A fantasy of James Baldwin and Beauford Delaney

Harlem Stage 

presents a staged reading of

TO THE LIGHT 

(A FANTASY INSPIRED BY TWO AMERICAN GENIUSES: 

BALDWIN AND DELANEY)

a new play by Bil Wright

directed by Reginald Douglas

Wednesday-Thursday, October 7-8 at 7:30pm

Tickets: Free with RSVP

To the Light (A Fantasy Inspired by two American Geniuses: Baldwin and Delaney) is a play by Bil Wright that celebrates the loving, dramatic, complex relationship between writer James Baldwin (1924-1987) and painter Beauford Delaney (1901-1979). It chronicles their friendship from their first meeting through each of their deaths. Both of these men were highly significant in the history of American arts and culture. They both lived and created during times of enormous political change in the United States, especially in regards to the country’s race relations. Both were also enamored with Paris, as were other black artists, feeling it was a mecca in which art prevailed and African Americans considered beautiful both physically and artistically. This was a huge bond between the men, with both men dying in Paris, Delaney the victim of severe mental illness.

Tickets and reservations to Harlem Stage go on sale starting August 24 and can be purchased online or at 212-281-9240 ext. 19/20.

Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue, Manhattan
(map/directions)

Short Documentary: Art from Adversity on Vimeo

Short Documentary: Art from Adversity on Vimeo
by Robert Penn

One of the many New York City community organizations that formed in response to the AIDS epidemic is a writers group for Black Gay Men. In honor of James Baldwin's signature work, Another Country, the group selected the name Other Countries. It held its first writers workshop on June 14, 1986. Over the next year, it developed a three pronged program of peer critique, performance and publishing. In its 25 years, Other Countries has published three volumes of work by Black gay men and women. The most recent VOICES RISING came out in January 2007. The workshop continues each 2nd and 4th Saturday at NYC's LGBT Community Center from 6pm to 9pm. Many past and current members have gone on to publish work that "went through" the workshop. Several have developed their craft and have worked in publishing, arts management and television. Though many of its founding members died twenty years ago, their spirit of affinity continues to nurture and foster creativity and appreciation of the life we have, here and now.

Watch this documentary here.

Catch it now: "This One Girl's Story"

"We think this is going to go far," declared GAYFEST NYC co-producer Jack Batman as he proudly introduced a Saturday matinee of This One Girl's Story. Oh, yes. I'll second that emotion. This accomplished musical has got what it takes to win over any audience--queer or straight.

Running now through June 6 at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, the show draws inspiration from the 2003 murder of Sakia Gunn, a black lesbian teen. Heading home late one night after partying in Greenwich Village, she and her friends were accosted by two strangers at a Newark bus stop. When the young women did not return the men's interest and identified themselves as lesbians, the men grew enraged. Gunn put up a fight and was fatally stabbed. Her death received little mainstream news coverage but, even if you've never heard of her, you cannot fail to be affected by This One Girl's Story.

Bil Wright (book) and Dionne McClain-Freeney (music and lyrics) have lifted the outline of this tragic event and imagined a backstory with vibrant, sympathetic characters and relationships. Cee Cee--played by Lacretta Nicole, the cast's heartiest singer and its sexy, radiant core--is the kind of buddy every girl would wish for. She's self-assured, comfortable in her own skin, and possessing a great, sassy sense of fun. Tough when she needs to be, she's got your back. Wright surrounds Cee Cee with women who adore her--her young cousin Patrice (Chasten Harmon) who likes to think of herself as stubbornly independent; her estranged-but-longing lover Dessa (Zonya Love Johnson); and spirited but unhappily single Lourdes (Desirée Rodriguez). Before this crew sets off from Newark for a fateful night on the town, we learn a lot about each one, especially through McClain-Freeney's songs. And I cannot say enough about the richness and sophistication of these lovely numbers, the natural, effortless way they segue from Wright's dialogue, the nimble way they slip into one's heart.

With warmth, playful humor, a wonderful cast and Devanand Janki's tight direction and choreography, nearly everything works. One flaw: The first scene is physically, awkwardly static, with two or more characters just standing around and looking on as others interact. Everyone should be more actively and emotionally involved. And this seems more puzzling in retrospect, after the story's flashback scenes have played out and Wright has brought us back to this crucial opening scenario.

But, otherwise, This One Girl's Story is a sure winner and one that deserves your support and continued life beyond, way beyond, GAYFEST NYC. Hurry! Go!

Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex
312 West 36th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues), Manhattan
Schedule information and ticketing