Cedric the Entertainer enjoying life in his ‘Neighborhood’
NEW YORK (AP) — “The Neighborhood” might be a hit sitcom now, but needed some careful planning before laying down a solid foundation.
“We shot the pilot twice. We had to recast. And so, there was moments where you didn’t think the show was going to go,” said Cedric the Entertainer. “But the elements of it, the idea that it was about gentrification, the idea that it was about a Black family kind of staying true to their neighborhood when they saw white families moving in … I think it just caught legs and really resonated with people because we do it in, of course, a sitcom, lighthearted way.”
“The Neighborhood,” now it its fifth season on CBS, follows the Butlers, a Black family led by Calvin (Cedric) and Tina ( Tichina Arnold ) as they coexist with their white neighbors, Dave (Max Greenfield) and Gemma Johnson (Beth Behrs), who moved from the Midwest to a predominately Black neighborhood in Pasadena, California. The show celebrated its 100th episode this week.
While not every episode deals with heavy topics, the show has unpacked topics like Black Lives Matter and social justice, pregnancy loss and white privilege. But as more issues emerge like attempts to ban books and critical race theory, Cedric believes his show is more than capable of exploring them.
“One of the great testaments to the show is that we try not to preach it, but we also aren’t afraid to kind of just dive in,” said the former Emmys host. “We try to … deal with all those kind of subject matters on our show without just saying, ‘Hey, this is the line and this is what we believe in.’ We just raise a question.”
The milestone episode was directed by Cedric, who also serves as an executive producer. He said sitting in the big chair has been the next progression of his show responsibilities.
“It was only natural for me to kind of really morph into directing because I can see the show; when I’m reading the scripts, I kind of know where people are going to be. And so, that was something that I’ve been wanting to grow into,” explained the funnyman, who also directed an episode last season.
The St. Louis-area native began his career in standup comedy, although later than most; after graduating from Southeast Missouri State University, he worked for State Farm before diving into professional comedy in his mid-20s. After making a name for himself locally, he eventually secured hosting stints for HBO’s legendary “Def Comedy Jam” as well BET’s popular “ComicView.”
While his sitcom star is brighter than ever, it’s a culmination of years of experience; he starred in “The Soul Man” which ran from 2012 to 2016, but for many, his role as the loveable sidekick, Cedric Jackie Robinson on the ’90s sitcom, “The Steve Harvey Show,” won the hearts of viewers.
“I really believe that that’s kind of led to my longevity: that idea of watching Steve, being right there close (to him),” Cedric said of his good friend and “Kings of Comedy” brother. “The way he hired, the way he got Black people on the show, how he was able to negotiate his deals — all these things were things that I was exposed to just by being the No. 2 guy in the right situation.”
It was an especially huge payoff because at the time, Cedric had a deal in place to lead his own show. But after seeing Harvey’s early sitcom, “The Boys,” last only one season, he chose learn and observe, rather than jumping into leading a show head-first.
“It’s hard to knock that down when someone is kind of saying, ‘Hey, you’re the man!’ … I kind of saw him fail once. And I was like, I don’t want to run out there and get one season,” said the “Barbershop” star. “I kind of felt like that was the right thing for me to do, and it worked out great.”
Currently, the star comedian is on the 23-city “Straight Jokes No Chaser” tour with D.L. Hughley, Earthquake, and DC Young Fly, hosted by Mike Epps. Cedric notes the current politically correct climate hasn’t necessarily changed his brand of comedy, but believes some programs that provided platforms to create star Black comics might not be able to exist today.
“Def Jam was really one of those rare scenarios where we got to truly voice who we were. You didn’t have to change anything about yourself,” said Cedric. “I don’t think that that kind of rawness, that kind of honesty, visceral, right-off-the top whatever you’re thinking kind of joke-telling…I don’t think you could get away with that in today’s society.”
And while he coyly says today’s society is “soft as hell,” don’t expect “The Neighborhood” star to get any homeowners association violations.
“I want to come out and make people laugh and have a good time … I’m not that comic that’s there to challenge you or super offend you,” says Cedric. “I got the CBS, Paramount shield with me, and we’re doing great. And I employ a lot of people with this show. … I wouldn’t want to be the detriment of somebody else’s livelihood. So, I’m very careful of it without, at the same time, without being precious.”
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Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at: @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.
The post Cedric the Entertainer enjoying life in his ‘Neighborhood’ appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
San Diego’s poet laureate brings community with him, in his work – The San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego’s poet laureate brings community with him, in his work The San Diego Union-Tribune
The Uptown Tweet of the Week: #PeoplePower
Thank you for your advocacy @Uptowncollectiv https://t.co/tN48kndwzo
— Carmen De La Rosa (@CnDelarosa) January 19, 2022
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At its end, Phantom of the Opera is ‘more sacred’ than ever
The crowd exploded in cheers during The Phantom of the Opera’s Saturday matinee as the chandelier began its slow ascent to the domed ceiling of the Majestic Theatre. The audience relished the moment because it was the last time they’d witness this moment and the cast was also electric, delivering an energized and emotional performance that the audience was thrilled to be part of.
The Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved musical is lowering its curtain for good on Sunday, April 16. As Broadway’s longest-running show, it has served as the largest generator of income and jobs in Broadway and U.S. theatrical history, and has attracted audiences for decades.
Musical-theater fans were stunned in September when the show, which opened in 1988, announced that it would be ending its storied and record-breaking run at the Majestic Theatre this year. The musical’s haunting love story, iconic mask logo and soaring melodies—including “The Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You”—have become part of the fabric of Broadway. Ahead of the closing, Mayor Eric Adams bestowed keys to the city on composer Lloyd Webber alongside actor Sarah Brightman, who originated the lead role of soprano-in-distress Christine Daaé.
It’s been a hard pill to swallow for Phantom‘s legions of devoted fans—and for the show’s actors, many of whom have been with the production for years. Raquel Suarez Groen has played the show’s temperamental diva Carlotta Guidicelli since 2017, making a powerhouse entrance eight times a week with the “Hannibal cadenza”: a high-drama vocal passage that she sings a cappella, decked in a 20-pound dress and holding a severed head. “It’s absolutely thrilling,” Suarez Groen says. “It feels like you’re being shot out of a cannon.”
It’s not just the role that she will miss. Many cast members have been part of the production for such a long period of time, and have bonded with each other. “It’s weird, because we’re used to having our dressing rooms be like a second home, so it’s kind of like you’re moving out,” she says, as she packs up her personal belongings during an interview. “It’s more than just a job. You create a family with the people you work with.”
“It’s tough to see stuff being taken out of the building,” says Greg Mills, a swing performer who has been with the Broadway company full-time since 2012. “Everything’s been done slowly, instead of pulling off the Band-Aid quickly.” During the pandemic, he had to cover several parts when members of the cast became ill, but he assumed that things would return to normal once the crisis had passed. “It just seemed like Phantom would always be there,” he says, adding that it’s been an “incredible run.”
Many fans shared that assumption, and ticket sales have rocketed since the closing was announced. An initial end date in February was moved back to April, and weekly revenues hit $3 million last month—the highest take in the production’s history. But Phantom had been struggling at the box office for a while before, and especially since the shutdown: The same lavishness that has made it so popular—the large cast and orchestra, the elaborate set and costumes—has increasingly cut into its ability to run at a profit.
Although the show is coming to a close, it thrived for so many years, as evidenced by its astounding 35th year anniversary, which Phantom reached with much fanfare, on January 2.
“I think it’s a very deep story and lesson for young people to not judge and treat each other based on the way they look, whether it be deformed from birth like the Phantom, or born green, like Elphaba. These are exaggerated things,” veteran actor and former Phantom, Hugh Panaro, says during an impromptu interview in the vestibule of the Majestic. “I think the Phantom personally is a metaphor for the part of ourselves that the world finds unlovable.”
Carlton Moe, who plays the pompous tenor Ubaldo Piangi and Carlotta’s counterpart, says that although the company has been mourning the end of the show—“Sad isn’t the word—grief is the word, and everyone processes grief differently,” he says—there is also some joy to be found in preparing for the final performance. “We are trying to just be present, and enjoy it for what it is,” Moe says. “It’s all a bit surreal, and a bit exciting for me.”
“We feel this sort of responsibility to the show—to maintain its appeal and its luster,” Moe says. “That feeling carries on all the way to the end.” His castmate Suarez Groen agrees: “I think it’s become even more sacred than ever before.”
Sacred may seem like a lofty word for a Broadway musical, but for the many people with deep attachments to The Phantom of the Opera, the sentiment is appropriate.
My father took me to see the musical when I was 5 years old; it was also the last show we saw together before he died, and walking into that theater holding his hand as a wide-eyed girl is a lifelong memory that I cherish deeply. The “Music of the Night” may soon be over, but its spirit will not leave the hearts of those of us, in the company and beyond, who have loved it so dearly over the years.
New look at NoMAA | Manhattan Times
By Gregg McQueen
Location, location, location.
Long the battle cry of real estate professionals, the limited availability of local and accessible space within which to paint, plié and ponder has also been the bane of artists everywhere – and no more acutely than uptown.
Until now.
Since its founding in 2007, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) has supported countless uptown artists with programming, resources and monetary grants.
One thing the organization could not offer before was dedicated arts space.
In April 2021, NoMAA moved into a new headquarters, located on the top floor annex of the United Palace in Washington Heights.
The space at 4140 Broadway includes four studios, two of which have sprung dance floors and mirrored walls for dance groups, with all featuring a Bluetooth sound system.
It marks the first time NoMAA has possessed its own studio space to offer to the public.
Read more: New look at NoMAA | Manhattan Times
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Making it Plein | Bronx Free Press
By Sherry Mazzocchi
Painter Valeri Larko extracts pristine beauty from urban landscapes.
“I see beauty in things that other people might overlook,” she said.
Larko paints en plein air, which means she works outside, on location, to capture the Bronx’s rugged beauty. Larko’s work is currently on display at Sugarlift, a gallery under the High Line; the exhibit is titled “Hidden in Plain Sight.”
A keen observer, Larko focuses on light and shadow, whether the subject be graffiti-covered buildings or the soaring sculptural qualities of train trestles. In the latter, a viewer might be excused for thinking they see the underpinnings of an imaginary universe rather than Secor Avenue.
Her vision of the Bronx hovers somewhere between Magritte and Hopper. Skies are typically cloudy blue and vistas are free of people and trash. Yet the densely detailed paintings don’t gloss over harsh environments. Instead, they are celebrated and uplifted through an exploration of light and shadow. There is something almost nostalgic in Larko’s work. With her command of color saturation, she conjures a Bruckner Boulevard that is oddly reminiscent of 1950’s California.
Read more: Making it Plein | Bronx Free Press
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The Tweet of the Week: #Facts
McConnell’s remark about African Americans vis-a-vis Americans wasn’t a mistake; it was a Freudian slip.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 22, 2022
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