Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, April 25, 2012, Page 9, Image 9

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    A p ril 2 5 . 2012
®l?* Fortiani» (Dbserurr
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
O pinion
VooK^P Me^lrt<3Vy W K . ,
A W ^V < W M W ¿ 0R/WÏ3M©-
IÑ otte W o WHAT lx>ok£p - fr&lK /\
- 1 ) ^ A FoT^AVVy
:
IteWAV peNie^ <
< -
T FeAREDfoR
6 » --
UY UF^
A
Page 9
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I sm all H allw ay)
K DEVICE
THiT G oes
"BWOK'JP
7oo PRteK
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services): $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wooly.
$40.00Minimum
Opening Up New Avenues for Black Actors
Making inroads
on Broadway
by M arc
H. M orial
L ik e H o lly w o o d ,
B roadw ay has h istori­
cally been reluctant to
cast A frican A m eri­
c an s in m a in stre am
c la s s ic s , e s p e c ia lly
those originally c re ­
ated for w hite thespi-
a n s . B u t, u n lik e
“T in se lto w n ,” the “G reat W hite
W ay” has m oved m uch m ore force­
fully in recent years to open up new
avenues for black actors.
T he latest exam ple is a new all­
black revival o f T ennessee W ill­
iam s’ Pulitzer Prize w inning play, “A
S treetcar N am ed D esire,” w hich
o p en ed A pril 22 at B ro a d w a y ’s
B roadhurst T heatre.
M a rlo n B ra n d o a s S ta n le y
Kowalski first scream ed the immortal
line, “Hey Stella” in 1947when “Street­
car” originally prem iered on B road­
way. T he other leading m em bers o f
that original cast included Kim Hunter,
as S tan ley ’s w ife, Stella; Jessica
Tandy as Stella’s delusional sister,
B lanche D uBois; and Karl M alden as
B lanche’s scorned suitor, M itch. The
story centers around the em otional
unravelling o f Blanche, a Southern
belle hiding a tawdry past, who moves
into Stanley and S tella’s N ew
O rleans apartm ent causing all
m an n er o f conflict and trag ­
edy.
In this first all-black Broad­
way revival, Blair U nderw ood
is cast as the brutish Stanley;
D aphne R u b in -V eg a plays
his w ife, Stella; N icole Ari
P ark er is B lanche; and W ood
B yrd and Jones are the A frican
In the 1970s w e saw Broadw ay
A m erican producers w ho brought p lay s like P u rlie , R aisin , A in ’)
the all-black revival o f another T e n ­ M isbehaven, and The W iz. With
nessee W illiam s m asterpiece, “C at the 80s cam e show s like D ream girls
on a H ot T in R o o f ’ to B roadw ay in and a num ber o f plays by the greal
2008. T hat play, w hich w on the A ugust W ilson, including Fences
L aurence O livier A w ard for Best and Jitney. A nd since the 90s p ro ­
R evival o f a Play, starred T errence ductions like B ring in ‘da Noise.
H ow ard, A nika Noni Rose, Phylicia Bring in ‘da Funk, T he C olor Purple,
R ashad and Jam es Earl Jones.
Fela and S ister A ct have attracted
From 1890 to 1910, m ost o f the m ainstream audiences.
blacks on B roadw ay w ere featured
W hile these pro d u ctio n s have
in A frican A m erican m instrel shows, resulted in m ore w ork for black a c ­
playing to all-w hite audiences. In tors, Stephen B yrd and A lia Jones
are still a rarity as full-tim e A frican
A m e ric an B ro a d w ay p ro d u c e rs.
B lack su p erstar en tertain ers like
A licia Keys, W ill Sm ith, Jay -Z ,Jad a
P in k e tt, W h o o p i G o ld b e rg an d
O prah W infrey are m aking inroads
as B roadw ay producers, but there is
obviously room for m any m ore.
W e w ant to congratulate Stephen
Byrd and Alia Jones and their aw ard­
w inning d irecto r Em ily M ann, for
the 1920’s com posers like Eubie bringing this new all-black revival
B lake and N oble Sissle popularized o f “ A Streetcar N am ed D esire” to
the black B roadw ay m usical. But it B roadw ay. W e c a n ’t w ait to see the
w a sn ’t until the 1935 production o f usually d eb o n air B lair U nderw ood
G eorge G ersh w in ’s Porgy and B ess in a t-shirt scream ing, “H ey Stella.”
that A frican A m ericans really hit it
Marc H. Morial is president and
big on B roadw ay. T he m om entum chief executive officer o f the Na­
has co ntinued to build.
tional Urban League.
> ...z7 wasn't until the 1935production
o f George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
that African Americans really hit it
big on Broadway. The momentum has
continued to build.
t
H arris is cast as M itch. Five-tim e
G ram m y w inning ja z z trum peter,
T errence B lanchard has co m posed
original m usic fo r the play.
T h e revival is being co-produced
by S tep h en B yrd, fo u n d er o f Front
R ow P roductions and his business
partner, A lia Jones.
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services): $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet - x
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949