Stephen Sondheim On Upper Broadway

In 2018 I attended the "Wall to Wall Leonard Bernstein" program, an eight-hour tribute to the life and work of the conductor/composer/pianist, at Symphony Space, a cultural gem at the corner of 95th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

This year Symphony Space honored jazz saxophonist John Coltrane with a "Wall to Wall" program that I also attended. I was able to see and hear bassist Reggie Workman and saxophonist Gary Bartz perform live. Both men are jazz legends.

While browsing the theatre's brochure for the 2019/2020 season, I was delighted to learn that in May there will be a "Wall to Wall Stephen Sondheim" program that, like all the previous "Wall to Wall" events, will run for eight hours (3 pm to 11 pm) and will be free to the public (donations are suggested). The program will celebrate Sondheim's creative genius as well as his 90th birthday.

Sondheim, a co-creator of West Side Story (along with Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, and Jerome Robbins), as well as the composer/lyricist of other Broadway shows, is one of my favorite composers. And next year I'll get the chance to hear for the first time his music live in a theatre. All other times have been via television, film, and sound recordings.

A Long-Forgotten Pre-Stonewall Novel

One of my Facebook friends, Michael Schiavi, the biographer of the late gay film historian Vito Russo, posted a photo of the front cover of a book called The Gay Year by M de F (originally published in 1949) and described on the cover as "The revealing novel of two men and a forbidden passion."

The book is probably out of print but I would love to read it. The Strand bookstore in the Chelsea section of Manhattan might have a copy or two in its miles and miles of books.

It would be interesting to see if homosexuality is depicted as sordid, perverse, wicked, and psychotic. If it does, The Gay Year would reflect the attitudes prevalent back then.

I'm hoping the novel was way ahead of its time by showing a more progressive, enlightened view. We'll see.

Mere Clutter Or A Potential Goldmine?

When people enter my apartment for the first time and see piles of newspapers and magazines (and lots and lots of books) everywhere, their reaction tells me that they regard what they see as clutter and a possible fire hazard.

For me in those piles of printed material are potential literary goldmines--stories that are waiting to be clipped and filed and later turned into novels, short stories, poems, essays, screenplays.

What's one man's clutter is another man's treasure.

The Black Panther Sequel Arrives In 2022

According to the website Deadline.Com, Black Panther 2 will be in theatres on May 6, 2022. So mark your calendars. The first one grossed $1.35 billion at the box office worldwide.

I thoroughly enjoyed Black Panther and I'm looking forward to seeing the sequel.








According to the website Deadline.Com, Black Panther 2 will be in theatres on May 6, 2022. So mark your calendars. The first one grossed $1.35 billion at the box office worldwide.

I thoroughly enjoyed Black Panther and I'm looking forward to seeing the sequel.
















                                                                                                                           
                                     

           
                                                                                   






                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                               

A Black Heritage T-Shirt

Last week, on the M5 city bus traveling uptown on Amsterdam Avenue, in Manhattan, I saw a very interesting and unusual sight--a portly, middle-aged white man wearing a black heritage-themed T-shirt. As he stood in the aisle talking to the lady seated next to me and her husband who stood next to her, I was able to jot down what was printed on the shirt:

"Dream Like Martin
 Challenge Like Rosa
 Inspire Like Barack
 Write Like Maya
 Build Like Oprah
 Educate Like W.E.B.
 Fight Like Malcolm
 Believe Like Thurgood
 Speak Like Frederick
 Stand Up Like Colin
 Lead Like Harriet
 Champion Like Ali"

Obviously this was a man with respect for black historical figures and was not shy about showing it.

I have a co-worker at the call center who proudly shows his afrocentricity by wearing T-shirts with photos of such icons as Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, and Malcolm X. But I've never seen him wear a T-shirt like the aforementioned one.

I'm not much for wearing logos, slogans, and photos on clothing. But the T-shirt I saw on the bus is worth owning if only to display it as an alternative and a corrective to the profane and narcissistic ones I've seen people wear on the streets of Harlem and elsewhere.

Remembering Novelist/Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison

Earlier this week, Toni Morrison died at age 88. My longtime friend, Armando Alleyne, an artist who lives in Brooklyn, sent me a text message regarding her passing:

"A great great sister scholar professor and Pulitzer Prize winner has moved on [.] Toni Morrison I pray that she's in the angel wings in the great great palace [.]"

(Sent @ 04:54 AM, 08/07/2019)

I responded:

"I heard the sad news of Toni Morrison's passing. I have three of her books [Sula, Song of Solomon, and Beloved]. Maybe we should honor her by reading one of her books."

(Sent @ 03:12 PM, 08/07/2019)


R.I.P. Toni Morrison (1931-2019).

Commemorating James Baldwin's Birthday

Yesterday, August 2nd, as I walked near the world-famous Apollo Theatre, its electronic marquee reminded me that it was James Baldwin's birthday. The fiery novelist/essayist, a son of Harlem, would have been 95 years old this year.

If Baldwin were still alive, no doubt his voice and pen would be highly critical of the Trump administration as well as the white supremacist alt-right movement, who are among Trump's avid supporters. And no doubt Trump would be on Twitter criticizing, perhaps ridiculing, Baldwin's comments. But Trump would be no match for Baldwin's eloquence and penetrating intellect.