Greetings! We kicked off December, our “Radio GBE Family Month 2013,” with World Aids Day and two pioneering community-health empowerment activists, C. Virginia Fields, president and CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, and the organization’s founder, Debra Fraser-Howze, now senior vice president of governmental and external affairs at Orasure Technologies. The message from both: Get tested. For more information, call 212-694-6290 or go to nblca.org.
THEATER
“A Season in the Congo,” written by brilliant Martinican poet and playwright Aimé Césaire, is now playing in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Césaire’s birth. It will play Dec.19-21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2:30 p.m. at La Mama First Floor Theatre, 74 E. Fourth St., Suite A. For tickets, call 212-475-7710 or visit LaMaMa.org.
“After Midnight,” a new musical celebrating the glamour and exuberance of Harlem’s Golden Age and featuring the timeless songs of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Harold Arlen, woven around the prose of Langston Hughes. The production stars Grammy Award winner Fantasia and Emmy Award nominee Dulé Hill. The music is by select Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars, handpicked by multi-Grammy winner Wynton Marsalis. It’s now playing at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 W. 47th St. (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). For more information, call 817-502-2929 or visit aftermidnightbroadway.com.
“Motown: The Musical,” with book by Berry Gordy Jr. and featuring 2013 Tony nominee Valisia LeKae as Diana Ross, Tony nominee Charl Brown as Smokey Robinson and Brandon Dixon as Berry Gordy, is now playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 205 W. 46th St. (between Eighth Avenue and Broadway). For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com or motownthemusical.com.
“A Time to Kill” is now playing through Dec. 31 at the John Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues. For tickets and information, call 212-239-6200 or visit atimetokillonbroadway.com.
“Platanos, Collard Greens & Callaloo”—that’s right, “callaloo!” This hilarious remix of the successful franchise brings the West Indian brethren in. It’s now playing at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave. (enter on 25th Street, between Lexington and Third avenues). Call TheaterMania at 212-352-3101, theatermania.com or visit plantanosandcollardgreens.com.
“Lady Day: The Billie Holiday Musical,” featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater and written and directed by Stephen Stahl, is now playing at the Little Shubert Theatre, 422 W. 42nd St. between Ninth and 10th avenues. For tickets, call 212-239-6200 or visit Telecharge.com or ladydaythemusical.com.
MUSIC
Three-time Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Jill Scott will take the stage at Radio City Music Hall on New Year’s Eve at 9 p.m. with special guests Luke James and DJ Premier. Visit radiocity.musichall-ny.com.
The Blue Note Jazz Club (131 W. Third St.) presents David Sanborn now through Dec. 8, followed by Maya Azucena’s Holiday Show on Monday, Dec. 9. Fourplay appear on Dec. 20-15, and Chris Botti starts his annual holiday residency on Dec. 16-31. All shows start at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. For more information, call 212-475-8592 or go to bluenotejazz.com.
FAMILY
The Apollo’s new holiday season includes “Ellington at Christmas,” celebrating the legacy of Apollo legend Duke Ellington and featuring Savion Glover, actor Keith David and jazz vocalist Lizz Wright; Amateur Night finals, with $10,000 prize winners; our seventh annual Kwanzaa celebration: “Regeneration Night,” hosted by yours truly; “Coca-Cola Winter Wonderland”; and Ballet Hispanico, which will premiere a new work based on Día de los Muertos. Visit apollotheater.org.
“Mother Africa” (Circus Der Sinne” from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) is playing now through Jan. 5, 2014, at the New Victory Theater, 209 W. 42nd St. Circus arts meld with joyful dance and music, among a marvel of traditional masks. The show is rich in rhythm and song, with acrobats, musicians and dancers lighting up the stage and featuring stilt walkers from Tanzania and jugglers from Ethiopia, plus a renowned contortionist from Kenya. Modern Afro-beats and amazing drums radiate the stage. Visit newvictory.org.
The Big Apple Circus welcomes you to its all-new show “Luminosity!” now through Jan. 12 at Lincoln Center! Catch the high spirits and pulse-racing thrills of the world’s greatest circus artists! Visit bigapplecircus.org.
COMEDY
Charismatic actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer—whose tremendous career successes, spanning television, live performances and film, have solidified his standing as one of the premier entertainers in the world— comes to the NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Friday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. To buy tickets online, visit ticketmaster.com. Charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or at the Westbury Box Office. Event, date and times are subject to change. For more information, visit theatreatwestbury.com.
FILM
The New York African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will showcase 73 films from 35 countries during its 21st edition. World, U.S. and New York premieres will screen in four venues from Nov. 29-Dec. 15. For more information about the 21st annual ADIFF, contact Diarah N’Daw-Spech at 212-864-6020 or email pr@nyadiff.org. You can visit the website at www.nyadiff.org.
COMMUNITY
Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa, and the Nguzo Saba will give the keynote address at CEMOTAP’s annual luncheon on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. at the Majority Baptist Church, 115-21 Farmers Blvd. Karenga’s theme will be “Holocaust, Hollywood and Reparations: Cinematic Confessions as Sufficient Compensation.” Admission is free, and donations will be taken. For more information, call 347-907-0529.
Join me, Imhotep Gary Byrd, as WBLS-FM presents a “Healthy You in 2014 Express Yourself Town Hall Meeting” highlighting the Affordable Care Act on Sunday, Dec. 15 from 7-9 p.m. We’ll be live on location at the historic Harlem YMCA, 180 W. 135th St., and broadcasting live over WBLS.FM 107.5 FM. Bring your questions and get the facts, plus free lifestyle tips. Meet navigators and special guests with valuable information and enrollment details. For more information, call 212-912-2100 or go to wbls.com.
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 7 to 9 p.m., and on WLIB-AM with “The GBE Mind Flight,” Sunday evenings from 9 p.m. to midnight. The full show can be heard on HD radio at WBLS-HD2. IGB is also heard on WBAI-FM 99.5 with Radio GBE: The “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 contact us for bookings or to reach us about your event, email igbexp@gmail.com, find Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @GBELIFE or call 212-592-3279.
