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Black Nativity
''Black Nativity '' is an adaptation of the Nativity story by Langston Hughes, performed by an entirely black cast. Hughes was the author of the book, with the lyrics and music being derived from traditional Christmas carols, sung in gospel style, with a few songs created specifically for the show. The show was first performed Off-Broadway on December 11, 1961, and was one of the first plays written by an African American to be staged there. The show had a successful tour of Europe in 1962, one of its appearances being at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Italy. ''Black Nativity'' has been performed annually in Boston, Massachusetts at various locations, such as: the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, Boston Opera House, Tremont Temple, Roxbury Community College, Northeastern's Blackman Auditorium, and presently at Emerson College's Paramount Theater since 1969 & is considered the longest-running production of Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity." The original 160 singers were arr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the Negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue." Growing up in a series of Midwestern towns, Hughes became a prolific writer at an early age. He moved to New York City as a young man, where he made his career. He graduated from high school in Cleveland, Ohio, and soon began studies at Columbia University in New York City. Although he dropped out, he gained notice from New York publishers, first in ''The Crisis'' magazine and then from book publishers, and became known in the creative community in Harlem. He eventually graduated from Lincoln University. In addition to poetry, Hughes wrote plays and short sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (later Ailey School) as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance. A gay man, his work fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with Black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of Black life in America. Ailey's choreographic masterpiece '' Revelations'' is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. On July 15, 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution designating AAADT a "vital American cultural ambassador to the World." That same year, in recognition of AAADT's 50th anniversary, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared December 4 "Alvin Ailey Day" in New York City, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1961 Plays
Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (Koivulahti air disaster): Douglas DC-3C OH-LCC of Finnish airline Aero crashes near Kvevlax (Koivulahti), on approach to Vaasa Airport in Finland, killing all 25 on board, due to pilot error: an investigation finds that the captain and first officer were both exhausted for lack of sleep, and had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol at the time of the crash. It remains the deadliest air disaster to occur in the country. * January 5 ** Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti marches into the U.S. Consulate in Rome, and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ** After the 1960 military coup, General Cemal Gürsel forms the new government of Turkey (25th governm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plays By Langston Hughes
Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Play Mobile, a Polish internet provider * Xperia Play, an Android phone * Rakuten.co.uk (formerly Play.com), an online retailer * Backlash (engineering), or ''play'', non-reversible part of movement * Petroleum play, oil fields with same geological circumstances * Play symbol, in media control devices Film * ''Play'' (2005 film), Chilean film directed by Alicia Scherson * ''Play'', a 2009 short film directed by David Kaplan * ''Play'' (2011 film), a Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund * ''Rush'' (2012 film), an Indian film earlier titled ''Play'' and also known as ''Raftaar 24 x 7'' * ''The Play'' (film), a 2013 Bengali film Literature and publications * ''Play'' (play), written by Samuel Beckett * ''Play'' (''The New York Times'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Public Library For The Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metropolitan Opera House and the Vivian Beaumont Theater. It houses one of the world's largest collections of materials relating to the performing arts. It is one of the four research centers of the New York Public Library's Research library system, and it is also one of the branch libraries. History Founding and original configuration Originally the collections that formed The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (LPA) were housed in two buildings. The Research collections on Dance, Music, and Theatre were located at the New York Public Library Main Branch, now named the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, and the circulating music collection was located in the 58th Street Library. A separate center to house performing arts w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in numerous acclaimed and successful films, including as Betty Shabazz in both ''Malcolm X'' (1992) and ''Panther'' (1995), as Katherine Jackson in '' The Jacksons: An American Dream'' (1992), as Voletta Wallace in '' Notorious'' (2009), as Amanda Waller in ''Green Lantern'' (2011), and as Coretta Scott King in ''Betty & Coretta'' (2013). Her other notable film roles include Bernandine Harris in ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), Rachel Constantine in ''Contact'' (1997), Stella Payne in ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' (1998), Janet Williams in ''Music of the Heart'' (1999), Lynne Jacobs in '' Olympus Has Fallen'' (2013) and ''London Has Fallen'' (2016), and Queen Ramonda in '' Black Panther'' (2018), '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his film debut in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), Whitaker went on to earn a reputation for intensive character study work for films, such as Platoon (film), ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), ''Bird (1988 film), Bird'' (1988), ''The Crying Game'' (1992), ''Phenomenon (film), Phenomenon'' (1996), ''Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' (1999), ''The Great Debaters'' (2007), ''The Butler'' (2013), ''Arrival (film), Arrival'' (2016), and ''Respect (2021 American film), Respect'' (2021). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kasi Lemmons
Kasi Lemmons (; born Karen Lemmons, February 24, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), followed by '' Talk to Me'' (2007), ''Black Nativity'' (2013), '' Harriet'' (2019), and '' Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody'' (2022). She also directed the Netflix limited series '' Self Made'' (2020), and an episode of ABC's ''Women of the Movement'' (2022). She is also known as an actress having started her career with roles in commercials with McDonald's and Levi's. She made her film debut in Spike Lee's '' School Daze'' (1988). She continued acting in ''Vampire's Kiss'' (1989), '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991), and '' Candyman'' (1992). She was described by film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon as "an ongoing testament to the creative possibilities of film". Early life and education Lemmons was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Dorothy Othello (née Stallworth) and Milton Francis L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Nativity (film)
''Black Nativity'' is a 2013 American musical drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons. The script, written by Lemmons, is based on Langston Hughes' 1961 play of the same name and released on November 27, 2013. The film stars an ensemble cast, featuring Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Jacob Latimore, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and rapper Nas. Plot After his mother, Naima, is evicted from their Baltimore apartment, teenage Langston is sent to spend the holidays with his estranged grandparents in New York City. He talks to a man called Isaiah on the bus.("Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child") When Langston arrives in the city, he just misses his grandparents and, shortly after, is robbed of his possessions. Entering a hotel to get directions to his grandparents' place, Langston is accused of trying to take a wallet and is quickly taken in by the police. While in the holding cell, he meets a man who makes fun of him for stealing wallets. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aaron Robinson (composer)
Aaron Robinson is an American composer, conductor, and musicologist. He is the author of ''Does God Sing? – A Musical Journey''. He created the musical work ''Black Nativity – In Concert: A Gospel Celebration''. He also served as conductor and musical director in the PBS documentary ''On This Island''. In 2013, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for composing Maine Public Broadcasting Network's ''Maine Arts'' series theme music. Personal background Robinson attended Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro, Maine. At 16 years of age—a self-taught musician who never took piano lessons—he became the organist at both the Broad Cove Community Church in Cushing and the Friendship United Methodist Church. By his late teens, he was creating, performing and producing concerts and theatrical productions, including the musical ''Moody Blue'' for which he wrote both the music and lyrics. According to a 2013 interview, Robinson studied composition and piano performance at the Boston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 makes it one of the nation's fastest-growing large cities. Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about south of the Canadian border. A major gateway for trade with East Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling . The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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