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What Would Paul Robeson Do?
It's a question that will be answered in "Speak Of Me As I Am," a
one-man show about the legendary actor, singer and freedom fight
er. Robeson,, who was 77 wnen he died in 1 9/6, comes down from
the heavens in the play - in the form of singer/actor KB Solomon - to
give his perspective on today's youths and other timely topics.
Robeson also uses his return to Earth to clear up popular miscon
ceptions about him, such as the notion that he was unpatriotic and a
pawn for communists.
Written and produced by Solomon and Krys Howard, "Speak Of Me
As I Am" has won raves for its honest portrayal of the iconic Robeson.
Solomon, a classically-trained singer, has been lauded even by those
? ? ?-? I I A I _ _ l_ I
wno Knew KODeson. los Angeies journal
Reviewer Ed Rampell said that he thought that
he was actually watching Robeson as he
watched Solomon's performance.
"Solomon's performance is a marvel not to
be missed. The towering basso profundo
opera singer has the icon's stature, manner
isms and smile down, and his mellifluous voice
is a delight that sometimes had the audience
singing along Rampell wrote.
The show includes Solomon singing many
of Robeson's classics, including "I Dreamed I
Saw Joe Hill Last Night," "Porgy's Plenty of
Nothina." "The House I Live In." "Dannv
Boy" and Robeson's signature hit, "Old
Man Kiver.
Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter
directs the shoW. Anderson- >
Gunter, a longtime supporter /
and regular attendee of the /
National Black Theatre Festival, /
is best-known as an actor in I
films such as "Marked for Death," "Predator," "Only \
the Strong" and "Don't Be a Menace He also starred \
on the television shows "Hudson Street" and "Union \ ?
Square," but perhaps he is most rememered as the \
dreadlocked face that morpes into another face at the \
end of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video.
Kirk Taylor js the show's musical director. The Bridgeport
uonn -native nrst emDracea music as a sman cnna, dui aciinq
also became a ove of his. He has appeared on stage in shows like "5
Guys Named Moe, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" (a Stevie Wonder
tribute opposite Chaka Khan) and the one-man show "Jelly Roll' The
Music And The Man. He has appeared in films like "The Cotton Club,"
Jhe Last Dragon," "Death Wish 3," "Full Metal Jacket" and "School
' 1 r ? - r* _ l i
I FICi>C Udys, I ctyiui ICLUIU^ anu )JCI luimo III juuuiuh
California with The Angel Chorus, a Gospel ensemble under the lead
ership of legendary producer Scott V. Smith.
- The Chronicle
kirk Taylor
Jeffrey
A nderson-Gunter
Aug. 6 at
$ p.m.
Aug. 7 at B p.m.
Aua. B at 3 SB p.m.
at WFU s The Ring
Ticket Price: $37
INCIUDCS BOTH SHOWS
The teal Josephine Baker.
Qoananas/
Familiar to television viewers for her appearances on such
shows as "Girlfriends," "Las Vegas" and The Parkers," Sloan
Robinson pays homage to a true pioneer and trailblazer in
"Bananas.
American-born icon Josephine Baker had to travel across the
Atlantir tr? Paric in thp 1 Q?Oc cn that anrtionr-oc ilrl
view her for the content of her character - and great
singing and dancing talents - and not the color of
. her skin. By the 1930s, Baker
was the most famous (or infa
mous, some say) and richest
black woman in the world.
She bared more than her
I soul to audiences around
/ the world. The title
J "Bananas" refers to the
/ scantly skirt of bananas that
/ she wore during her early
/ shows, which she performed
topless.
The cabaret-style play is set
much later in Baker s bittersweet life.
It's 1961 in Paris and Robinson as Baker takes
the audience on an amazing journey through the
performer's life through dance, song, mono
logues and costumes that will draw oohs and
aans.
-T-|_ _ kl. V/ I . l_ I ? _ 1 . I
Sloan Robinson
i ne New TorK Dorn aciress nas receivea tnumDS-up rrom crit
ics and audiences for her honest portrayal as Baker. "Bananas,"
which Robinson wrote, has had longtime engagement at the The
Vintage Hollywood Private Club, a performance venue that pays
homage to old black Hollywood.
This is not the first time that Sloan Robinson has tackled the
role of entertainment heavyweight. She won an NAACP Theatre
Award for Best Female Performance for "Yesterday Came Too
Soon. ..The Dorothy Dandridge Story," which she brought to the
2003 National Black Theatre Festival. Both women blazed new
trails for black females in show business, but both their lives were
not all curtain calls and roses. Before their deaths, both women
had a string of unhappy romances and trouble making ends meet.
The beauty of Robinson's creative gifts is that she is able to take
audiences beyond the headlines and heartaches to expose the
real women behind the legend.
- The Chronicle