Of all the voices in jazz, soul or gospel, Ella Fitzgerald might just be the voice to end all voices. Known for the smoothness of her tones; the ability to sustain and stretch long, round notes and her ever crowd-pleasing improvisation, Fitzgerald achieved unparalleled international acclaim. On Oct. 1, Tina Fabrique, a jazz star in her own right, will bring Fitzgerald to life in the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of “Ella.” TINA FABRIQUE AS ELLA FITZGERALD
This week I visited the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Downtown Pittsburgh, Tim’s Lounge in the Hill District, Capri’s Bar and Restaurante in East Liberty, CJ’s in the Strip District and St. Lawrence O’Toole’s in Garfield. My first stop was at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Downtown, Pittsburgh where they held the grand opening. It was a great affair where celebrities from all over came out to show love and pay tribute to the one and only August Wilson. Young and old alike came to the 3D party that was held at the new center featuring DJ Nate Da Phat Barber on the 1’s and 2’s. The 3D party was in full effect at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Thursday 1 Opening performance Pittsburgh Public Theater presents Ella at 8 p.m. at the O’Reilly Theatre, 621 Penn Ave., Cultural District. This is a bio-musical of Ella Fitzgerald. It is directed by Rob Ruggiero and stars Tina Fabrique, as Ella. The show will run through Nov. 1 and tickets are $40-$60 and $15 for ages 26 and younger and students. Call 412-316-1600 or visit www.ppt.org.
Songstress Lalah Hathaway treated Pittsburghers to a variety of music that has spanned her career when she graced the August Wilson African American Cultural Center stage, Sept 10-11. Hathaway was in town to kick off the inaugural season of the center. The mission of the center is to serve and promote the history of African-Americans in western Pennsylvania. LALAH HATHAWAY
Fellow Jamaican Paula Reed said she hadn’t danced like this in years after attending the reggae concert of legendary singer Ernie Smith. Reed was visiting Pittsburgh for the second time and heard about the concert and decided to support it. ERNIE SMITH “I loved everything about it,” said Reed. “It reminded me of home.”
Rhythm, soul and light-hearted comedy reigned as the legendary internationally acclaimed dance-musical “Stomp” arrived at the Benedum Center Sept. 15. For six nights, the show dazzled Pittsburghers as they made a beeline to witness eight performers who moved in synchronized harmony, made delightful music with everyday objects and danced with youthful ferocity. CLEANING UP—Even brooms and other common objects were used to make music.
This week I visited Capri’s Bar and Restaurante in East Liberty, Questions Night Club in the Strip District, Krobar Night Club in the Strip District and the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty. My first stop was the Shadow Lounge where I met with hip-hop artists “The Finest.” They were showing support to “Weapons of Mass Productions” by Boka. Folks came out to this event to show their skills in the studio lab and compete for cash money. Hollywood actor Ving Rhames and friends chilling at Krobar Night Club in the Strip District for Snoop Dogg’s concert.
They said it couldn’t be done. It wasn’t possible. Nobody’d done it, and you weren’t going to be the first. Try all you want, it ain’t happenin.’ That’s what they all said, and they were wrong.
Thursday 24 Part Three The Carnegie Museum of Art presents “Documenting Our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project, Part Three” from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. It features photographs selected by a guest curator, Charles A. “Little Teenie” Harris, the oldest son of “Teenie” Harris. Harris has selected images by his father that have never before been viewed by the public, in addition to other well-known favorites. The 184 photographs have been divided into the following themes: landmarks, celebrities, children, family, occupations, politics, protests, social, sports and weddings and religious events. In addition to the images selected, the exhibition features the 50 winning photographs from the “One Shot” Teenie Harris Photo Contest. The exhibit will run to Jan. 31, 2010. For more information, call 412-622-3131.
Drama, catfights, chaos and just plain foolishness are a few of the things you’ll see on this season’s episodes of “the Real Housewives of Atlanta.” But it is those things that are the perfect ingredients to a successful reality television show and keeps America coming back for more. The cast of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” Season two of the housewives welcomes back NeNe Leakes, Sheree Whitfield, Kim Zolciak, Lisa Wu Hartwell and newcomer Kandi Burruss. Like last season, which was the most watched show on the Bravo network, the women try juggling their family and business ventures all while trying to make it on the hot Atlanta social scene.
