Imani chats with poet, dancer and playwright, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, about his libretto for “We Shall Not Be Moved” — an Opera Philadelphia O17 festival world premier with music by Daniel Bernard Roumain and direction by Bill T. Jones. Brutal and poetic in equal measure, the story unfolds as a band of North Philly teens flee the violence and school closings of their neighborhood to take refuge at the abandoned Osage Avenue site of the 1985 MOVE bombing. Throughout the opera, dancing ghosts and a dense web of black cultural references, old and new, demonstrate the past is always with us.
Read MoreOur newest writer to join Artbog, Catherine Rush, reviews the dreamy world created in “Leaps of Faith and Other Mistakes” at The Painted Bride Art Center. It is one of the many wonderful performances premiering as part of the 2017 Fringe Festival. She writes, “The work’s structure is built intentionally in the tensions among its talented collaborators, thematically mirroring the dazzling acrobatics both playfully and profoundly employed.”
Read MoreMichael gives a glowing review of “To My Unborn Child,” an imaginary elegy from visionary Black Panther Fred Hampton to his son. Premiering at the 2017 Fringe Festival, the play Michael says, “makes no attempt directly to connect Fred Hampton’s story to issues that beset the African American community today, but the connection is as obvious as it is heartbreaking and disturbing.”
Read MoreCarl(os) Roa is bringing Andean Mountains, his Fringe Festival solo performance, to Taller Puertorriqueño Sept. 7-15, 2017. Roa tells Roberta and Imani that Andean Mountains is about a generational displacement between Latin youth who love anime and manga and their elders’ who love telenovelas. How can the children of immigrants reconcile the various streams of culture coming at them? By repurposing familial culture and making it your own, says Roa. Andean Mountains will have digital elements, movement, and storytelling, in English and Spanish. Get your tickets now, this is going to be great!
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