Greetings! Our GBE Black Arts Month is hitting its peak this week as Voza Rivers’ New Heritage Theatre presents a special star-studded memorial service celebrating the life of the legendary Little Jimmy Scott, Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2:30 p.m. at Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 O’Dell Clark Place (138th Street) between Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. boulevards. Service is complimentary and all are welcome. The Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts will officiate. For further information and the guest lineup, call 212-926 2550 or visit www.newheritagetheatre.org.
New Heritage also presents “A Season in an Evening: A Night to Remember” at Aaron Davis Hall, 150 Convent Ave. in Harlem, Monday, Oct. 27 in celebration of the theater’s 50 years. Actors, musicians, friends and supporters will be treated to an exciting glimpse of history, with theatrical and music performances by a stellar cast of New Heritage alums and invited guest stars.
Program hosts are NAACP and multi-Audelco award winning actor-writer-director Daniel Beaty and internationally known on-air host and playwright Esther Armah. Tickets may be purchased at the Aaron Davis Hall box office or by calling New Heritage at 212-926-2550. For further information, visit www.newheritagetheatre.org.
THEATER
Woodie King Jr’s New Federal Theatre kicks off its 45th season with Karimah’s “Accept ‘Except’ LGBT NY,” a tale about gay rights from slavery to modern day, directed by Tony Award winner George Faison and performing at the Castillo Theatre, 543 W. 42nd St., Oct. 23 through Nov. 23, with opening night set for Nov. 6. Performances take place Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets can be ordered through www.castillo.org or by phone at 212-941-5800. Visit www.newfederaltheatre.com or call NFT at 212-353-1176.
Vy Higgensen’s musical “Alive! 55+ and Kickin’” is at the Dempsey Theater, 127 W. 127th St. in Harlem. For tickets and information, call 212-868-4444 or visit smarttix.com or www.mamafoundation.org.
“Motown: The Musical,” with book by Berry Gordy Jr., 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.
“Kinky Boots,” featuring 2013 Tony Award winner Billy Porter, is at the Al Hirschfield Theatre, 302 W. 45th St. For more information, call 866-276-4887 or visit broadway.com/shows/kinky-boots.
“Aladdin,” featuring Tony Award winner James Monroe Igleheart as the uniquely modern Genie, is playing now at the New Amsterdam Theatre, located at 214 W. 42nd St. Visit broadway.com.
MUSIC
The Blue Note presents the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, Oct. 21 through Oct. 26. The Blue Note is located at 131 W. Third St. Call 212-475-8592 or visit bluenotejazz.com.
George Benson performs at B.B. King Blues Club, located in the heart of Times Square, Oct. 23. Hip-hop and R&B favorite Keith Sweat performs Oct. 26. The star-studded 100th birthday celebration of the late, great Hal Jackson, hosted by Clay Berry and Debbie B of “Sunday Classics” on WBLS, is set for Monday, Nov. 10. Call 212-997-4144 or visit bbkingsblues.com.
Stevie Wonder is taking his landmark 1976 multiplatinum classic “Songs in the Key of Life” on the road. The legendary singer-songwriter-musician will launch his 11-city tour Nov. 6 at Madison Square Garden. Tickets can be purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets, on www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000, via the LiveNation app or www.livenation.com.
The Apollo Theater presents the induction of Apollo legend and jazz architect Louis Armstrong into its Apollo Walk of Fame in November, kicking off a special weekend of New Orleans jazz in Harlem, headlined by jazz impresario Irvin Mayfield (Nov. 7 and 8), while reggae superstar Maxi Priest joins “One Love: A Bob Marley Tribute Concert” Nov. 29.
Ginny’s Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem proudly presents the legendary Bobbi Humphrey, the “First Lady of Flute,” in “Harlem River Drive Live” Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at 310 Lenox Ave. Reservations at can be made by calling 212-421-3821. Tickets are available at www.ticketfly.com.
FILM
African Voices’ 17th annual Reel Sisters Film Festival celebrates “The Year of Women of Color in Cinema” Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 25 and 26 at the Kumble Theatre, One University Plaza, Flatbush Avenue between DeKalb Avenue and Willoughby Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. Call 718-488-1624 for more information.
BOOKS
Ntozake Shange presents her book and CD “Lost in Language and Sound: or How I Found My Way to the Arts,” a vibrant and vital collection celebrating her life and work in language, music and dance, Friday, Oct. 24 at Kumble Theatre (see above).
COMMUNITY
Dr. Lenora Fulani hosts a special edition of “Interviews by a Black Independent” Thursday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. at the First AME Church: Bethel, 60 W. 132nd St., between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue. The event, titled “It’s Time to Expand Our Democracy: Our Community Needs to Grow,” will feature an address by Fulani and a dialogue with the audience. For more information, please call 212-962-1699.
Bob Law launches a new initiative, “Night Talk Live,” to address the issue of gangsta rap Saturday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. at CEMOTAP Center in Queens. Under the title “Music Media and Violence,” Law is repositioning his popular “Night Talk” program as a daytime program to make informed decisions related to the issue of rap. Law and his guests will emphasize and demonstrate that through collective action from the community, rap musicians can be convinced to rectify their use of profanity and slander of women. CEMOTAP is conveniently located at 135-05 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, N.Y. Call 718-322-8454 for additional information.
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.
