Season Two Premiere of 'Godfather of Harlem' Set For April 2021

 

Forest Whitaker

About Season 2 

Season two will see Bumpy continue his struggle to reclaim command over Harlem from the Italian mobsters by attempting to seed internal discord and sever their vital heroin pipeline. Meanwhile, Malcolm X will be forced to choose between violent and nonviolent responses to the near-constant threats to his life and his relationship with Bumpy will be severely tested.

Season 1 Cast

In addition to Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as star and executive producer, season one cast members included Vincent D’Onofrio (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil), Ilfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Baywatch), Nigél Thatch (Selma, American Dreams), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandelorian), Lucy Fry (Bright, Vampire Academy), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (It Comes at Night, Mudbound), Rafi Gavron (A Star is Born), and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.  

About Godfather of Harlem: 

Godfather of Harlem tells a story inspired by infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from eleven years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.  With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. During the brutal battle, he forms an alliance with radical preacher Malcolm X – catching Malcolm’s political rise in the crosshairs of social upheaval and a mob war that threatens to tear the city apart. Godfather of Harlem is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history. 

ABOUT ABC SIGNATURE

ABC Signature is a global leader in the development, production, and distribution of entertainment content across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. The studio produces many of ABC Entertainment’s most significant hits, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “black-ish,” “mixed-ish,”  “American Housewife,” and “Station 19”; and co-productions “The Good Doctor,” “A Million Little Things,” ”For Life,” “The Rookie,” and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” ABC Signature’s returning and upcoming series include “Godfather of Harlem” for EPIX; Hulu’s “Dollface,” “Marvel’s Helstrom,” and co-production “Woke; “grown-ish” for Freeform; and “The Wilds” for Amazon. The Studio produced the Emmy® Award-nominated event limited series “Little Fires Everywhere” for Hulu. For streaming service Disney +, upcoming series include “The Mighty Ducks” and “Big Shot.”

 

About Epix^®:

EPIX^®, an MGM company, is a premium television network delivering a broad line-up of quality original series and documentaries, the latest movie releases, and classic film franchises – all available on TV, on-demand, online, and across devices. EPIX® has tripled the amount of original programming on the network and has become a destination for original premium content with series including Godfather of Harlem, starring and executive produced by Forest Whitaker; Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Sir Ben Kingsley; spy thriller Deep State; epic fantasy drama series Britannia; War of the Worlds, from Howard Overman and starring Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern; two-part music docuseries Laurel Canyon; docuseries Slow Burn based on the hit podcast; docuseries NFL: The Grind, from NFL Films and hosted by Rich Eisen; Belgravia, from Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame and the creative team from Downton Abbey; six-part docuseries Helter Skelter: An American Myth, executive produced and directed by Lesley Chilcott; music docuseries By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem; six-part docuseries Enslaved featuring Hollywood icon and human rights activist Samuel L. Jackson; as well as upcoming premieres of drama Chapelwaite, based on the short story Jerusalem’s Lot by Stephen King and starring Academy Award winner Adrien Brody; dramedy Bridge and Tunnel, written and directed by Ed Burns; docuseries Fiasco and season two of Pennyworth, the origin story of Batman’s butler Alfred. Launched in October 2009, EPIX® is available nationwide through cable, telco, satellite, and emerging digital distribution platforms as well as through its EPIX NOW app, providing more movies than any other network with thousands of titles available for streaming. 

 

The Robey Theatre Company To Host Virtual Kwanzaa Celebration on December 11

 

            Kwanzaa is coming, and The Robey Theatre Company will have a virtual celebration (online) of the joyful holiday on Friday, December 11, 2020, at 6 p.m. PST. Festivities include musical performances by some of your favorite Robey artists including Cydney Wayne Davis, Julio Hanson, Marva Smith, plus the Hearts On Fire Choir, and young artists of The Amazing Grace Conservatory. There will also be comedy performances by Jason Mimms, Vanja Renee, and Stevie Mack. This event will be presented on Zoom.          

            This is a free event. Please register for tickets at http://therobeytheatrecompany.org/our-events

            The Robey Theatre Company is a nonprofit developmental theatre organization. Please feel free to make a suggested donation of $10 to support our programming at http://therobeytheatrecompany.org/donation-page

            The previously announced Kwanzaa playwrights competition has concluded, and a scene from the winning entry will be read during the Virtual Kwanzaa Celebration.

            The Virtual Kwanzaa Celebration will be available on The Robey’s YouTube Channel starting Friday, December 18.

            The Robey Theatre Company was founded 26 years ago by Danny Glover and Producing Artistic Director Ben Guillory with the objective of the theatrical presentation of stories of the global black experience.

The Robey Theatre Company Releases Nine Plays By Black Playwrights In New Publishing Venture

            For twenty-six years, The Robey Theatre Company has made its mission the telling of the stories of the Black global experience on stage. It is now also doing so in print. The Robey Theatre Company Playwright Series currently has nine play scripts in publication, available in paperback edition and also in Kindle format. These plays, all by Black playwrights, are available for the first time directly through The Robey Theatre Company, in editions with new covers. They can be purchased at http://therobeytheatrecompany.org/publishing

            The plays are:

            Birdland Blue by Randy Ross Ph.D. Birdland Blue, a two-act play, offers a fictionalized riff on a sticky, warm night in the life of legendary musician Miles Davis. It’s summer 1959. The place: Birdland, the famed New York City jazz club. Possessed by the incompatible goals of both creating innovative music and living the life of the rich and famous, Miles comes under great pressure: (1) a nightclub owner doesn’t want to pay him what he’s worth; (2) the police threaten his livelihood; (3) key members of his great sextet (including Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane) are rebelling or threatening to quit the band; and (4) a beautiful writer shows up to tilt his balance. Wrestling with his personal demons, will Miles make it through the night unscathed?

 

            Pity the Proud Ones by Kurt Maxey. It is 1915 and America is about to lose its innocence. Martin O’Grady has lost his, and his mulatto son shows no intention of letting it be forgotten. That is, as long as he hasn’t been paid for services rendered to his father. The two men clash when the father is forced to pay his son, by the only woman he ever loved: an ex-prostitute, who is a part-owner of the most profitable Bordello in St. Augustine, Florida. Promises are made; contracts to be honored. Yet a hurricane makes its deadly approach. Will there be enough time for suffering to be resolved and love to win out over pride? Only time will tell.

 

            The Emperor’s Last Performance by Melvin Ishmael Johnson. Charles Gilpin’s performance in Eugene O’Neill’s play, The Emperor Jones, propelled him to the height of his craft and, at the same time, made O’Neill one of America’s greatest playwrights. But the role of Brutus Jones in The Emperor Jones was not Charles Gilpin’s greatest performance. His greatest performance was in pretending that he liked the role that made him a star. The Emperor’s Last Performance traces the life and career of pioneering African-American actor Charles Sidney Gilpin, from his early days in vaudeville to his rise to fame in Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones.

 

            Sabado Mornings by George Corbin. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, we’re introduced to Eddie – ex-LAPD detective and widower, still struggling with personal pain and shame over his wife’s unnecessary death. Rosa, a Latina Mexican waitress has remained in a state of suspended animation refusing to realize that her husband, who disappeared while visiting family in Mexico, is not likely to return. The play explores the budding mutual attraction and unveils the evolution of a reluctant love story.

 

            92 Grove Street by Randy Ross Ph.D. Beginning in 1963, a fiery minister, Malcolm X, and a struggling writer, Alex Haley, began meeting late at night in a small room to create what would become a touchstone book of the 20th century, "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". 92 Grove Street probes what went on in that room over 50 years ago.

 

            The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel by Levy Lee Simon. We want to take you on a journey, a ride, back to a time not too long gone, when the men were so dashing and the women were so fine if you weren’t careful you might lose your mind. Come with us back to the '30s and '40s on Central Avenue in LA, where jazz was the music of the day. Back to a time when men kept their hair cut and their shoes shined, and you could get a chicken sandwich for a dime. Sunshine and palm trees, cruising on Central Avenue with ease, where the Duke, the Count, Dorothy Dandridge, and Lena Horne performed your favorite songs, and intellectuals debated the politics going on, and the average everyday folk felt right at home. Feel that LA night breeze, as the jazz music makes you tap your feet and grab your knees. Where was this place you might ask, this place to be, that had all that jazz! Well, do tell, do tell, ring the bell. Come with us back to the Magnificent Dunbar Hotel! It stood high and majestic on Central Avenue in the 30s and 40s, this place to be for the Black community. Entertainers, socialites, athletes, intellectuals, and everyday folk, made The Dunbar Hotel their home before she stood forgotten and all alone.

 

            The Wrong Kind of People by George Corbin. Theo, an African-American law student needing privacy to study for the California Bar Exam in 1942, checks in at the exclusive Guardian Hotel located in downtown Los Angeles. He is assigned to “The Colored Room” a rarely used, run-down room at the back of the hotel. During his first night at the Guardian, his studies are interrupted by four diverse “denizens of the night” who seek private entry to the hotel via his window. Over the course of the evening, Theo gains the real-world education needed to prepare him for the challenges of a career as an attorney.

 

            The Reckoning by Kimba Henderson. One plantation. Two families. So many secrets. Rubaiyat, a thriving Louisiana crawfish farm owned by the Robillards, an affluent African-American family, was once a sugar plantation worked by slaves and is consequently filled with ghosts of the pasts and all manner of secrets and treacheries. As LJ, the family's fiery but ailing patriarch prepares to hand over control of the estate to his devoted, yet defiant daughter, Nathalie, her own dashed dreams and family secrets long-buried coming to light put Rubaiyat’s future at risk. Then, the resurgence of an age-old betrayal brings the Robillards face to face with the Burnsides, a White family, whose long-held claims to Rubaiyat and bitter desperation to possess it by any means, have made them a dangerous force that will be reckoned with.

 

            The Daughters of the Kush by George Corbin. When Kathy Greenberg Battle, a young white woman raised in Black culture, decides to pledge the only African-American sorority at the small, midwestern university she attends, it triggers unexpected consequences. The year is 1963 and if Kathy is accepted to become one of the Daughters of the Kush, she would be their first white member. Soon, one of the Daughters responsible for admitting new sisters into Lambda Kappa Nu finds herself succumbing to a volatile mixture of implicit bias, jealousy, and her self-assigned power as the Defender of the Daughters, leading to unexpected moral dilemmas and tragedy.

 

            With the exception of The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel, all of the plays were developed in whole or in part in The Robey Theatre Company Playwrights Lab.

 

            Six of the plays received their World Premieres on the mainstage of The Robey Theatre Company: The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel; The Reckoning; The Wrong Kind of People; The Emperor’s Last Performance; Pity the Proud Ones; and Birdland Blue.

 

            The Robey Theatre Company, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1994 by Danny Glover and Producing Artistic Director Ben Guillory.

 

            The Robey Theatre Company is named for actor, singer, and civil rights and labor activist Paul Robeson. For more information about the productions of The Robey Theatre Company, its Playwrights Lab, and The Robey’s long devotion to excellence in Black theatre, go to http://therobeytheatrecompany.org

 

            The Playwright Series books, in paperback or on Kindle, provide an excellent resource for theatre companies, producers, and actors seeking successfully produced plays by contemporary Black playwrights. The new books also make excellent presents for Christmas and Kwanzaa for those on your gift list who love theatre or appreciate an absorbing read.

 

            The Robey Theatre Company Playwright Series: Because Black voices matter. Because Black stories matter.

 

Ragan Whiteside Drops New 'Five Up Top' EP

 

 

   

Riding a hot streak of six consecutive Billboard Top 10 singles, soul-jazz flutist Ragan Whiteside will drop her new EP, “Five Up Top,” on Friday on the Randis Music label. Cowriting four new songs for the disc with her producers, influential soul-jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin and Dennis Johnson (Celine Dion, Freddie Jackson, Melba Moore), the latter of whom handles drums and keyboards on the EP, Whiteside vowed to drop her fifth album this year and refused to be stopped by the novel coronavirus.

 

“This record, more than my other albums, was an exercise in sheer will, determination, and drive. Juggling a family with two toddlers, live shows and all the business-related stuff you have to do as an independent artist is a challenge. Adding an album project to the mix took that challenge to another level. Just when we thought we had everything ‘under control,’ the pandemic hit, and everything screeched to a halt. The focus shifted to safety and survival since nobody had a clear idea of the full impact of COVID-19,” said the Atlanta-based Whiteside.

 

“We knew we wanted to name this album ‘Five Up Top’ since it is my fifth studio album. However, with the time constraints, we realized that if we wanted to get this album out this year, we would have to get realistic and compromise on the length. We ended up making a five-song EP, which kept with the ‘five’ theme and took some of the pressure off.”

 

The conservatory-trained Whiteside recently rose to No. 3 on the Billboard chart and No. 1 on the MediaBase chart with “JJ’s Strut,” a jubilant joint inspired by her daughter’s moxie that opens the EP.

 

“Dennis conceived the song that we named for our daughter. She's a feisty little cutie who doesn't just walk - she struts!” said Whiteside who was accompanied on the cut by trumpeter Willie Bradley and guitarist Tony Bunch.        

 

Written with a backyard barbecue in mind that Whiteside describes as filled with “sun, food, laughter, music and dancing with a plate in your hand,” “Jam It” went to No. 2 at Billboard and reigned in the No. 1 position at MediaBase for five weeks.

 

The EP’s lone reboot comes from an unexpected source: Little River Band. Whiteside climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard chart by soulfully reimagining the Australian rock band’s 1978 hit “Reminiscing,” giving it an R&B flair with lyrical flute play and dreamy vocals illuminating the chorus. The single was accompanied by a video (https://bit.ly/3f9bCx0).    

 

Recalling her Bronx roots where saucy Latin rhythms permeated the air, “12 Bean Soup” is a Latin jazz stew seasoned by Baldwin’s tasty piano and Phil Hamilton’s (Luther Vandross) spicy guitar riffs.

 

“Dennis and I grew up close to New York’s Orchard Beach, so we spent a lot of time enjoying the sounds, sights, and smells of the Latin culture. People would come to the boardwalk with percussion instruments, guitars, flutes, radios, etc., and sit there all day and jam out,” said Whiteside who hosts a weekly radio show on Atlanta’s WCLK.

 

Speeding to a close comes “Flying on 75,” a clubby Euro house meets contemporary jazz hybrid capable of making dance floors jump. Percussionist Chembo Corniel drives the rhythm with prominent beats and crafty percussive fills.  

 

“In Atlanta, I-75 can often be like a NASCAR race and you really need to know what you're doing. When I'm driving, and especially when I'm running late, I tend to choose specific songs for specific roads that will help me focus and get there. Just be careful with this song: I found that I had a little extra lead in my foot when this song was bumping in my car,” admonished Whiteside with a laugh.     

 

Whiteside’s hit streak includes her first Billboard No. 1 hit, “Corey’s Bop,” along with “Early Arrival” which features saxophonist Kim Waters and “See You at the Get Down.” She has been collaborating with Baldwin and Johnson since her 2007 debut album, “Class Axe.” Pairing her classical flute with R&B, funk, jazz, and fusion grooves, Whiteside has cultivated a fervent following with her consistent chart presence, abundance of global airplay, and rousing performances at popular music festivals and cruises. 

 

“Five Up Top” contains the following songs:

 

“JJ’s Strut”

“Jam It”

“Reminiscing”

“12 Bean Soup”

“Flying on 75”

 

 

 

Nicole Beharie Stars In Drama 'Miss Juneteenth'

 

Vertical Entertainment is proud to present MISS JUNETEENTH, Channing Godfrey Peoples’ debut feature, starring Nicole Beharie. After a strong festival run, premiering at Sundance Film Festival and winning the Lone Star Award at SXSW, MISS JUNETEENTH has proceeded to garner critical acclaim, sitting at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, while simultaneously bringing the important holiday of Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States, into its long-overdue position in the zeitgeist. Writer and director Channing Godfrey Peoples has been celebrated for her creation of a vivid portrait of Fort Worth, Texas, and her beguiling depiction of the strength of black motherhood. Equally celebrated is Nicole Beharie’s unshakeable leading performance as Turquoise, which anchors the film with its nuanced subtlety. Vertical Entertainment released the film in the U.S. on Friday, June 19, (Juneteenth), and it is now available on VOD platforms.

Turquoise Jones is a single mom who holds down a household, a rebellious teenager, and pretty much everything that goes down at Wayman’s BBQ & Lounge. Turquoise is also a bona fide beauty queen - she was once crowned Miss Juneteenth, a title commemorating the day slaves in Texas were freed - two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Life didn’t turn out as beautifully as the title promised, but Turquoise, determined to right her wrongs, is cultivating her daughter, Kai, to become Miss Juneteenth, even if Kai wants something else. 

Holly Carter Inks First-Look Deal With OWN

Holly Carter

Holly Carter, a powerhouse producer of faith-based programming for mainstream audiences, is getting into business with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Carter has signed a first-look deal with the network to create and produce unscripted series and specials via her Relevé Entertainment, an All3Media America company. The content will be targeted at the network’s audience of Black women viewers with programming that explores faith, love, sisterhood, relationships, and unity.

Under the pact, OWN has ordered two-holiday gospel music specials from Carter, the first-ever music specials for the network. Additionally, OWN has picked up two unscripted series to development: Back to the Altar (working title), about divorced couples working to mend their broken relationships, and Love & Faith (working title), following the women behind some of the faith community’s best-known pastors. Series details follow below the story.

The first project under the deal is Our OWN Christmas, an all-star holiday gospel music special, set to air December 1 at 9 p.m. on OWN. Hosted by Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin, the one-hour special will feature holiday moments, acts of giving as well as performances by Grammy-winning gospel singers Kierra Sheard, Erica Campbell, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard and Le’Andria Johnson, legendary award-winning gospel group The Clark Sisters, and more. You can watch a teaser trailer below. A second-holiday gospel music special currently in production will air on OWN for Easter 2021.

“Holly is a force in the industry with a deep connection to our audience,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN. “We are excited to premiere music specials on OWN for the first time and to create new original unscripted programming that will lift up the spirits of so many viewers through the power of storytelling.”

Carter is the founder of Relevé Entertainment, which specializes in television/film production focused on family and faith-based programming, along with talent partnerships and brand development. Most recently, Carter created and executive produced The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, the highest-rated original TV movie of 2020.

“OWN’s mission to inspire and entertain, while empowering viewers to live their best lives is one that aligns perfectly with my own,” said Carter. “I’m looking forward to working with the OWN team to create engaging content that’s driven by faith, family, redemption, and the inspiration that compels us to live out our dreams.”

Unscripted Series in Development

Love & Faith (working title) follows a diverse group of women whose husbands are some of the faith community’s best known and most successful pastors. They are wives, mothers, and professionals who, despite their husbands’ larger than life personalities, are determined to live life on their own terms and are stepping into the limelight to pursue their dreams. The faith community is a tight-knit group, and these women are never short on opinions. Whether gathering for a First Ladies tea in Beverly Hills, working together on a ministry conference, or embarking on a shopping excursion, these ladies keep it very real with each other, and there is always plenty of advice – and drama – to go around.

Back to the Altar (working title), which is being produced in partnership with Kevin Bartel and Best Production Company, an All3Media America company, centers on divorced couples working to repair their broken relationships in order to determine if their love for one another is worth a second chance. It’s a voyage to self for couples to rediscover the love and passion that brought them together in the first place. Each episode will focus on the journey of one divorced couple and concludes with a dramatic decision at the altar – to remarry right now or walk away and call it quits forever.

**Story courtesy of Deadline

Alexander Zonjic's Is "Playing It Forward'

It’s been 11 years since contemporary jazz flutist Alexander Zonjic dropped a new album, making Friday’s release of his 13^th collection, “Playing It Forward,” an event album. A genuine multi-hyphenate, Zonjic is a longtime multimedia personality (he hosts television and radio shows) and artistic director for nearly a dozen music festivals and concert series throughout Detroit and the Michigan region in addition to being a recording artist, explaining the lengthy gap between albums. Finishing the new Hi-Falutin Music release produced by GRAMMY-winning keyboardist Jeff Lorber was made possible because COVID-19 forced the cancellation of most of the calendar of live music events that Zonjic produces.       

 

Whetting the appetite of both radio programmers and fans alike is the disc’s first single, “Motor City Sway,” a tune written and produced by Pieces of a Dream’s James Lloyd. A fun video shot on stage and on the streets of Detroit (the Canadian-born Zonjic’s adopted home), including at the Motown Museum, reveals a “Motor City Sway” dance to go along with the funky R&B instrumental track currently climbing the Billboard Top 25 (https://youtu.be/Cba0NStZM_M).

  

“Playing It Forward” is an energetic blend of jazz, funk, fusion, and soul comprised of five Lorber originals along with a handful of reimagined classics. The outing showcases the work of top-shelf musicians, including guitarists Chuck Loeb (one of his final recordings before his passing), Paul Jackson Jr. and Michael Thompson, drummer Gary Novak, horn player, and arranger David Mann, and 14-year-old South African keyboard phenom Justin-Lee Schultz, who can be seen performing a talkbox solo in the “Motor City Sway” video.   

 

The album title intentionally riffs on “paying it forward,” which is something the benevolent Zonjic does generously throughout metropolitan Detroit and the Michigan region. The award-winning musician is organizing and headlining a November 13 fundraiser for Mariners Inn, a shelter and treatment center for the homeless.   

 

 

For more information, please visit http://www.zonjic.com.