Greetings! Our Radio GBE on WBAI opened Women’s History Month 2017 with a two-hour salute to Black women drawn from the vast Pacifica Archives. We included historic audio from “The First Lady of the Black Press: Edith L. Payne,” vintage moments with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Dr. Maya Angelou and special guest the Windy City’s own Nana Camille Yarbrough, who highlighted great Chicago playwright Lorraine Hansberry and the famed Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Join us for more this weekend. Special guest on our Sunday Express Yourself show over WLIB-WBLS was Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, daughter of legendary New York politician, former Councilwoman Dr. Una Clarke. (See our schedule below.) Happy International Women’s Day to our sisters around the world.
THEATER
“August Wilson’s Jitney,” directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-947-8844 or visit telechargeoffers.com.
“Adam,” a bio-drama on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. by Peter DeAnda presented by Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre, in association with Castillo Theatre and starring Timothy Simonson. Ajene D. Washington directs the compelling and historically accurate play, which captures the former congressman’s rise and fall, largely in his own words, until March 12 at Castillo Theatre, 543 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. Call 212-941-1234 or visit newfederaltheatre.com.
“X: Or Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation” by Marcus Gardley. Friday, March 17, and March 24 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 18, and March 25 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., New Victory Theater, 209 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 646-223-3010 or visit newvictory.org.
MUSIC
Africa Now! Family Showtime, music and stories, with Africa Forestdance and Griots in Concert. Saturday, March 11, at 1 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., New York, N.Y. For information call 212-531-5305 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Africa Now! featuring Mbongwana Star, Songhoy Blues, Daby Touré, Tuelo and DJ Nenim, Saturday, March 11, at 8 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-531-5305 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Alicia Keys, Sunday, March 12, at 7 p.m., The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, 39 Norwich Westerly Rd., Mashantucket, Conn. For information, call 800-200-2882 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Aretha Franklin, Sunday, March 12, at 7 p.m., Bardavon 1869 Opera House, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie, N.Y. For ticket information, call 845-473-2072 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Lionel Richie: All the Hits, with very special guest Mariah Carey, Friday, March 17, at 7 p.m., Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark, N.J. For ticket information, call 845-473-2072 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Saturday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-997-4144 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Aretha Franklin, Mohegan Sun Arena, Thursday, March 23, at 8 p.m., 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville, Conn. For information, call 860-862-TIXX (8499) or visit ticketmaster.com.
The Temptations and the Four Tops, Saturday, March 25, at 8 p.m., NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury, N.Y. For information, call 516-334-0800or visit ticketmaster.com.
Charlie Wilson’s In It to Win It Tour with Fantasia and Johnny Gill, Wednesday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m., Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave. (at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue), Brooklyn, N.Y. For information, call 917-618-6700 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Chris Brown: The Party Tour, Saturday, April, 1 at 7:30 p.m., Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark, N.J. For information, call 973-757-6600 or visit ticketmaster.com.
The Spinners and Little Anthony & The Imperial, Saturday, April 8, at 8 p.m., Kupferberg Center for the Arts, 153-49 Reeves Ave., Queens, N.Y. For information, call 718-793-8080 or visit ticketmaster.com.
COMEDY
Trevor Noah, Friday, March 31, at 10 p.m., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, N.J. For information, call 888-466-5722 or visit ticketmaster.com or njpac.org.
FILM
“Fences,” directed by Denzel Washington and written by August Wilson, based on Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name. The film stars Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson and Saniyya Sidney. Check your movie listings.
“Hidden Figures” is based on the lives of mathematicians Katherine Goble-Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae). Check your movie listings.
COMMUNITY
“Bridging the Gap to Our Turn’d-up Youth, the Elders Got Your Back,” Saturday, March 18, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Moderators Chris Noble, Greg X, Arthur 8X, Sylvia Muhammad and Nzinga. Special guest performance by rapper Crimdella (Mandella Brath). CEMOTAP Center, 135-05 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, N.Y. For information, call 718-723-1416.
Have they lied about vaccinations? “Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe,” the film they don’t want you to see, Saturday, March 25, at 2 p.m., Saturday Movie at CEMOTAP, 135-05 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, N.Y. Admission is free. For information, call 347-907-0629.
Ella! A Centennial Celebration, presented by the Apollo Theater Education Program, Thursday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. Live Wire’s celebration of Fitzgerald’s centennial will explore “The First Lady of Song” through her musicianship and as a woman revered in an art form dominated by men. Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., New York, N.Y. The event is free. Registration is required at eventbrite.com/e/apollo-live-wire-ella-tickets. For information, call 212-531-5305 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Hear Imhotep Gary Byrd on 107.5 WBLS-FM weekly with “Express Yourself,” Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and simulcast over WLIB 1190AM. The full show can also be heard on HD radio at WBLS-HD2 and at WBLS.com., WLIB.com and iHeartRadio. IGB is also heard on WBAI-FM 99.5 with Radio GBE: “The Global Black Experience” and “The Global Beat Experience,” Fridays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Archived online at www.wbai.org. For bookings or to reach us about your GBEvent or for comments, email co-editor Nyerere Shannon @ nyerere1@aol.com, find us at Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @GBELIFE or call 212-592-3279.