Multicultural Arts and Entertainment News

Harlem Stage announced highlights of its 30th Anniversary season, including world-premiere performances commissioned through its WaterWorks program by well-known artists of color working in dance, music, opera and more.  A national leader in producing and presenting, Harlem Stage will premiere the commissioned works this fall and next spring, along with its ongoing mix of diverse and intriguing artistic programs in various disciplines. “These exciting premieres showcase what’s wonderful about providing new opportunities of artistic expression by artists of color who may not otherwise have had a chance to fully realize and present  their ideas on  stage,” says Harlem Stage Executive Director Patricia Cruz.  Premieres in Harlem Stage’s 2012/2013 season year include  “Holding It Down: The Veterans Dreams Project” and “Sleep Songs”, a two-part musical and poetic distillation of the dreams and nightmares of veterans of color from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts on the one hand and the response from those affected by the conflict in Iraq; “Pavement”, a dance/theater work inspired by the seminal 1980s John Singleton film “Boyz N The Hood” by choreographer Kyle Abraham, who says the work “examines the state of Black males and the communities that have shaped them”; “We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite”, a new dance/music work conceived by Alexa Birdsong and choreographed by Ayo Jackson that reinterprets the 1963 Max Roach jazz suite on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.; “Makandal”, an ambitious new contemporary opera produced by Harlem Stage presented in English, Creole and Spanish inspired by the life of the revolutionary 18th Century Haitian leader and the relentless pursuit of freedom by the generations that followed him. Harlem Stage dedicates resources from its WaterWorks program to develop groundbreaking new work, or “art that reverberates,” as its current season theme indicates. For more information, visit www.harlemstage.org.   Read more >>

The Apollo Theater and the Manhattan School of Music in New York collaborated and announced the first show of “Ask Your Mama” crafted by Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman and Grammy winner Jessye Norman will be on March 23, 2013 for Apollo’s 2012-13 season. “Ask Your Mama” is a 90-minute sonic tapestry of music, film, and spoken word by EmmyAward- winning composer Laura Karpman based on Langston Hughes’s “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz” that bursts the boundaries of time, place, and verbal expression to trace the currents and tributaries of cultural diasporas. This is the first time the work is being performed at the Apollo stage, a  fitting home for the piece as it is just blocks away from the Harlem home of Langston Hughes, one of the foremost figures in the Harlem Renaissance. The performance will feature the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia conducted by George Manahan, who also conducted the sold-out world premiere at Carnegie Hall and a subsequent performance at the Hollywood Bowl. The Apollo is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. Tickets are $35, $55, $75 and $125 (VIP Tickets) and will go on sale Monday, Nov 19th at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. Visit www.apollotheater.org.  Read more >>

The 13th Annual New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF), the premier Latino film festival in the country, runs from Monday, August 13 through Sunday, August 19, 2012 at the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas, NYC. The festival features U.S. and International features, documentaries and shorts.  Panels, red carpet premieres, celebrity appearances and free outdoor screenings. Launched in 1999, the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) mission is to showcase the works of the hottest emerging Latino filmmaking talent in the U.S. and Latin America, offer expansive images of the Latino experience, and celebrate the diversity and spirit of the Latino community. NYILFF presented by HBO™, is the only film event to have had the endorsement of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s NYC Latin Media and Entertainment Commission since its formation in 2003. For tickets and more information, visit nylatinofilm.com.    Read more >>

In recognition of Black Music Month in June 2012, the Apollo Theater’s Cultural Exchange Series will celebrate over 50 years of reggae music with a special concert starring African Reggae icon Tiken Jah Fakoly on Saturday, June 16th at 8pm. Known for his politically charged lyrics, Tiken Jah Fakoly is the premier artist in African reggae and has often been called the African Bob Marley, drawing comparisons to the reggae legend for his soulful vocals, the revolutionary messages in his music, and his mastery of roots-reggae. The world music star has sold out stadiums and venues all over Europe and Africa and will now make a rare trip to the United States for his first ever appearance on the legendary Apollo stage, where he will perform classics and material from his latest album, the critically acclaimed  African Revolution. This special Cross Cultural concert coincides with the 50thanniversary of Jamaica’s independence, a milestone that has brought international attention to reggae music’s evolution, its impact on popular culture around the world, and the international sub-genres it has inspired, including African reggae. The Apollo’s Cross Cultural Exchange presentations focus on music, artists, or projects representing diverse cultures that may be U.S. or internationally-based.  Many of the artists presented represent cultural communities in Harlem and Upper Manhattan, including artists of Dominican, Puerto Rican, Senegalese, Ivorian and Malian cultural heritage. This show will also feature popular New York City based reggae outfit The Cannabis Cup Band. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tickets are on sale ($25 to $55) at the Apollo Theater Box Office. The Apollo in New York City is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.  Read more >>

Two standout films at this year’s edition of the Tribeca Film Festival will channel the inner Hispanic teen in any viewer. Puerto Rican Lena in the Bronx in “Babygirl” and Lila in Cuba in “Una Noche” face disparate, heart-wrenching challenges that will impact and inform their lives forever. In “Una Noche,” Lila, her twin brother Elio and his friend, Raul hatch a plan to escape to Miami from a broken Cuba, while innocent Lena in “Babygirl” has her plan to escape from the advances of her mother’s boyfriend. “Una Noche” written and directed by Lucy Mulloy and shot in Cuba and “Babygirl” written and directed by Macdara Vallely will be presented at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, NY as follows: “Una Noche” Thursday, April 19th – 9:00PM; Friday, April 20th – 7:00PM; Tuesday, April 24th – 3:45PM and Friday, April 27th – 5:30PM. “Babygirl” Thursday, April 19th – 9:00PM; Saturday, April 21st – 12:00PM and Friday, April 27th – 9:00PM.  Lucy Mulloy, a student academy award-nominated writer/director and Oxford alumna in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, is a recent graduate of NYU’s Graduate Film Division based between NYC, London and Havana, Cuba. Macdara Vallely was born in Ireland. His first feature film, “Peacefire,” was adapted from his Edinburgh Fringe First award-winning play and won several international awards, including Galway Film Fleadh, the European First Feature Festival at Angers, and the Annonay Film Festival.  Powerful in their own way these are two films not to be missed. For more information, visit http://www.unanochefilm.com.  Read more >>

Casa de mi Padre is a Spanish comedy starring Will Ferrell, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Genesis Rodriguez, Efren Ramirez, and Pedro Armendariz Jr. Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father's ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch faces financial strains, Armando's younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiancée, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez) and pledges to settle all his father's debts. It seems that Raul's success as an international businessman means the ranch's troubles are over, but when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul's business dealings turn out to be less than legit, the Alvarez family finds themselves in a full-out war with Mexico's most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal). Casa de me Padre is a Nala & Gary Sanchez production distributed by Pantelion Films and is in Spanish with English subtitles. For more information, visit: http://casademipadremovie.com/   Read more >>

From December 9-22, 2011, the Film Society of Lincoln Center will present the 20th edition of Spanish Cinema Now.  The series will feature the latest films from Spain as well as a special tribute to the legendary director, Luis García Berlanga. Highlights from this year’s films include the opening night screening of Nacho Vigalondo’s sci-fi thriller “Extraterrestrial,” Mireia Ros’ Catalan documentary, “Barcelona Before” and the Galician film “Crebinsky,” directed by Enrique Otero. A new generation of Spanish comedy is also well represented in this year’s edition of Spanish Cinema Now, with Santiago Segura’s “Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis”, the latest film in the Torrente series. Filmmakers and actors from these films and others will also be present.  The centerpiece of the line-up will be a 10-film tribute to the late Luis García Berlanga, who revolutionized Spanish cinema in the fifties and early sixties. Beyond being important documents of the growing social resistance to Franco, Berlanga’s films exhibit an extraordinary humor that seem to propel the often madcap tales into more general, timeless observations on the human condition.  Spanish Cinema Now is presented by the Film Society in collaboration with the Spanish Film Institute (ICAA) in Madrid and the Instituto Cervantes in New York.  Tickets went on sale both at the box office and on-line on Thursday, November 24.  Most public and press screenings will be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater.  To learn more, visit http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/spanish-cinema-now.    Read more >>

An Indigenous Australian didgeridoo player and a maracas shaking ensemble dancer sharing a Broadway stage with the gold lame wearing song and danceman movie star: it's "Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway." Travel through the life and loves of Hugh Jackman over a thoroughly entertaining and engrossing 2 hours and 20 minutes as he shares with the audience his favorite musical numbers in song (and tap dance) from movies he loved as a child (or starred in), pays tribute to his wife and his father through childhood and family stories, and honors the Aboriginal heritage of his beloved Australia. "Luck Be a Lady," "Singing in the Rain," "I Go to Rio," "Mack the Knife," and "I Got Rhythm," are just a few of the numbers that had us snapping our fingers (at his request) and clapping along. He told tales from his work in movies as Wolverine in the X-Men series, Kate & Leopold, and Happy Feet musicals The Boy from Oz  and Carousel. As he described his experiences living in the Outback during the filming of Baz Luhrmann's  Australia, down the aisle and onto the stage come Clifton Bieundurry a vocalist and foundation artist for Nomad Two Worlds who performs in his traditional Walmajarri language;  two didgeridoo payers, Paul Boon,  from Western Australia who also owns and curates a gallery specializing in sales of Indigenous Australian art, and Nathan Mundraby a descendant of the Yidinji rainforest people and Lama Lama tribe of Thaypan Country in Queensland;  and Olive Knight, a  vocalist who Hugh Jackman introduced as an Aboriginal Treasure. It was she, he said, who was invited by the Prime Minister of Australia to attend the "Apology" in 2008 for 200 years of mistreatment of the Aboriginal peoples by the Australian government. Tickets (performances now through Jan 1, 2012) and info at http://www.hughjackmanonbroadway.com. by Lisa Skriloff    Read more >>