Greetings! Happy New Year 2012 and Happy New You!
Theater
- Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Angela Bassett and Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson star in the Broadway debut of “The Mountaintop,” Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning drama, directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon (“Fences,” “A Raisin in the Sun”). Featuring original music by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and Tony Award nominee Branford Marsalis. At the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St. For tickets, visit Telecharge.com.
- “Black Angels Over Tuskegee,” the story of the pioneering first African-American fighter pilots, now playing at the Actors Temple Theatre, 339 W. 47th St. between Eighth and Ninth avenues. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
- Alicia Keys presents “Stick Fly” (“When it comes to family…you’re stuck”), a new play by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Kenny Leon. Now playing at the Cort Theatre on Broadway, 138 W. 48th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Join Keys for an intimate post-show conversation Sun., Jan. 8, 2012. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
- The Gershwins’ “Porgy & Bess” on Broadway with its classic song repertoire, including “Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “I Got Plenty of Nothing,” featuring four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Drama Desk nominee Norm Lewis and two-time Tony nominee David Alan Grier. At the Richard Rodgers Theatre, 226 W. 46th St. Previews playing now; the production opens Jan. 12. For tickets and information, call (877) 250-2929 or visit www.porgyandbessonbroadway.com.
- Whoopi Goldberg’s “Sister Act,” the stage musical based on the 1992 movie of the same name, features funky, soulful songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater and the dynamic debut of Patina Miller. At the Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway. For more information, visit www.sisteractbroadway.com.
- “Mama, I Want to Sing: The Next Generation,” by Vy Higginsen, with original music by Wesley Naylor. Now playing at the Dempsey Theater, 127 W. 127th St. between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Malcolm X boulevards. For more information and tickets, call (212) 868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com or mamafoundation.org.
Music
- B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill presents funkmaster Bootsy Collins Thurs., Jan. 12 at 8 p.m., and the brilliant keyboards of Ramsey Lewis Fri., Jan 13 at 7:30 p.m. At 237 W. 42nd St. in Times Square. For more information, call (212) 997-4144 or visit www.bbkingblues.com.
- Ashord & Simpson’s Sugar Bar Restaurant & Lounge presents by popular demand the amazing Aziza & the Back Alley Players, combining the blues with spoken word every Tuesday in January. Open mic every Tuesday-feel it, sing it or sit back and enjoy it! At 254 W. 72nd St. For more information, call (212) 579-0222.
- Downtown Music Productions, Mimi Stern-Wolfe, artistic director, will present a staged concert reading of Act I of the folk opera “Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom,” with music and lyrics by Nkeiru Okoye. One performance only on Sun., Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church. For more information, visit www.downtownmusicproductions.org.
Exhibitions
- The Skylight Gallery of the Center for Arts & Culture of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation presents “Her Word as Witness: Portraits of Women Writers of the African Diaspora,” created and photographed by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn. On view now through March 31, 2012. Skylight Gallery is located at 1368 Fulton St. between Brooklyn and New York avenues in Bed-Stuy. Take the A/C train to Nostrand Avenue. For more information, call (718) 636-6949 or (646) 573-2422 or visit www.restorationplaza.org.
Books
- In collaboration with Hue-Man Book Store, the Schomburg Center invites you to join NY1’s Cheryl Wills and professor and author Randall Robinson as they discuss his new novel, “Makeda.” Part coming-of-age story, part spiritual journey and part love story, “Makeda” (Akashik Books) is a universal tale of family, heritage and the ties that bind. Fri., Jan. 13, 6-8 p.m. at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd. near 135th Street in Manhattan. The event is free; to register, visit www.schomburgcenter.eventbrite.com or call (212) 491-2040.
- The Ausar Auset Society will host a book party to introduce Ra Un Nefer Amen’s latest book, “Metu Neter Volume 6: The Ra Initiation System,” Sat., Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. The book offers a full curriculum of how to use the faculties of the spirit and 72 mantras (words of power) to awaken and develop the talents you need to excel in your career (law, medicine, teaching, art, community development, business, entrepreneurship, etc.). The Ausar Auset society is at 626 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn. For further information, call Taui at (718) 469-3199, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or email nvm@nilevalley.com.
Community
- On the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti, Community2Community invites you to the second annual “Hope and a Future” benefit concert for Haiti, Fri., Jan. 13. The concert will feature Haitian kompa sensation Carimi, multiplatinum recording artist Oleta Adams, Grammy Award-winning artist Chrisette Michelle and the Friends of Haiti. The heart-touching event celebrates Haitian resiliency and culture! Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8. At the Walt Whitman Theater of the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Nostrand Avenue and Avenue H on the campus of Brooklyn College. Learn more about Community2Community at www.community2community.info.
- The African American Experience Forum presents a special screening of “The Witness From the Balcony of Room 306,” directed by Adam Pertofsky. At the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, 420 W. 145th St. on the corner of Convent Avenue in Harlem, Sat., Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. This screening takes place on the eve of the 83rd birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For further information, call (212) 234-6767 or email contactcabc@conventchurch.org.
- CEMOTAP invites you to join the honoring of Evelyn and Michael Tarif Warren and Brother Shep, along with with a Legal Support fundraiser for Brother Shaka Shakur, Sun., Jan. 15, 2-5 p.m. The CEMOTAP Center is located at 135-05 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, Queens. Admission is free. For more information, call (718)322-8454.
Hear Imhotep Gary Byrd on 107.5 WBLS-FM daily with “Imhotep’s On-Air Guide to Black Events” and “Express Yourself,” Sunday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m., and on WLIB-AM with “The GBE Mind Flight,” Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to midnight (simulcast on WLIB-AM/WBLS-FM from 7-8 p.m.). The full show can be heard on HD radio at WBLS-HD2. IGB is also heard on WBAI-FM 99.5 with the GBE 2.0 “Global Black Experience” and “Global Beat Experience,” Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. We are archived online with both shows at www.wbai.org. To reach us about your event, email gbemail2@yahoo.com, find Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at GBELIFE.
