Port of Harlem Snippets

January 25, 2008 - February 7, 2008

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Terrence Howard and Phylicia Rashad in A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof


T. HowardTerrence Howard, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, James Earl Jones, and Giancarlo Esposito will play in the new production of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof directed by multiple Emmy winner and two-time Tony nominee Debbie Allen.  Cat will begin performances Tuesday, February 12, 2008 and will open on Thursday, March 6, 2008.  Tickets are on sale through Sunday, April 13, 2008 at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre.

Cat has been revived on Broadway four times before.  This production marks the first African American production approved by Williams’ estate for the Broadway stage. This revival of Cat is not only making Broadway history it is making American theater and Black theater history.

Hypocrisy, greed and secret passions threaten to tear apart a wealthy but dysfunctional Mississippi family in Williams' American masterpiece. Cat portrays the larger than life characters of Maggie "the Cat" (Anika Noni Rose), her alcoholic husband, Brick (Terrence Howard), and the dominating family patriarch, Big Daddy (James Earl Jones).  Rashad plays opposite James as Big Mama.  Click here for tickets or call (212) 239- 6200.

Color Purple's Associate Conductor
 Release Debut CD

Victor Simonson released his first CD: Victory!  Simonson embraces a variety of music ranging from smooth jazz, classical, gospel, and organ music to opera, acoustic jazz, and inspirational songs. "I have always wanted to showcase a wide variety of music," said Simonson, who currently serves as the Associate Conductor of Oprah Winfrey's national production, The Color Purple. "We live in a challenging and diverse society. It is fitting to offer different sounds."
 
The Eastman trained baritone titled the self-produced thirteen track project "Victory!" as a play on words of his first name, but also as a hopeful triumph to help break the mold of single focused music styles.  In addition to his degree in voice, he attended Howard University for piano and organ. He also studied the trombone during his earlier years.

Concert-goers will see Simonson play the piano, conduct, sing, and play the organ at CD release celebrations in early 2008 at New York City area performances.
Friday, Feb. 1
Memorial Presbyterian Church, 189 Babylon Turnpike, Roosevelt, NY at 7p.
Saturday, Feb 2
Calvary Baptist Church, 11110 Guy R Brewer Blvd, Jamaica, NY at 7p.
Sunday, Feb 3
Emmanuel Baptist Church, 279 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY - during Sunday morning services at 8a and 11a.

Concerts are free-to-the-public with a free will offering.  Look for future DC area concerts in upcoming releases of Snippets

Click Here to Sample the Music


Is the Answer In Your Genes?


The just released quarterly issue of Port of Harlem explores the connection between our health, the environment and our genetic make-up.  In the cover story, Nigerian-born Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade discusses her award-winning breast cancer research that has changed the way doctors treat Black women with the disease at home and abroad.  The lead story also looks at BiDil, the first drug the U.S. government has specifically approved for Blacks, hypertension and race, and a new drug that uses genetic testing for better HIV management.   In addition, the 13-year-old magazine includes its regular departments including Money Talks, Travel, Health, Book Review, Recipe, and Entertainment.   Here are some bytes from the current issue:

Healing the Body:   Laying on of Hands - “The laying on of hands is an ancient healing ritual.  In recent years it has been exemplified in a technique called Therapeutic Touch,” writes Dr. Frederic Flach, MD, KHS.
My Ex-Husband, The Church, and I - “The hardest part was losing all of my church friends; some of them thought that I was disobedient to the Gospel . . .” Allison Miller tells POH’s Gregory Bearstop her story  of survival.
First Black Autos - A runaway slave with no formal education, C.R. Patterson created the first and only
documented Black-owned and operated automobile manufacturer in the world.
Ed Dwight - The Henry O. Flipper of Space - Mae Jamison (1992) became the first Black female astronaut. Frederick Gregory (1998) was the first African-American shuttle commander.  But, it was Kansas City, Kansas native Ed Dwight who paved their way.  An exclusive interview with Dwight from his studio in Denver, Colorado.              
Tariq Alexander, the Harlem born model whose face has appeared on the Tariq MasterCard debit card is proving to be more than just a handsome face.  Alexander talks about his new film and his love for Harlem.

Click here to subscribe


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Victor Simonson



Honfleur Gallery Celebrates
1st Anniversary in Anacostia, DC


Jonathan FrenchHonfleur Gallery’s One Year Retrospective opens with a bang Saturday, January 26 at 7p.   This celebratory soiree doubles as a fundraiser for the not-for-profit art space, which is the first main street gallery in the Historic Anacostia in more than 40 years.

The Retrospective will feature Honfleur’s Artists Group, a selection of cutting edge emerging artists from the DC Metropolitan area.  They include Darren Smith, Port of Harlem’s Jonathan French, Renee Woodward, Justin Couch, Seneca Wells, Alison Spain, Fred Joiner and Jon Royce.  The collection spans media from photography, industrial design, mixed media, painting, and literary works.  Honfleur will also include selected pieces from its internationally represented artists, Delphine Perlstein (France), Arie Mandelbaum (Belgium) and Mervyn Smyth ( Northern Ireland).  The Retrospective will highlight the Artists Group and include pieces from each of the exhibitions of 2007.

On January 26, expect to hear live music from local talent. The gallery will raffle three major prize packages.  These prizes include artwork, spa services, an evening on the Odyssey and more.  Tickets for the event are $25 (a tax deductible contribution) and include one raffle ticket and admittance to the Anniversary Celebration, which will feature the best live local Jazz, Fine Art, Honfleur Prize Raffle, catered food, and fine wine courtesy of the Iron Bridge Wine Company.  Tickets are available through the gallery, via phone (202-536-8994), email or in person during normal gallery hours at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, W DC 20020.

Photo: A naturally Child from the  South Pacific. By Jonathan French.

POH Meets with Gambian Ambassador


Wayne and Amb JagnePort of Harlem publisher Wayne Young recently meet with outgoing Gambian Ambassador to the United States H.E. Dodou Bammy Jagne about Port of Harlem’s ongoing involvement with the Gambia.  One of the programs, Port of Harlem’s Gambian Education Partnership, provides educational support for about 40 of the 240 students at Nyato Nursery School at Nema Kunku in suburban Banjul.  Port of Harlem readers support the program by providing $149 which buys four years of education for each student.  Click here to read more about Port of Harlem’s Gambia Programs.

Top Photo:  POH publisher Wayne Young and outgoing Gambia Ambassador to the United States H.E. Dodou Bammy Jagne

Port of Harlem Soccer Team

Photo above: 
Bakary Jadama and Omar Ceesay,
members of the Port of Harlem Soccer
Team, are all smiles with their T-shirts
 printed by Unitees of Washington, D.C.
(The team will get new T-shirts this year)



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Palacio Dies in Belize


PalacioAndy Palacio, an iconic musician and cultural activist in his native Belize and impassioned spokesperson for the Garifuna people of Central America, died after a massive and extensive stroke to the brain, a heart attack and respiratory failure due to the previous two conditions. Palacio was a national hero in Belize for his popular music and advocacy of Garifuna language and culture.

After visits to two hospitals is Belize, he was placed on an air ambulance to Chicago where he was expected to get treatment at one of the premier neurological facilities in the country. En route to Chicago, the plane stopped in Mobile, Alabama to clear immigration. At that point, Palacio was unconscious and it was determined that he was too ill to continue on the flight to Chicago. He was rushed to a hospital in Mobile, and placed on life support. There, doctors determined that the damage to his brain function was severe, and that his chances of recovery were slim. On January 18, his family requested that he be flown back to Belize so that he might die in his homeland.

 

DC / Philly Galleries Feature
POH Photographer

Healing HandsThe Parish Gallery in Georgetown, D.C. presents a juried photographic exhibition entitled “Emotions.”  Exhibiting will be a select group of eleven photographers including Port of Harlem contributing photographer Oggi OgburnThis exhibition will open with a reception from 6p – 8p on Friday, February 1 and will run through Friday, February 29, 2008.

The African American Museum of Philadelphia will exhibit “Backstage Pass,” a photography exhibit by Ogburn Friday, February 1 through Sunday, March 16.  Ogburn’s contribution in the latest issue of Port of Harlem is on page 16 and part of the health article “Healing the Body: Laying of Hands,” by Frederic Flach, MD KHS.

Photo:  Healing Hands by Oggi Ogburn in Ho, Ghana.