It’s a terrific twist of fates! The inspired Disney animated film is now a mythical new musical adventure. Hercules is the divinely funny story of an honest-to-Zeus hero on a quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Is love a possibility too? Oh, Hades, yes! The roof-raising score by Alan Menken and David Zippel features all the hits you love from the film, including the Oscar®-nominated song “Go The Distance,” as well as “Zero to Hero” and “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love),” along with new songs written for the stage. The show features a new book by Tony Award® winner Robert Horn (Tootsie) and Kwame Kwei-Armah (artistic director of London’s Young Vic), and direction by Obie Award-winning Lear deBessonet.
“Sugarland is on precarious soil—three mobile homes line a southern cul-de-sac replete with years and years of decorative folk-art treasures and keepsakes. Young Sadie calls on generations of matriarchal ancestors to find the truth about her mother while the denizens of Sugarland rise each day to holler for the dead—conscripted soldiers lost to a greedy war—in a ritual reclamation of timeless grief.
This sweeping new work from Obie Award-winning playwright Aleshea Harris (Is God Is, What to Send Up When It Goes Down) is at once a spectacular pageant and spirited meditation on remarkable people transcending difficult circumstances. On Sugarland brings joyous life to communal healing with a glorious ensemble of 14 performers in a production directed by Obie Award winner, NYTW Usual Suspect & former 2050 Fellow Whitney White (What to Send Up When It Goes Down) and choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly (Hurricane Diane, The House That Will Not Stand)”
In Pass Over, Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner — talking smack, passing the time, and hoping that today a miracle will come. A provocative mash-up of Waiting for Godot and the Exodus saga, Pass Over exposes the unquestionable human spirit of young black men who dream about a promised land they've yet to find. The drama was first presented at Steppenwolf Theatre, with Spike Lee capturing Taymor's production in a film that is currently available on Amazon Prime.
[theatre challenge] | 2/10 shows | memphis the musical (at the shaftesbury theatre, london, 2014-present)
“what’s shakin’ brothers and sisters? i’m glad you found us way up here on the dial, and even though we’re only reaching about a mile across downtown memphis, we got the jumpinest, jivinest music in town!”
“The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing have shared that the ceremony will now take place online this fall. Further details and an exact date will be announced later.”
“As opposed to Hamilton, which was a recording of a stage performance, Island will be a more traditional adaptation. Disney's live-action division is running point on the project. “
American stage performer Gloria Foster, photographed in New York City in 1966. “In 1965, she became the first black performer to play Medea in New York. She went on to portray other classical parts, including The Cherry Orchard’s Madame Ranevskaya, Long Day’s Journey Into Night’s Mary Tyrone, Clytemnestra in Agamemnon, the title role in Brecht’s Mother Courage, Volumnia in Coriolanus and both Titania and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”[X]
Fun Fact: Foster played the Oracle in The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003) films, the latter film being her last
“As members of the black theatre community we stand together to help protect black people, black talent, and black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country. Our voices are united to empower our community through activism in the pursuit of justice and equality for the betterment of all humanity. We need every voice lifted and every heart opened, aligned with ours to fight against racist ideologies that have divided us by devaluing our lives. We will not be silent. We will be seen. We will be heard. We are here. Join Us.”