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Milwaukee Rep presents “Eclipsed” March 3 – 29

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Danai Gurira’s
ECLIPSED
March 3 – 29, 2020

With
Ashleigh Awusie, Nancy Moricette, Jacqueline Nwabueze,
Matty Sangare and Sola Thompson

ebruary 4, 2020 [Milwaukee, WI] – Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Eclipsed written by Black Panther and “Walking Dead” star Danai Gurira in the Quadracci Powerhouse, March 3 – 29, 2020. Featuring a cast of five extraordinary women including Ashleigh Awusie (Kasimir & Karoline, The Gate Theatre in London) as Wife #2, Nancy Moricette (The Convert, The Public Theater) as Rita, Jacqueline Nwabueze (Measure for Measure, Public Theater Mobile Unit) as Wife #1, Matty Sangare (Brooklyn College )as Wife #4, and Nigerian-born, Milwaukee-raised actress Sola Thompson (La La La Strada, Proboscis Theatre) as Wife #3.

 

Eclipsed is directed by Associate Artistic Director May Adrales (In The Heights, Milwaukee Rep) with set design by Collette Pollard (The Chinese Lady, Milwaukee Rep), costume design by Kara Harmon (Steel Magnolias, Guthrie Theater) lighting design by Annie Wiegand (I Was Most Alive With You, Playwrights Horizons), sound design by Fan Zhang (Paris, Atlantic Theater Co), voice and text coaching by Judith Moreland (Poor Yella Rednecks, South Coast Rep), stage management by Kimberly Carolus and assistant director 2019/20 EPR Kelsey Robins.

 

Eclipsed is a play about five extraordinary women and their tale of hope and resilience set in the midst of the Liberian Civil War. Drawing on reserves of wit and compassion, these defiant women ask: when the fog of battle lifts, could a different destiny emerge? Nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play, Eclipsed has been called “rare and powerful” by The New York Times and “a must-see production” by New York Magazine.

 

Every week of the run in March, Milwaukee Rep will highlight the work of three individual women of color who are fighting for the betterment of the community as a Milwaukee SHEro. A Milwaukee SHEro exemplifies the values of dedication to one’s community, collaboration and sisterhood. Nominate a Milwaukee SHEro by visiting this LINK now through February 7, 2020.

Eclipsed is sponsored by WE Energies, Executive Producers Jackie Herd-Barber, Michael Barber and Judy Hansen with Associate ProducersCatherine and Buddy Robinson. Milwaukee Rep is sponsored in part by UPAF.

 

Eclipsed runs March 3 – 29, 2020 in the Quadracci Powerhouse. Opening night is set for Friday, March 6 at 8pm. Purchase tickets atwww.MilwaukeeRep.com, by calling the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or in person at 108 E. Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee.

 

For more information, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com

10th Annual Film Festival Comes to Milwaukee

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Wakanda forever! One of the more memorable phrases from the box office smash hit Black Panther.  The film became the 10thhighest grossing film of all time, and the third highest in the U.S. box office. Directed by Ryan Coogler, it became the 2ndhighest grossing movie by an African American filmmaker. Holding the top spot is F. Gary Gray, who directed the most recent installment of the Fast and Furious franchise Fate of the Furious. With budgets of 200 million and beyond, the two films well exceeded both profit goals, and the average film making budget of approximately 100 million dollars.

In contrast, Independent films spend an average of 750 thousand dollars on films total.  While on the rise, the number of independent filmmakers are still small, with the number African American creators being even less common.

The Milwaukee 10thannual film festival took place on October 18th running until  November 1st. The event highlights independent film makers of all genres and ethnic representation. A group called Black Lens Milwaukee focuses on films made by African Americans in an effort to bring more exposure to up and coming film makers.

There were a number of films being played; I had to liberty to see one titled, a boy. a girl, a dream. The film featured the hit series Power star Omari Hardwick, and talented actress Megan Good who has appeared in numerous movies and television shows. Hardwick played a graduate of USC named Cass, who was at a crossroads in his professional life.

Resorting to a life of club promotion, he quickly gets lost in Los Angeles night life becoming a heavy drinker. He then meets Frida (played by Good) and they instantly feel chemistry. Going through emotions of self doubt, confused romanticism, and happiness to name a few, the story quickly takes you on a heart pounding emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Created by Qasim Basir the film showcased both the talents of the actors and Basir a must see film for any one who has ever experienced a place of stagnation in their personal or professional life.

by Joshua Thomas

 

New Black Panther-Inspired Theme Park

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Nationwide (BlackNews.com) — The movie Black Panther made history and shattered records across the world. In fact, Black Panther became the highest-grossing MCU film of all time in it’s first week. The New York Times has called it a defining moment for Black America.

That defining moment has for a long time been the motivation for Heritage City – The African Kingdoms and Empires Theme Park Project pioneered by a group of Africans and African-Americans under the umbrella of the Heritage City Group, which funded a business plan and conceptual designs for the project in 2004.

Interwoven with the overall design of the theme park are rides and attractions that feature the ancient African Kingdoms and Empires such as Songhai-Mali, Benin, Ghana, Kush and Egypt.

Heritage City was designed to showcase Africa’s rich history and produce a total experience in learning and entertainment-all in one location. The theme park initially planned for Africa’s most populous country-Nigeria suffered significant delays due to corruption and bureaucratic bottlenecks. With the increasing popularity of Black Panther the initiative is now attracting inquiries from potential developers not only in Africa but also for possible multiple locations in Europe, North America and China.

Even though countries like Kenya, Senegal, Morocco and South Africa remain examples of tourism development in Africa, the appeal Heritage City comes from its uniqueness as a one-stop location that will showcase all of the continents diversity and bring to life themes from African movies, legends and folklore.

The world of Wakanda in Black Panther is a mythical nation in Africa that has the worlds most advanced civilization, but Heritage City is presenting the real Africa that pioneered scientific and astronomical discoveries in the Empire of Mali, built advanced architectural wonders such as the ancient Pyramids of Egypt and Nubia and whose Kings and Queens displayed so much splendor, wealth and intellectual sophistication.

Heritage City Theme Park is a multimillion dollar project initiative and will be a cumulative showcase of the entire African continent’s history, culture and entertainment in one spot.

For more details, visit www.heritagecityparks.com

Black Panther viewing and Talk Back

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Local council members select area youth to view and discuss historic film

A number of students and young adults will attend a viewing tonight (Wednesday) of the film Black Panther, then participate in a Talk Back, in an event hosted by Common Council members Ashanti Hamilton, Milele A. Coggs, Russell W. Stamper, II, Chantia Lewis, Cavalier “Chevy” Johnson, and supported by Alderman Khalif Rainey and sponsored by Alex Lasry, Senior Vice President of Milwaukee Bucks.

“Sometimes the most effective way to spark the imagination of our future leaders is to let them see and talk about a work of art that resulted from great imagination,” said Council President Ashanti Hamilton.

The event will give these young people an opportunity to share in the positive experience of seeing heroic Black characters, then delve deeper into the film’s themes during a panel discussion.

“Because this film encompasses so many fascinating subjects such as science, technology, colonialism, and African traditions, we also took an interdisciplinary approach with our panel of academic scholars,” said Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs.

 

Moderator: 

  • Portia Cobb, Associate Professor in the Department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres at UW-Milwaukee

Panelists:

  • Kamela J. Goodwyn, Associate Dean in the School of Technology and Applied Sciences at Milwaukee Area Technical College
  • Robert S. Smith, Harry G. John Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Urban Research Teaching and Outreach at Marquette University
  • Victor Trussell, undergraduate student at UW-Milwaukee, currently studying psychology with an emphasis on Africology or Black, African, and African diasporic peoples

The program begins with a 6:30 p.m. showing of Black Panther, followed by a panel discussion and Talk Back from 8:45 to 9:30 p.m. Representatives from Running Rebels, Our Next Generation, West Care, We Got This and the Granville BID will also be in attendance.

 

The private event takes place at Marcus North Shore Theater.