Greetings! Estimates are emerging showing more than a million people turned out for March for Our Lives protest-events around the USA. Nearly a million are being calculated through official crown estimates provided by city administrators and police departments around the country. More than 200,000 marchers were at the largest demonstration in Washington, D.C., with another 175,000 right here in the streets of NYC.
Millennials of the USA took their place in history, making their voices heard loud and clear against guns and violence across America. Among the highlights were performances from violence-torn Chicago icons, Jennifer Hudson and Common. The still talked about cross-generation moment came when Yolanda Rene King took the national stage, quoting her grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivering the message “Enough Is Enough.”
Former President Barack Obama tweeted, “Michelle and I are so inspired by all the young people who made today’s marches happen. Keep at it. You’re leading us forward. Nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.”
April 4 will mark the death anniversaries of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who passed in 1972, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who passed in 1968 (see TV and Community).
THEATER
“Chicago,” the Tony Award-winning, record-breaking hit musical recently celebrating its 21st anniversary on Broadway, welcomes legendary singer-songwriter Valerie Simpson, making her Broadway debut in the role of Matron “Mama” Morton, at the Ambassador Theatre, 219 W. 49th St. For show information and tickets, call 212-239-6200 or visit telecharge.com.
“The Wiz” is an Afro-futuristic funky musical take on L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” winner of seven Tony Awards in 1975, including Best Musical. Embark on this “Oz-some” adventure, featuring Bad Boy recording artist Robert Curry of Day26 as the Tin Man. Part of the New York Black Arts Festival. Saturday, March 31, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Auditorium at Columbia-Secondary Schools, 425 W. 123rd St., New York, N.Y. For information, visit newyorkblackartsfestival.org.
“Sistas: The Musical,” St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St. (between Eighth and Ninth avenues), New York, N.Y. Now through June 24, 2018. For information, call 212-239-6200 or visit telecharge.com.
“An Adam Experiment” offers a glimpse into the life of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., historical icon who fought for social justice and equality during the Civil Rights Movement while also wrestling with his own demons. Billie Holiday Theatre,1368 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. For tickets, call 718-636-6995 or visit thebillieholiday.org.
“Subway Story (A shooting),” final installment of the GUNPLAYS series, written and directed by William Electric Black. Theater for The New City, 155 First Ave. (at 10th Street). For information, visit theaterforthenewcity.net.
“Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel
Miranda’s biographical musical on founding father Alexander Hamilton is a rhythm-and-rhyme intervention for American iconography and ideology. The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, New York, N.Y. Visit publictheater.org/Hamilton.
MUSIC
Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly, Thursday, March 29, at 8 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y.
The legendary Roy Ayers in a rare appearance Wednesday, April 11, at the Blue Note, 131 W. Third St. Shows 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Visit bluenote.net.
Watch classical music meet hip-hop in the groundbreaking duo Black Violin and their Classical Boom Tour, an outing that blurs the lines between genre, race and gender with its unique fusion of groove and strings. Wednesday, April 11, at the Bergen Performing Arts Center. Call 800- 854-2196 or visit www.performingartscenterenglewood.com.
TV
“King in the Wilderness” marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination April 4. This film captures King during the last three years of his life. Told through footage, including King at Riverside Church, where he delivered one of his landmark speeches. HBO Documentary Films will air “King in the Wilderness” Monday, April 2, at 8 p.m., EDT.
FILM
“A Wrinkle in Time,” starring Storm Reid and featuring Oprah Winfrey. Directed by Ava DuVernay. Check local listings.
“Color of Water,” featuring Academy Award winner and Golden Globe Nominee Octavia Spencer. Check local listings.
“Black Panther,” starring Chadwick Boseman and featuring Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira. Check local listings.
COMEDY
The April Fools Comedy Show comes to The Theater at Madison Square Garden Saturday, March 31, starring Mike Epps, Sommore, Bruce Bruce, Jay Pharoah, Tony Rock and George Wilborn. Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, New York, N.Y. Call 212-465-msg1 for information.
BOOKS
The Schomburg Center presents “The Break Beat Poets Anthology: Black Girl Magic,” an anthology celebrating and canonizing the words of Black women across the Diaspora, Saturday, March 31, at 3 p.m. Visit nypl.org/locations/schomburg.
COMMUNITY
Heal Thy Body of Nurses, LLC cordially invites all health care workers, primary care givers and in-home care givers to their first Heal Thy Body of Nurses Wellness Workshop. Saturday, March 31, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Glen Oaks Village Community Room, 247-11 Union Turnpike (ground level entrance) Bellerose, N.Y. If you are a nurse, primary care giver or health care worker, you don’t want to miss this impactful wellness event that will contribute to your personal self-care strategies and overall improved health. A delicious-nutritious plant-based vegan meal will be provided, including lip-smacking herbal beverages. Seats are limited. For more information, call 347-696-7079 or register at bitlyhealthbodyofnurses.
Voza Rivers-Jamal Joseph and the New Heritage Theatre Group invite you to “March On!,” a compelling dramatization capturing the Aug. 29,1963 historic March on Washington, told through the emotional experiences of a cross section of personas in attendance who joined in witnessing and hearing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. April 9 at 2 p.m., Harlem Hospital Cave Auditorium, Second Floor, 135th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, N.Y. Please come and witness this moment in history. Complimentary admission. Please call 212-926-2550 for information. RSVP at Eventbrite.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, nyerere1@aol.com, find us at Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @GBELIFE or call 212-592-3279.