June 29, 2009 at 8:00pm
House opens at 7:30pm
Presented at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway in New York City
(where Disney’s THE LION KING currently plays)
1515 Broadway at 45th Street.
New York City
LACHANZE, HENRY KRIEGER, and the legendary MELVIN VAN PEEBLES will be honored at MADE IN NEW YORK!

This production will be an evening celebrating New York’s African American Broadway History, and honoring individuals who have contributed to its preservation. This exciting night of music and dance will feature songs from beloved Broadway classics, including DREAMGIRLS, THE COLOR PURPLE, FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE, PORGY & BESS, PIPPIN’, THE TAP DANCE KID, and others. In addition, the show will feature some of New York’s best new artists, and highlight the next generation of stage performers and content.

This event is a benefit for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centers – a leader in innovative cancer research. All net proceeds from the event will be donated to continue research at their facilities.

*** Click HERE For Tickets ***

Special Group Ticket Promotion
Enjoy a night out with 10 friends – get one ticket free. Book your group orders by Friday 6/12/09, and get 1 free ticket for every 10 purchased.

VIP PREMIUM SEATING: $250.00
(includes VIP reception before the event in the Minskoff’s Grand Upper Lobby. Gourmet cuisine and open bar. Reception is from 6:30-7pm).

ORCHESTRA SEATING: $125.00 (Group rate – $110.00)

FRONT MEZZANINE: $90.00 (Group Rate – $80.00)

REAR MEZZANINE: $65.00 (Group Rate – $60.00)

Posted by Dorian Missick

Oh the the holidays! Time well spent getting fat off of momma’s cooking, drankin’ with the drunk uncles, catching up with old neighborhood friends, and ,making New Years resolutions. New Years resolutions are always a lot of pressure. Who wants to think about the things you feel you came up short on this year, or even worse straight up failed at? But a funny thing happened to me this season. I realized that I had achieved so many of my resolutions from the year before that I decided to add a vice, therefor I can have something to kick by the end of 2009. I considered possibilities: sexaholic (too cliche plus, what is too much sex..really?), shopaholic (too lazy to be up in somebody’s store for hours and not collecting a check), drugs (man I’m 30 plus! What the hell do I look like starting a drug habit now? That’s just childish)! Tabloids? Bong, there it is! I’m always so out of the loop whenever caught in a conversation about the latest celebrity gossip. Not in 2009 jack! From now on I will be able to tell you in what restaurant Paris slapped the taste out of lilo’s mouth (a real tabloid reader refers to the celebs by first name or nickname if you’re a real fan).

(more…)

Posted by Double 7 World

My man Ayinde keeps bringing y’all what’s next, new, and current on the NYC art’s scene. Peep the latest blog below.

~ Pete Chatmon

About A month ago a friend of mine said to me in casual actor conversation about the battle of “making it in NY as an actor. She said “ well u can make it in this town if ur willing to take ur pants off”… I was thinking about the old casting couch thing, and she continued to say “if ur a black man and willing to show ur penis on stage u will get recognized” and we debated, now is this because we just don’t see that much male shlong in general? because most theater reviewers are gay males? or does it have to do with some deep seeded fascination of the infamous black male genitalia…

(more…)

These are exciting times man! We live in an America that may potentially see a day when, in the White House bathroom, one can find an afro pick, a hot comb, and Palmer’s Cocoa butter. It’s summertime, bikinis are out, concerts are popping in the parks, and (most importantly to me) it’s that time in sporting history when legends are made! The time when amatuer athletes come from all around to showcase their amazing skills. Hearts are broken, and lives are changed forever. No disrespect to Mike Phelps, but I’m not talking about the Olympics. I’m talking about summer league basketball in NYC! And tennis and boxing. Let’s get it!!

(more…)

This Event is Double 7 World Recommended!

See and hear a motion picture screenplay before it goes before the cameras!

Filmmaker Rene Alberta’s company, A Mental Picture, will be staging a one night only screenplay reading of the Sundance Film Festival, award-winning, politically charged thriller, This Land.

Andre Royo of HBO’s seminal drama The Wire, produces in association with American Film Institute and American Motion Picture Society award-winning producer Daniel Sollinger (The Alphabet Killer, Day Zero, Rhyme & Reason). The cast includes Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield). Casting services provided by Sig De Miguel (The Good Shepherd, United 93, The Cooler, and Premium) and Stephen Vincent (The Insider, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor) of Palm Star Entertainment.

Wednesday August 27th at 8:00 P.M
Cherry Lane Theater
38 Commerce Street
Reception sponsored by RAYMOND HILL VINEYARDS and ILE de BASQUE Specialty Cheese purveyors

Reservations can be made via phone at (212) 340-1325 or by emailing kmfellows@socal.rr.com.

(more…)

Posted by Tieuel Legacy! aka Shawnre’

Talk to me. When was the last time that you heard the word “nigger” in a movie, in a song, or on the street? Sure, I recognize the fact that the word was deprived by the oppressors of our people and the true thieves of American soil from the redskins. Not only that, I understand that the word was used to degrade our people for a few hundred years. It is 2008. It’s a part of OUR culture. True?

“Nigger” took on an additional meaning years ago. Although it will still incite a four piece (definition- four punches to the face and torso) if a person from another culture uses the word, it is often used as a term of endearment. “That’s my nigga.” “Nigga get outta here with that.” “What you gonna do my nigga? You gonna roll or what?” It is spelled AND pronounced slightly different from the word that it was derived from. Tupac even made it into an acronym “never ignorant gettin’ goals accomplished”. However, our people can also use it in a derogatory manner. You might hear, “That nigga hasn’t paid me my $5.” “Nigga, don’t let me catch you before the sun goes down.” “I can’t stand that nigga.” For some people, they will be upset about “nigga” in any of those situations. Instead of striking the word from their vocabulary, they resort to saying “the N word”. Isn’t that just as bad? Also, how does it feel when you watch a Tarantino film (or any other film with black actors in it) and the white people throw “nigga” around a few times? Do you expect Samuel L. to take offense to it and charge the director up about the dialogue?

Breaking News…Jesse Jackson apologized to Barack Obama for using the word “nigga” off camera.

Up next from Tieuel Legacy!…”R. Kelly, He Did It”

Man I don’t know if I can keep this thing up like I originally planned! something about sitting in front of a computer and knowing that someone may read this puts a lot of pressure on a brotha. As some of my friends may know, I have a few films lined up to keep me busy for the next few months. The first one being “Rachel’s Getting Married ” that shot in Connecticut. The incredible genius Jonathan Demme directed.I play a character by the name of Dorian Lovejoy (more about that in a minute). In this film I don’t expect to have a whole lot of screen time as I’m a supporting character, and when I say support, I mean I do very little supporting at that..ha. I worked with Demme on ‘Manchurian Candidate” in which I lasted about 30 seconds in as well. The thing that should be said about Demme is that he shoots waaaaaaay more than he’ll ever need. So it’s hard at the time to really know what’s going to make the film and what’s not. One can spend a lot of time shooting and have little other than a working relationship with him to show for it. But when a guy’s won Oscars for his film making efforts, you tend to show up to play ball even if you don’t get much playing time! Which brings me to this man’s genius.

(more…)

“Sometimes just making yourself at home is revolutionary” – Slumberland by, Paul Beatty

It was recently brought to my attention that often times I am the lone black character in the projects I do. Watching my demo reel with a director who jokingly asked “which one are you in this scene?” made it clear to me: I have become a token black guy! That explains why, on a recent trip back from LA, Sean Patrick Thomas and Donald Faison showed me so much love in the first class lounge at LAX! I thought their greetings of “Dude, wassup?” while jabbing their Stellas in the air was because we were some of the only brothas under 40 in the first class lounge. But now I realize it was because we are some of the only Negroes in the first class lounge in Hollywood also known as mainstream projects. How the hell did I end up here? I don’t even drink Stellas. I drink Henny (double shot neat if you’re asking, sidecar if you’re sexy). And if you ever hear me refer to some cat as “dude” send help immediately, because I’ve been kidnapped by the A.A.N. (Association for Assimilating Negroes) and they’ve threatened to lock me in a room and make me watch Rugby and reruns of the “Wayne Brady Show” if I didn’t incorporate the word into my everyday decidedly hood vernacular. I mean yeah I went to a predominantly white private school in Westfield, NJ during my formative years, but my family still does the “bus stop” unprovoked, music or no, at every family gathering. Ok, ok, I did play soccer my whole life (before my man Freddy Adu), but my Dad’s from the Bahamas, it’s what they do! Why is white America so comfortable with such an non-assimilated black man? My guess is because I’m comfortable with myself and therefore am at home in all settings. I’ve also been blessed with opprtunities that have allowed me to be exposed to many different walks of life without being forced to take any particular one on fully as my own. No “powdered sugar black guy” business over here. That just wasn’t my upbringing.

Comfort is a huge issue in the black middle class. We’re comfortable with Barack, but squirm in our seats at the thought of Jerimiah Wright opening his mouth and making public the dinning room table conversations that we’ve had for years. I, for one, personally hope Barack has a BBQ on the front lawn of the White House to celebrate his presidency. It is time for a change. Time for the black middle class to stop trying to assimilate and just be whomever you are. Whether you like BBQ or Sushi, malt Liquor or a single malt scotch, own it and move on. Hollywood, often times a reflection of white America as a whole, responds to those who are comfortable in their own skin and able to bring that to the table. Don’t get me wrong, the fact that the decision makers need to feel “comfortable” with your life’s experience isn’t lost on me. Flavor Flav is a man who is very comfortable in his skin but I doubt mainstream Hollywood is comfortable enough with his life experiences to invite him to drink Stellas and watch the Lakers with the family. But he doesn’t care! And I love him for that.

Flav doesn’t represent the black middle class. He reps for the lower class who is crystal clear on how they are viewed by mainstream America and, most importantly, by themselves. They, unlike middle class blacks, do not harbor dreams of one day fitting in with white America. I’ve even had friends explain to me that they don’t partake in certain activities because “that’s some white people shit.” Although a crude and arguably ignorant statement, it speaks to how clear they are about what they like and how they are viewed. Flavor Flav speaks to and sometimes for them. He is accepted in some form by the mainstream largely due to this fact. Not because he’s a Coon (as he’s often times called in my middle class circle of friends), but because he’s himself. My more “user friendly” counterparts in the Token Black Guy club are also very comfortable with themselves and their experiences. Granted theirs were probably a lot less “hood” than mine and therefore make mainstream Hollywood very comfortable with them, but they are true to their personal experiences and should be applauded in the same way I applaud our ebony courtroom jester turned love guru . Many are not trying to be “white”, but rather their experience in life is one that may be more in line with that of a white person in America. We as black folk can’t afford to spend another minute on worrying about how a largely uninterested white America views us. If it doesn’t directly effect their lives, they DO NOT CARE. When Michelle Obama was referred to as Barack’s “Baby momma” on CNN I think it was made very clear that in white mainstream America, the only difference they see between Barack Obama and 50 Cent is a suit. It is merely our responsibility as artists to bring our unique experiences to our work. One cannot aspire to be a token black dude, your feeble attempts will only be exposed similarly to Master P on “Dancing With the Stars”. Makes no sense, it’s an obvious cry for attention from an unimpressed audience. Flavor Flav isn’t trying to be outrageous, he just is. Donald Faison isn’t trying to fit in with white folk…he just does. And both are otay with me (sorry couldn’t resist the homage to one of our finest coons to ever grace the screen). Sometimes the best thing one can do to combat a stereotype is just be oneself. Kick back with your malt liquor in one hand and fried chicken in the other, and turn up the gangsta rap if that’s what makes you feel at home because that’s revolutionary in this day and age. The revolution will be televised and chances are I’ll be the token black guy.

When my good peoples at Double 7 asked me to write about my experiences in Hollywood on a weekly basis, my first thought was “I live in NY! I’m not Hollywood.”  Then it dawned on me,I spend a great deal of my time on airplanes, taking meetings, auditioning, and sipping Henny’s and coke poolside at The Standard hotel while sneaking peeks at the young ladies in bikini’s. To the average cat that sounds like some real Hollywood living, kinda…I mean almost. I have a “team” that consists of high powered agents, managers (both business and personal), a cool publicist, attorney, and a celebrity liason on both coasts who makes sure I’m taken care of at all the cool restaurants and clubs. I’ve been stopped by tourists before for the quick photo op and even signed an occasional autograph (usually say something cool like “one luv” or “God Bless” ). But then there was that time when I had a big “celebrity Birthday party” thrown in my honor at a Manhattan hotspot and the chick at the door almost made me and my friends stand in line while she let Jessicca Simpson in (whom I’ve still NEVER met), that wasn’t too cool. And most times when someone does send a limo to come pick me up my name is spelled wrong on the placard in the window. Not really household name stuff. Oh, and then there was the dinner party last week where the mouthy light skinned chick form Jamaica asked me what other job I had to “sustain my acting thing”…huh? You wouldn’t ask a full scale Hollywood cat that would you? I guess one could say I’m almost Hollywood, more on the outskirts of fame than actually famous. That’s cool I guess. There’s money in that, not to mention the occassional groupie (as long as I get to her before Constantine from American Idol).

No Hollywood star, full blown or almost, is complete without the flashing lights and general carrying ons of the pushy paparazzi. After all, if they didn’t snap your shot, where you really there? Being on the outskirts, I’m usually only photographed when with my truly famous friends or completely unexpected places like the grocery store in the valley or jail (looooong story). But whenever I’m going to  a major event and don’t want to worry about whether or not my presence was documented, I bring along my own personal Mamarazzi©. The mamarazzi© consists of my mom and my auntie Vickie armed with winning smiles, disposable cameras, and no shame in stealing pics with any and all celebrities big and small. Of course they’re not card carrying memebers of the paparazzi and usually like to be in the photos themselves, but they do manage to catch the coveted shot of Sam Jackson waiting on his limo to pull up or Lucy Liu having a laugh as she exits the ladies room. Much like the paparazzi, the mamarazzi© sets out their plan of action well before they arrive at the event. They make sure they are equipped with enough cameras and usually take a small power nap in preparation of the big night. Unlike their competition, they have the luxury of arriving with their very own invites and often times in the limo with me. This gives them a leg up on those ususally annoying shot seekers because they can and do use the fact that their son/nephew is in the movie which softens their subjects up a bit. My mom, smartly, uses the time before the lights go down at a premiere or opening to scan the audience for celebs that she plans on getting shots of at the afterparty. If she doesn’t exactly know what they do or their names, she’ll do her research which usually consists of asking me or anyone around who the subject is and then expertly jotting it down for future use. Not afraid of pushing or shoving to get the right shot, the mamarazzi© can be aggressive and sometimes downright pushy! But just as said subject is about to reach their brink of patience the mamarazzi© charmingly smiles and gushes about how proud they are of their son/nephew and immediately the person melts as they are reminded of their own family. My mom and aunt’s penchant for taking pictures of everything used to annoy me to no end as a child and quite honestly those habbits sometimes still drive me a bit batty. But nothing can take away the pride I feel when my family shows off the fruits of their labor at gatherings and my mom brags about the fact that she is on a first name basis with Bruce Willis. Even as I eventually plant both feet in Hollywood and will no longer be considered “Almost Hollywood” but rather at the forefront of it, my family will always be around to remind me that these moments are to be cherished and most importantly documented. Long live the mamarazzi©! If you don’t have one to follow you around, I’m sure I can lend you mine for the right invite.

This is Double 7 Film Recommended: Eric Lockley wrote and performs this one man show, directed by Jonathan McCrory. It will be playing June 18, 20, and 23 @ 9pm and on June 21 @ 4pm. Check it out!

Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets.