Play takes up-close and personal
look at actress Dorothy Dandridge
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The name Dorothy Dandridge is not as
foreign to people as it was several years
ago. There have been books and documen
taries about the trailblazing African-Ameri
can actress, and Halle Berry won an Emmy
and a Golden Globe for playing Dandridge
in an acclaimed HBO film.
"Yesterday Came Too Soon: The
Dorothy Dandridge Story" takes another
look at Dandridge. Los Angeles-based Do It
Yourself Productions has won critical praise
and a 2001 Theatre Award from the Holly
wood/Beverly Hills chapter of the NAACP
for the production.
"Yesterday Came Too Soon" is a one
woman play that takes place backstage
before Dandridge's final performance in Las
Vegas. Through a dialogue with a cub
reporter from a black newspaper, Dandridge
tells of her highs and lows, including two
short-lived marriages, racism in Hollywood
and her struggle to gain acceptance from the
I JL??M_I I
Phulo courtesy of Do it Yourself Productions
Sloan Robinson as Dorothy Dandridge.
black community.
Actress/dancer Sloan Robinson portrays
Dandridge. The play is spiced with songs
that Dandridge made famous and dancing.
The play is set the day before Dandridge
died in 1965 at age 42.
Dandridge was the first black woman to
be nominated in the Best Actress category at
the Academy Awards. She gained that honor
for the 1954 film "Carmen Jones." She also
starred in "Island in the Sun" in 1957 and
"Porgy and Bess" in 1959.
"Yesterday Came Too Soon: The
Dorothy Dandridge Story" is written by
Jamal Williams and directed by Erma Elzy
Jones.
Cr riots Speak
Music, spoken word marry in play
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
In Africa, the griot wears many hats. He
or she is a storyteller, historian, librarian
and keeper of his or her people's oral histo
ry. The tradition of the griot comes to life
in the one-of-a-kind theatrical event
"Underground Griots," which has drawn
critical praise and audience adulation
everywhere it has been staged.
"Underground Griots" features a series
of one-act plays that tackle a variety of
subjects. The plays are a collection of spo
ken word poetry designed to inspire, uplift
and reinforce. The cast of "Griots" is an
eclectic mix of young wordsmiths that mix
the tradition of West African storytelling
with the urban rhythms and rhymes found
in the popular music of today.
Acts in the play were written by Keith
Josef, Natalie Parker and Manatho Masani.
Jimmie Woody is the brains behind the pro
duction. Woody has Cleveland, Ohio,
buzzing with the many innovative projects
that have come through The Labyrinth, an
after-hours space where Woody has created
some memorable productions. Woody, who
has been hailed as one of his generation's
best actors and directors, is the founder of
Umoja Inc.
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