life. There are nearly
490 m ember station nationwide.
“ SISTER ACT 2: BACH IN THE H A B IT ”
Top: W hen Deloris Van Cartier-
-alias Sister M ary Clarence (Acad­
em y A w a rd w in n e r W h o o p i
Go!dberg)--is confronted with a
classroom fu ll o f unruly teenagers,
she gives them a lesson they’ll never
forget and sets out to turn the trouble­
makers into a first-rate hip-hop gos­
pel choir, in Touchstone Pictures’
new comedy with music, "Sister Act
2: Back in the H abit.’’ Below: In ­
spired by Deloris ’ personal brand o f
wisdom, the nuns at St. Catherine’s,
including (left to right) Sisters Mary
Lazarus ( Mary Wickes), Mary Rob­
ert (W endy M akkena) and Mary
Patrick (Kathy Najimy) prepare to
send their less-than-angelic hip-hop
gospel choir on the road. (Right)
Whoopi Goldberg stars as Deloris
Van Cartier who goes undercover as
Sister Mary Clarence to help her old
friends, the nuns at St. Catherine’s
Convent. James Coburn and Maggie
Sm ith also star. A Touchstone Pic­
tures presentation, "Sister A ct 2:
Back in the Habit” is directed by Bill
Duke from a screenplay written by
Jam es Orr & Jim Cruickshtmk and
J u d i A n n Mason, based on charac­
ters created by Joseph Howard. The
film is produced by Dawn Steel and
Scott Rudin and the executive pro­
ducers are Laurence M ark and
Mario Iscovich. Co-executive pro­
ducer is Christopher Meledandri.
Buena Vista Pictures distributes.
Photo by: Suzanne Hanover
PIQ’ s Life Hangs By A Thread!
the Oregon Children's Theatre Company production of Cnarlotte's
Web. Photo by Owen Carey
E.B. W hite’s delightful talc of
barn y ard co m rad ery , C h a rlo tte ’s
W eb, will take the stage at Civic
A uditorium in January. Launching
O re g o n
C h ild r e n ’s
T h e a tre
C om pany’s sixth season and featur­
ing the talents o f local professional
a c to rs an d th e a tre te c h n ic ia n s ,
C harlotte’s W eb will play to a sold-
out audience of 39,000 from January
6-14, with two public perform ances
scheduled for Sunday, January 9 at 1
PM and 3 PM. Suitable for the whole
family, the production will introduce
audiences to an im periled pig named
W ilbur; Tem pleton the rat; Fern, the
young girl who tries to protect Wilbur;
and C harlotte, the feisty spider who
uses her wits and her web to save him
from the slaughterhouse.
C harlotte’s W eb is under the di­
rection o f Stan Foote, well known to
Portland audiences for this work with
Triangle Production and his direc­
tion o f dozens of musicals for Lake-
w ood Theatre Com pany, including
the recent acclaim ed production of
Sondheim ’s Into the Woods. T hecast
features M ars W estin as Charlotte,
Alan H. King as the rcportcr/narra-
tor, Eric Jam es Hadley as W ilbur, and
R. Dee as templeton. Teresa Kuffncr,
a sophomore at St. M ary’s Academy,
is Fern, and Josh N ielsen, a fourth
grader at Stafford Primary School in
W est Linn plays her brother Avery.
Their parents, the Arabics, arc played
by Rene Nichols and Mitchel Evans,
a regular on the ABC/Jim Henson
production Dinosaurs who is currently
appearing in comfort and Joy for Stark
Raving Theatre. A trio of baby spi­
ders will be portrayed by N icole
C onnolly-Sm ith, a first grader at
HallinanElcmcntary School, five year
old James Stone, and Hayley Maureen
Barrett, who has appeared in the movie
Single Dad. Fanciful C rittcrcostum es
for the show are being constructed by
designer Billy Rose.
Oregon Children ’ s Theatre Com ­
pany continues its tradition o f quality
live theatre at affordable prices for
students and families. Tickets for the
public perform ances are $7.00 to
$12.00, and can be purchased at GI
Joe’s, the PCPA Box O ffice or by
callingCharge-by-Phoncat224-4400.
A special subscription rate for the
season, which also includes TheLion,
the W itch and the W ardrobe on May
1, is available through OCTC at 228-
9571. ARTSCARD tickets can be pur­
chased through the PCPA Box Office.
"The 'COOL RUNNINGS' of
basketball films."
- Paul Wunder. WBAI-FM
Jimmy Dolan went to Africa to recruit
a new player. What he found was
a whole new ballgame.
TH E C U LTU R A L BAND
by
D an B ell
T here is a little known band com ­
prised o f middle school students that
has not had m uch publicity. This is an
interesting band due to the fact that
m ost o f the students involved in this
band come from our own community.
T he band in question is the Cultural
Recreation Band.
T he band evolved from the re­
sults o f a com m unity survey in which
children were asked if there was an
alternative to athletics, such as base­
ball, basketball and football, and this
alternative was music would the child
be interested in becoming involved.
T he answ er was a categorical yes.
The program began in June of
1992. Itran five daysaw eek at Ockley
G reen Middle School The program
w as funded by private donations, and
other entities such as Black United
Fund, and the M etropolitan Arts
Foundation.
The 150 m em ber band is com-
prised of two divisions. 1) The ad­
vance band in which there are 45
members, and 2) the beginning band.
The Cultural Recreation Band is
a concert band made up of woodwind
and brass instruments. The material
they play is classical and some m ili­
tary pieces.
By playing this material in their
repertoire, the students are introduced
to m usic outside o f their normal expe­
rience. The staff has a unique ap­
proach to working with the children
under their tutelage.
Ronnie Harrison, A ssistant D i­
rector for the band states that if achild
gets caught stealing instead o f expel­
ling him or her from the band they
find more things for them to do. Every
child isem braced and the staff, unlike
most agencies, is committed not to
abandon anyone.
Barry Stevens, is a 13 year sev­
enth grade student at W hitaker. He
has been playing with the band since
he was eleven.
He comments that he loves to
play clarinet and most enjoys classi­
cal music. When commenting about
his peers who are involved in gangs,
he say s that gangs do not get m uc h out
of their activity, and that in the long
run if you get into trouble that you
have to suffer the consequences by
yourself. Because the gang members
aren’t going to help. Barry gets good
to average grades, but he says playing
in the band motivates him to achieve.
The Cultural Recreation Band is
under the W orld Arts Foundation
umbrella. Michael G rice o f World
Arts Foundation, the Portland Park
B ureau’s, Charles Jordan and David
Jordan work together to see to the
Cultural Recreation band adminis­
trative needs.
The day to day staff are Greg
McKelvey Director, Ronnie Harrison
Assistant Director and Thara Memory
Head Brass instructor. There is also 8
students instructors who work with
the staff.
Mr. Harrison furthercom m entcd
on the need for community support.
Primarily in the m anner o f attending
the various public concerts. He sites
that the band is a community treasure
that for the most part works with
children within the community. He
said there is also a need for financial
support as well. For those interested
they may make their donations to the
W orld Arts Foundation.
Mr. Harrison also says that the
Cultural Recreation Band is in need
o f a perm anent location.
Unlike sports where the em pha­
sis is on personal achicve-m ent to
participate, the Cultural Recreation
Band provides young people an op­
portunity to participate in a group activ­
ity regardless of level of expertise.
Attend one o f their future con­
certs. Remember children are ourm ost
important resources.
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