Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 30, 2009, edition 1 / Page 32
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s H O UJ s Mahel Robinson The Players. Qion/t Mother- M&, Garv't Sofia r o the theater world, Mabel Robinson is a remarkable quintuple-threat - an actress, dancer, chore ographer, director and playwright. To those who live in and around Winston-Salem, where Robinson makes _ 1 ? I _<XkJ kJ_l IH 1 ner nome, sne is Mama MaDei - a grana maui arch of the city's ever-burgeoning arts scene. Robinson and her many talents have been / tied to the N.C. Black Repertory Company / for more than 25 years. Her collaborations / with the late Larry Leon Hamlin - the founder of the Black Rep and the National Black Theatre Festival - are legendary. One of the productions that the pair took to new heights is making a triumphant return \ to this year's NBTF. \ Twenty years ago, "Don't Bother Me, \ > Can t Cope opened the very first National N Black Theatre Festival. It will get the honor of opening this year's Festival as well. "It was a special show for Larry and myself," Robinson said. "It was loved (at the 1989 festival)... Itwasper fect for the whole concept of the festival, which was a reunion ... of theatrical, black people." Written by Micki Grant, "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" was a smash as soon as it hit the stage in the early 1 970s. It garnered a bevy of Tony nominations and two Drama Desk Awards during its original Broadway run. A musical revue that features a variety of genres, "Cope" tells the story of a people struggling to make it to better days. /Au ug. 4 , Aug. $ 6 Aug. 6at0 p.m. each night at the Stevens Center Ticket Price: $42 , # "'Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope' is basically a musical that deals with the everyday African American experi ence," said Robinson. "It does so by inspiring and uplift ing songs and dances and spoken word. It's a show that I always felt was inspiring and satisfying as a the iricai piece. Trie show features some of the Triad's v most talented dancers, singers and musi \ cians. As director and choreographer, \ Robinson has taken each performer \ under her wing in order to bring out their very best. It's her style to have warm, I motherly relationships with her casts, / and it has paid off in a big way. / Robinson's "Mahalia: Queen of / Gospel" was the breakout hit or the 2007 National Black Theatre Festival. The musi cal production, which chronicles the life of gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, quickly sold out the Stevens Center and brought audiences to tneir reet. Robinson's other directing and choreographing cred its for the N.C. Black Rep include "And Still I Rise" and "For Colored Girls Robinson's artistic career began in Harlem. She has worked as an actress in films like "The Wiz" (where she also served as an assistant choreogra pher), "Funny Lady" and "Cotton Comes to Harlem." She has also danced with the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham dance companies. - The Chronicle
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 30, 2009, edition 1
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