Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on Langston Hughes' Christmas play entitled "Black Nativity".
Part II of this series features nine videos of songs that have been featured in a production of Black Nativity. Information about the song's composers and links to those songs lyrics are presented for some of these songs.
This post also includes a bonus video of a song that I've heard in productions of "Black Nativity", although I don't have any video of those productions.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/langston-hughes-black-nativity-play.html for Part I of this series.
Part I of this series provides historical information, reviews, and comments about various "Black Nativity" based productions.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
PART II
FEATURED VIDEOS
These videos are presented in no particular order.
Video #1: Black Nativity - Holy
Robertjohnconnor,Uploaded on Dec 31, 2008
Andrea Connor leads a power packed cast of Trinity Entertainment Group's production of Black Nativity in Las Vegas.
-snip-
I'm not sure who composed this song. It may be the same song as Don Moen - "Worthy, You Are Worthy". Lyrics for that song can be found at http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/don+moen/worthy+you+are+worthy_20347781.html
Your help would be appreciated in verifying or identifying the composer of this song & a link to the song's lyrics.
****
Video #2: Black Nativity - Mary Did You Know
robertjohnconnor, Uploaded on Jan 3, 2009
Ken Young and Andrea Connor perform Mary Did You Know in Trinity Entertainment Group's Black Nativity.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lowry
"In 1984, Lowry wrote the lyrics to the song "Mary, Did You Know?" He was asked to write a script for a church Christmas play. Lowry wrote a series of questions that he would like to ask Mary, the mother of Jesus. These questions were used in between the scenes of the play. Over the next decade, Lowry tried to find the music that would complete the song. Twelve years after writing the lyrics, musician and songwriter Buddy Greene wrote the music to the song. The Christmas play script became the song.
The song has become a popular Christmas song."
-snip-
Click http://www.oldielyrics.com/christmas/mary_did_you_know.html for the lyrics to this song.
****
Video #3: STG Presents The Black Nativity 2011 @ the Moore Theatre [song- "In The Sanctuary"]
Seattletheatregroup, Uploaded on May 10, 2011
STG presents Intiman's BLACK NATIVITY at The Moore Theatre in Seattle on Thursday, December 8 -- Saturday, December 24, 2011. [Seattle, Washington]
-snip-
"In The Sanctuary" was composed in 2001 by Kurt Carr. Click http://artists.letssingit.com/kurt-carr-lyrics-in-the-sanctuary-5z7lkvj#axzz2F6JjwY2e for the lyrics to this song.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/kurt-carr-we-lift-our-hands-in.html for a pancocojams post about the praise song "In The Sanctuary".
****
Video #4: Black Nativity-My Love-My Life-My All
robertjohnconnor, Uploaded on Dec 31, 2008 [Las Vegas, Nevada]
The cast of Trinity Entertainment Group's Black Nativity sing Kirk Franklin's My Life, My Love, My All.
Click http://www.elyrics.net/read/k/kirk-franklin-lyrics/my-love,-my-life,-my-all-lyrics.html for lyrics to "My Life, My Love, My All."
****
Video #5: The Black Nativity – Magnify The Lord
MrPolarbeardavid, Uploaded on Dec 11, 2009
"The Black Nativity" song-"Magnify the Lord"
Being performed at the H Street Theater
Dec 10-Jan 3, 2010 [Washington, D.C.]
http://www.theateralliance.com
-snip-
I’m not sure who wrote this song. Your help identifying this song's composer and a link to the lyrics for this song will be greatly appreciated.
****
Video #6: Black Nativity Opening Number [O Sifuni Mungu]
fookychooch, Uploaded on Dec 22, 2008
-snip-
I believe that this production company is Kenny Leon's True Colors Theater Company, Atlanta, Georgia.
**
This is the only "Black Nativity" video that I found to date which features an African song.
According to http://www.choralnet.org/view/138392, [The words] "Sifu Mungu"
and "O sifuni Mungu" ... essentially [mean] "praise God (the Lord).
The original English text is the hymn "All Creatures of Our God
and King" which is a poetic paraphrase of the Canticle of the Creatures, by St. Francis of Assisi."
-snip-
English & Swahili lyrics to this Swahili song can be found on that website and can also be found at http://artists.letssingit.com/first-call-lyrics-o-sifuni-mungu-h4j53x9#axzz2F6JjwY2e
****
Example #7: Video clip from the 2009 NCBRC Black Nativity [various songs]
NCBlackRepertoryCo, Uploaded on Oct 14, 2010
Black Nativity: Directed and Choreographed by Mabel P. Robinson
Music Director: Tony Gillion
Scenography: Arthur M. Reese
Costume Design: Frenchie La'Verne
-snip-
NCBRC - North Carolina Black Repertory Company
Among the songs that were included in this clip, I recognized the traditional Black Spiritual "Oh What A Pretty Little Baby". The lyrics to that song can be found ="http://www.music-lyrics-gospel.com/gospel_music_lyrics/oh_what_a_pretty_little_baby_1043.asp
I also recognized the traditional Black Spiritual "Go Tell It On The Mountain". The lyrics to that song can be found at http://www.oldielyrics.com/christmas/go_tell_it_on_the_mountain.html/
This company also sung the song "Oh Mary Did You Know". Information about that song is presented above.
Information about & links to these songs would be greatly appreciated.
****
Video #8: Excerpts from Black Nativity
Pspellbinder, Uploaded on Dec 20, 2010
Cicely Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts presented Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity," as adapted by Mustapha Williams. These excerpts are from a performance given on 12/19/10, at which Cicely Tyson was an honored guest. She makes a brief speech at the end of the video. For more photos and information, go to:
http://wizkidzinc.com/09TysonBPA/FALL2010/BlackNativity12-19-10/BlackNativity
-snip-
More than any other video in this post, the songs performed by this cast conforms to the description of "Black Nativity" that was given in that play's Wikipedia page: the "Black Nativity" play "features traditional Christmas carols sung in gospel style with a few songs created specifically for the show." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Nativity.
The following traditional Christmas carols were sung in this video clip: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "O Holy Night", and "Joy To The World". In this video clip the cast also sung one Black Christmas Spiritual "Go Tell It On The Mountain" and two songs in this video clip that I didn't recognize whose titles may be "Glory To God In The Highest" and "Follow The Star Of Bethlehem".
Another difference between this video clip and other featured videos of "Black Nativity" productions presented in this post was the lack of any dance performances and the presence of orchestra and string ensembles, including an instrumental only performance. However, the cast list found in the hyperlink for that school includes a list of dancers, and the photographs of the play include ballet dancers in standard white ballet costumes.
****
Video #9: Black Nativity "Oh Holy Night"
Ladyofdance1, Uploaded on Dec 24, 2010
The 2010 Black Nativity Play in Cleveland, OH at the historic Karamu Theater. Black Nativity is the play by renowned artist Langston Hughes who took residence at Karamu.
Watch these Angels take wings!
-snip-
Similar to Video #8, this video also shows dancers performing ballet to the accompaniment of the traditional Christmas carol "O Holy Night". However, these dancers aren't wearing traditional ballet costumes.
-snip-
Editorial comment:
Although I've attended a "Black Nativity" play in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (in either 2004 or 2007) that included one ballet performance, African dancing, and Modern dancing with R&B/Hip-Hop moves constituted the bulk of the dancing for that production as they appear to do for most "Black Nativity" productions from at least the late 1990s to date.
I wonder whether the early productions of "Black Nativity" included African dancing and/or Modern dancing. If not, I wonder when those styles of dancing began to predominate "Black Nativity productions.
****
BONUS VIDEO
Kirk Franklin - Precious Lamb Of God
Uploaded on Jul 10, 2009
Kirk Franklin - Precious Lamb Of God
-snip-
Kirk Franklin's 1995 Gospel song "Now Behold The Lamb" which he composed in 1995 was featured in each of the "Black Nativity" Productions that I attended in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Those productions were sponsored by The Shona Sharif African Drum and Dance Ensemble. The 2012 production of "Nativity: A Christmas Gift" is also sponsored by that same company.
Unfortunately, because filming was prohibited, there are no videos of those productions. My thanks to that company for introducing me and many others to "Black Nativity".
-snip-
Click http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/kirk_franklin/now_behold_the_lamb.html for lyrics to this song.
****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & THANKS
Thanks to Langston Hughes for writing the "Black Nativity" song/play. Thanks to all those whose articles are featured in this post. Thanks to all those affiliated with "Black Nativity" productions.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Black Christmas Spirituals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Christmas Spirituals. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Langston Hughes' Play "Black Nativity" - History & Contemporary Performance Reviews
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on Langston Hughes' Christmas play entitled "Black Nativity".
Part I includes historical information about Langston's Hughes' "Black Nativity" play as well as reviews of two productions of that play. Part II also includes my description of "Black Nativity" based on my experiences of that play in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and based on my online research of other productions.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/langston-hughes-black-nativity-song.html for Part II of this series
Part II features five videos of songs that have been featured in a production of Black Nativity.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
PART I
INFORMATION ABOUT BLACK NATIVITY
These excerpts are provided in no particular order, and are only numbered for references sake.
Excerpt #1 (Historical information)
http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/p152/Black-Nativity/product_info.html
"Langston’s Hughes Black Nativity
The Christmas story in dialogue, narrative, pantomime, gospel song and folk spirituals—the unique creation of the poet and playwright Langston Hughes...
As a young man, Hughes participated enthusiastically in the activities of the Karamu Players in Cleveland, and later he was to found Negro theatres in Harlem, Los Angeles and Chicago. He wrote a number of plays and musicals and then came to his own special creation which he calls "the Gospel Song-Play"... which is Black Nativity. First performed at the York Theatre and then at President Kennedy's International Jazz Festival, it went on to cause a sensation at the Festival of Two Worlds at Spoleto, Italy. A New York Times critic reporting from Spoleto wrote, "Sophisticated Italian audiences greeted Black Nativity with enthusiasm, taking part in the singing and hand clapping and insisting on curtain call after curtain call." The staid Rome newspaper Il Tempo wrote, "The elegant festival public appeared to have forgotten itself, lost in this rhythmic wave that overwhelmed it, an integral part itself that bound stage and auditorium in a mystical fusion." In London, Oslo, Brussels, Copenhagen and Rotterdam, Black Nativity triumphed before its return to New York and the then-new Lincoln Center. Black Nativity is designed for you to add the music of your choice (from spirituals to traditional carols or your original compositions) and dance. This thrilling holiday piece will have your audiences on their feet!"
[Italics added by me to highlight that sentence.]
**
Excerpt #2 (Historical information)
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Nativity-Concert-Gospel-Celebration/dp/B006RMW94K/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y
"On December 11th, 1961 at the 41st St Theater in New York City, six gospel singers made history. Backed up by only a piano and a B-3 Hammond organ, they performed BLACK NATIVITY by African American poet and playwright Langston Hughes. He titled it "A Gospel Song-Play because it combined traditional gospel spirituals with narration about the birth of Jesus. After only 50 performances on Broadway, BLACK NATIVITY closed."
**
Excerpt #3 (Overview of the Act 1 & Act 2, Historical information) added on 12/16/2012
http://www.lvrj.com/neon/36038494.htmlhttp://www.lvrj.com/neon/36038494.html
"LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL 'Black Nativity' gives traditional Christmas story a cultural twist By Steve Bornfeld
"...Angled through a cultural prism, the opening chapter of The Greatest Story Ever Told -- and retold a couple millennia later -- looks like this:
"First it tells the story of the birth of Christ," says Robert Connor, director/co-producer of "Black Nativity," reimagining the hallowed Christmas staple with an all-black cast, as envisioned by a black playwright. "The second act, you see the residue of those characters -- the shepherd, the king, the deacons and elders of the church, the young people -- morphing into modern-day characters to see how the birth of Christ and that moment relates to the present day."
Penned by playwright-poet Langston Hughes, "Black Nativity" returns for its third annual Las Vegas production this weekend at Cashman Theatre by the Trinity Entertainment Group. The gospel-flavored musical dates back 47 years to its 1961 Broadway debut as one of the first pieces by a black writer to grace what was, in more than one sense, the Great White Way. The original cast included a young Alvin Ailey...
A score brimming with rousing spirituals sweeps through "Black Nativity," whose opening act portrays Christ's birth, retracing the journey of Mary and Joseph -- regally garbed in African costumes -- to Bethlehem. By the second act, the play time-travels 2,000 years to a contemporary black church on Christmas Day and a veritable hallelujah-fest of testifying deacons and passionate preaching."
-snip-
"Black Nativity"'s Wikipedia page includes the following information about Alvin Ailey:
"The original name for this play was Wasn’t It a Mighty Day? Alvin Ailey was a part of the original Off-Broadway cast, but he and Carmen de Lavallade departed from the show prior to opening in a dispute over the title being changed to Black Nativity."
-snip-
Three videos of Trinity Entertainment Group's productions of "Black Nativity" are featured in Part II of this post. The link for Part II is given at the beginning of this post.
****
Excerpt #4 (A Review of A Black Nativity Play, Description of Act I and Act 2)
http://clatl.com/atlanta/true-colors-theatre-companys-black-nativity/Content?oid=1276900
"True Colors Theatre Company's Black Nativity
by Curt Holman December 24, 2008A&E» Theater Review
Audiences could be forgiven for worrying that True Colors Theatre Company's Black Nativity might evoke a high school's annual birth of Jesus holiday pageant. The perennial musical's first half takes place "When Christ was born" and hits all the requisite beats of the first Christmas: angels, shepherds, Magi, etc. Plus, True Colors follows a similar approach as its recent holiday productions of The Wiz by casting primarily high school and college students as well as some recent graduates.
Fortunately, Langston Hughes' Black Nativity resembles a revue more than a plot-and-character-driven musical.... Featuring 24 exuberant players, Black Nativity's first half offers a vibrant swirl of African-American gospel songs and African costumes, suggesting the Nativity story by way of Broadway's The Lion King....
Act Two depicts a Christmas service at the Life Church, where the well-off parishioners first ignore, then accept a homeless man (Sam Collier) in a contemporary metaphor for the "No room at the inn" lesson. The cast seemed to particularly relish the contemporary story, possibly because it's closer to their own experience than the first half's parable quality. DeMille Cole-Heard, Reginald Degratfenraidt and Desmond Ellington double as the three wise men and three of the church's deacons, and bring enormous enthusiasm to the impassioned, old-school testifying songs.
Perhaps because numerous church groups were in attendance, the audience response to Black Nativity's contemporary half was electric, cheering and calling out "Amen!" where appropriate. It didn't hurt that the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts even has the look of a modern-day mega-church. … the show features so many highlights – such as the a cappella verse of "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful" – that it becomes a thrilling seasonal spectacle in its own right. These young people don't need to be graded on a curve."
-snip-
One video of True Colors Theatre Company's production of "Black Nativity" are featured in Part II of this post. The link for Part II is given at the beginning of this post.
**
Excerpt #5: (A Review of A Black Nativity Play; Description of Act I & Act 2)
"Black Nativity at H Street Playhouse: A moving and inspiring gospel celebration
Black Nativity December 7, 2011 By: Sarah Hearn
The Theater Alliance kicked off its ninth season with Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, a classic re-telling of the Christmas story. The production, directed by Stephawn Stephens, transformed the stage at the H Street Playhouse in Washington, DC into a finely woven tapestry, captivating the audience with exuberant and exhilarating song and dance.
Act I tells the story of the birth of Jesus and is filled with rich gospel, blues, funk, jazz music and dance, with griot-style story telling from the ensemble cast. Tony Thomas (Joseph) and Kiera Turner (Mary) bring electricity to the story as they gracefully dance to "No Room at the Inn,” illustrating the couple's desperation and efforts to find shelter.
There are humorous moments as the couple meets interesting characters along the way. Comical encounters at places like “Sasha Fierce Hair Salon” and “Hylemai Harem Hideaway” kept the audience laughing. However, Turner’s emotive dance while illustrating Mary’s labor is a moving moment that transports the watcher to that pivotal night in Bethlehem.
In Act II, the cast performs gospel songs with the fervor of a church revival. The soul-stirring renditions of spirituals and gospel hits sprinkled the atmosphere with electricity and energy. Many in the audience were moved as they clapped their hands in rhythm and lifted their hands in praise. The stage was transformed into a church and the audience became its congregants."
-snip-
One video of The Theater Alliance's production of "Black Nativity" are featured in Part II of this post. The link for Part II is given at the beginning of this post.
**
Excerpt #6 (Information about upcoming "Black Nativity" film)
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/kasi_lemmons_says_black_nativity_film_adaptation_still_in_developme
"Kasi Lemmons Says "Black Nativity" Film Adaptation Still In Development & "It's Going To Be Dope"
by Tambay A. Obenson, June 24, 2011 5:01 AM
In April 2009, it was announced that Langston Hughes' gospel musical Black Nativity (a retelling of the Bible's nativity story with an all-black cast and features traditional Christmas carols sung in gospel style) would be adapted for the big screen, with Kasi Lemmons writing and directing. At the time, Fox Searchlight was said to be fast-tracking the project for a possible Christmas 2009 release.
Well, obviously that didn't happen. So much for the "fast-track."
Fast-forward to today, just over 2 years later, and Lemmons reveals, when asked what she's currently working on: "A gospel musical titled, The Black Nativity. It's a film adaptation of the very slender book Langston Hues [sic] wrote in 1961. At the time it was very controversial. The story is about a kid from Baltimore whose mother has to send him to live with her estranged parents. He's dealing with people he didn't know including his grandmother who is a preacher; he falls in a deep sleep at church and dreams of the black nativity. It's going to be dope."
-snip-
"It's going to be dope" means "It's going to be very good"
****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
It appears that few if any production companies perform a strict rendition of Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity" play as it was performed in 1961. Instead, the content of "Black Nativity" - including which songs are performed, and which lines are spoken - widely varies among production companies.
Furthermore, in part as a way of ensuring repeat attendees, annual productions of "Black Nativity" by the same production company aren't exactly the same from year to year.
The summary statement in Excerpt #5 that the "Black Nativity" play "features traditional Christmas carols sung in gospel style" is also found on that play's Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Nativity. By traditional Christmas Carols, I believe those writers mean songs such as such as "Silent Night", Come All Ye Faithful", "Joy To The World", "Hark The Herald Angels Sing",l and "O Little Town Of Bethleham". I can't recall if any of those song were sung at any of the six productions based on Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity" that I attended in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (from 1997-2000, 2004 and 2007)*. If they were performed, they were only a very small part of the repertoire of songs for those productions. I believe that is also the case for other productions of "Black Nativity" that are reviewed online and or featured in YouTube videos.
All of the productions of "Black Nativity" that I attended in Pittsburgh featured traditional Black Christmas Spirituals in Act I and contemporary Black Gospel songs in Act II. By "traditional Black Christmas Spirituals" I mean songs such as "Oh What A Pretty Little Baby", "What Do You Call That Pretty Little Baby", "Rise Up Shepherds And Follow", "Behold That Star", and "Go Tell It On The Mountain". Most of the online videos of "Black Nativity" of productions of this play in other United States cities include this same division of traditional Black Spirituals & contemporay Black Gospel songs. That said, those productions don't perform the same songs from those genres.
Also, for what it's worth, I've never attended any production of "Black Nativity" whose story was centered around a boy who was sent to live with his grandparents as described in Excerpt #5.
It appears from my direct experiences & from my online research that Act I of "Black Nativity" based productions usually include female & male dancers & other performers, including those persons playing Mary & Joseph wearing traditional West African African clothing or clothing which is inspired by traditional West African attire from Guinea, West Africa and from the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria, West Africa.
In Act II performers usually wear 20th century or 21st century church attire (males -suits, females - dresses, medium length skirts & blouses, often with hats, although few women actually wear hats in most Black church services since at least the 1990s).
*In 2012 I also attended a production in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that duction was entitled "Nativity: A Christmas Gift" which was very loosely based on Langston Hughes "Black Nativity". That production featured contemporary Black Gospel songs & none of the above mentioned traditional Black Christmas Spirituals (which may also referred to as Christmas Gospels). asongs. However, like other "Black Nativity" based productions, "Nativity: A Christmas Gift" heavily featured African drumming & dancing in (what appeared to me to be) Guinean West African attire. That play also featured modern dancing, R&B/Hip/Hop dancing, as well as dramatic recitations & skits that were sometimes religious, and sometimes humorous.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & THANKS
Thanks to Langston Hughes for writing the "Black Nativity" song/play. Thanks to all those whose articles are featured in this post. Thanks to all those affiliated with "Black Nativity" productions.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on Langston Hughes' Christmas play entitled "Black Nativity".
Part I includes historical information about Langston's Hughes' "Black Nativity" play as well as reviews of two productions of that play. Part II also includes my description of "Black Nativity" based on my experiences of that play in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and based on my online research of other productions.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/langston-hughes-black-nativity-song.html for Part II of this series
Part II features five videos of songs that have been featured in a production of Black Nativity.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
PART I
INFORMATION ABOUT BLACK NATIVITY
These excerpts are provided in no particular order, and are only numbered for references sake.
Excerpt #1 (Historical information)
http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/p152/Black-Nativity/product_info.html
"Langston’s Hughes Black Nativity
The Christmas story in dialogue, narrative, pantomime, gospel song and folk spirituals—the unique creation of the poet and playwright Langston Hughes...
As a young man, Hughes participated enthusiastically in the activities of the Karamu Players in Cleveland, and later he was to found Negro theatres in Harlem, Los Angeles and Chicago. He wrote a number of plays and musicals and then came to his own special creation which he calls "the Gospel Song-Play"... which is Black Nativity. First performed at the York Theatre and then at President Kennedy's International Jazz Festival, it went on to cause a sensation at the Festival of Two Worlds at Spoleto, Italy. A New York Times critic reporting from Spoleto wrote, "Sophisticated Italian audiences greeted Black Nativity with enthusiasm, taking part in the singing and hand clapping and insisting on curtain call after curtain call." The staid Rome newspaper Il Tempo wrote, "The elegant festival public appeared to have forgotten itself, lost in this rhythmic wave that overwhelmed it, an integral part itself that bound stage and auditorium in a mystical fusion." In London, Oslo, Brussels, Copenhagen and Rotterdam, Black Nativity triumphed before its return to New York and the then-new Lincoln Center. Black Nativity is designed for you to add the music of your choice (from spirituals to traditional carols or your original compositions) and dance. This thrilling holiday piece will have your audiences on their feet!"
[Italics added by me to highlight that sentence.]
**
Excerpt #2 (Historical information)
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Nativity-Concert-Gospel-Celebration/dp/B006RMW94K/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y
"On December 11th, 1961 at the 41st St Theater in New York City, six gospel singers made history. Backed up by only a piano and a B-3 Hammond organ, they performed BLACK NATIVITY by African American poet and playwright Langston Hughes. He titled it "A Gospel Song-Play because it combined traditional gospel spirituals with narration about the birth of Jesus. After only 50 performances on Broadway, BLACK NATIVITY closed."
**
Excerpt #3 (Overview of the Act 1 & Act 2, Historical information) added on 12/16/2012
http://www.lvrj.com/neon/36038494.htmlhttp://www.lvrj.com/neon/36038494.html
"LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL 'Black Nativity' gives traditional Christmas story a cultural twist By Steve Bornfeld
"...Angled through a cultural prism, the opening chapter of The Greatest Story Ever Told -- and retold a couple millennia later -- looks like this:
"First it tells the story of the birth of Christ," says Robert Connor, director/co-producer of "Black Nativity," reimagining the hallowed Christmas staple with an all-black cast, as envisioned by a black playwright. "The second act, you see the residue of those characters -- the shepherd, the king, the deacons and elders of the church, the young people -- morphing into modern-day characters to see how the birth of Christ and that moment relates to the present day."
Penned by playwright-poet Langston Hughes, "Black Nativity" returns for its third annual Las Vegas production this weekend at Cashman Theatre by the Trinity Entertainment Group. The gospel-flavored musical dates back 47 years to its 1961 Broadway debut as one of the first pieces by a black writer to grace what was, in more than one sense, the Great White Way. The original cast included a young Alvin Ailey...
A score brimming with rousing spirituals sweeps through "Black Nativity," whose opening act portrays Christ's birth, retracing the journey of Mary and Joseph -- regally garbed in African costumes -- to Bethlehem. By the second act, the play time-travels 2,000 years to a contemporary black church on Christmas Day and a veritable hallelujah-fest of testifying deacons and passionate preaching."
-snip-
"Black Nativity"'s Wikipedia page includes the following information about Alvin Ailey:
"The original name for this play was Wasn’t It a Mighty Day? Alvin Ailey was a part of the original Off-Broadway cast, but he and Carmen de Lavallade departed from the show prior to opening in a dispute over the title being changed to Black Nativity."
-snip-
Three videos of Trinity Entertainment Group's productions of "Black Nativity" are featured in Part II of this post. The link for Part II is given at the beginning of this post.
****
Excerpt #4 (A Review of A Black Nativity Play, Description of Act I and Act 2)
http://clatl.com/atlanta/true-colors-theatre-companys-black-nativity/Content?oid=1276900
"True Colors Theatre Company's Black Nativity
by Curt Holman December 24, 2008A&E» Theater Review
Audiences could be forgiven for worrying that True Colors Theatre Company's Black Nativity might evoke a high school's annual birth of Jesus holiday pageant. The perennial musical's first half takes place "When Christ was born" and hits all the requisite beats of the first Christmas: angels, shepherds, Magi, etc. Plus, True Colors follows a similar approach as its recent holiday productions of The Wiz by casting primarily high school and college students as well as some recent graduates.
Fortunately, Langston Hughes' Black Nativity resembles a revue more than a plot-and-character-driven musical.... Featuring 24 exuberant players, Black Nativity's first half offers a vibrant swirl of African-American gospel songs and African costumes, suggesting the Nativity story by way of Broadway's The Lion King....
Act Two depicts a Christmas service at the Life Church, where the well-off parishioners first ignore, then accept a homeless man (Sam Collier) in a contemporary metaphor for the "No room at the inn" lesson. The cast seemed to particularly relish the contemporary story, possibly because it's closer to their own experience than the first half's parable quality. DeMille Cole-Heard, Reginald Degratfenraidt and Desmond Ellington double as the three wise men and three of the church's deacons, and bring enormous enthusiasm to the impassioned, old-school testifying songs.
Perhaps because numerous church groups were in attendance, the audience response to Black Nativity's contemporary half was electric, cheering and calling out "Amen!" where appropriate. It didn't hurt that the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts even has the look of a modern-day mega-church. … the show features so many highlights – such as the a cappella verse of "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful" – that it becomes a thrilling seasonal spectacle in its own right. These young people don't need to be graded on a curve."
-snip-
One video of True Colors Theatre Company's production of "Black Nativity" are featured in Part II of this post. The link for Part II is given at the beginning of this post.
**
Excerpt #5: (A Review of A Black Nativity Play; Description of Act I & Act 2)
"Black Nativity at H Street Playhouse: A moving and inspiring gospel celebration
Black Nativity December 7, 2011 By: Sarah Hearn
The Theater Alliance kicked off its ninth season with Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, a classic re-telling of the Christmas story. The production, directed by Stephawn Stephens, transformed the stage at the H Street Playhouse in Washington, DC into a finely woven tapestry, captivating the audience with exuberant and exhilarating song and dance.
Act I tells the story of the birth of Jesus and is filled with rich gospel, blues, funk, jazz music and dance, with griot-style story telling from the ensemble cast. Tony Thomas (Joseph) and Kiera Turner (Mary) bring electricity to the story as they gracefully dance to "No Room at the Inn,” illustrating the couple's desperation and efforts to find shelter.
There are humorous moments as the couple meets interesting characters along the way. Comical encounters at places like “Sasha Fierce Hair Salon” and “Hylemai Harem Hideaway” kept the audience laughing. However, Turner’s emotive dance while illustrating Mary’s labor is a moving moment that transports the watcher to that pivotal night in Bethlehem.
In Act II, the cast performs gospel songs with the fervor of a church revival. The soul-stirring renditions of spirituals and gospel hits sprinkled the atmosphere with electricity and energy. Many in the audience were moved as they clapped their hands in rhythm and lifted their hands in praise. The stage was transformed into a church and the audience became its congregants."
-snip-
One video of The Theater Alliance's production of "Black Nativity" are featured in Part II of this post. The link for Part II is given at the beginning of this post.
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Excerpt #6 (Information about upcoming "Black Nativity" film)
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/kasi_lemmons_says_black_nativity_film_adaptation_still_in_developme
"Kasi Lemmons Says "Black Nativity" Film Adaptation Still In Development & "It's Going To Be Dope"
by Tambay A. Obenson, June 24, 2011 5:01 AM
In April 2009, it was announced that Langston Hughes' gospel musical Black Nativity (a retelling of the Bible's nativity story with an all-black cast and features traditional Christmas carols sung in gospel style) would be adapted for the big screen, with Kasi Lemmons writing and directing. At the time, Fox Searchlight was said to be fast-tracking the project for a possible Christmas 2009 release.
Well, obviously that didn't happen. So much for the "fast-track."
Fast-forward to today, just over 2 years later, and Lemmons reveals, when asked what she's currently working on: "A gospel musical titled, The Black Nativity. It's a film adaptation of the very slender book Langston Hues [sic] wrote in 1961. At the time it was very controversial. The story is about a kid from Baltimore whose mother has to send him to live with her estranged parents. He's dealing with people he didn't know including his grandmother who is a preacher; he falls in a deep sleep at church and dreams of the black nativity. It's going to be dope."
-snip-
"It's going to be dope" means "It's going to be very good"
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EDITORIAL COMMENT
It appears that few if any production companies perform a strict rendition of Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity" play as it was performed in 1961. Instead, the content of "Black Nativity" - including which songs are performed, and which lines are spoken - widely varies among production companies.
Furthermore, in part as a way of ensuring repeat attendees, annual productions of "Black Nativity" by the same production company aren't exactly the same from year to year.
The summary statement in Excerpt #5 that the "Black Nativity" play "features traditional Christmas carols sung in gospel style" is also found on that play's Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Nativity. By traditional Christmas Carols, I believe those writers mean songs such as such as "Silent Night", Come All Ye Faithful", "Joy To The World", "Hark The Herald Angels Sing",l and "O Little Town Of Bethleham". I can't recall if any of those song were sung at any of the six productions based on Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity" that I attended in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (from 1997-2000, 2004 and 2007)*. If they were performed, they were only a very small part of the repertoire of songs for those productions. I believe that is also the case for other productions of "Black Nativity" that are reviewed online and or featured in YouTube videos.
All of the productions of "Black Nativity" that I attended in Pittsburgh featured traditional Black Christmas Spirituals in Act I and contemporary Black Gospel songs in Act II. By "traditional Black Christmas Spirituals" I mean songs such as "Oh What A Pretty Little Baby", "What Do You Call That Pretty Little Baby", "Rise Up Shepherds And Follow", "Behold That Star", and "Go Tell It On The Mountain". Most of the online videos of "Black Nativity" of productions of this play in other United States cities include this same division of traditional Black Spirituals & contemporay Black Gospel songs. That said, those productions don't perform the same songs from those genres.
Also, for what it's worth, I've never attended any production of "Black Nativity" whose story was centered around a boy who was sent to live with his grandparents as described in Excerpt #5.
It appears from my direct experiences & from my online research that Act I of "Black Nativity" based productions usually include female & male dancers & other performers, including those persons playing Mary & Joseph wearing traditional West African African clothing or clothing which is inspired by traditional West African attire from Guinea, West Africa and from the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria, West Africa.
In Act II performers usually wear 20th century or 21st century church attire (males -suits, females - dresses, medium length skirts & blouses, often with hats, although few women actually wear hats in most Black church services since at least the 1990s).
*In 2012 I also attended a production in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that duction was entitled "Nativity: A Christmas Gift" which was very loosely based on Langston Hughes "Black Nativity". That production featured contemporary Black Gospel songs & none of the above mentioned traditional Black Christmas Spirituals (which may also referred to as Christmas Gospels). asongs. However, like other "Black Nativity" based productions, "Nativity: A Christmas Gift" heavily featured African drumming & dancing in (what appeared to me to be) Guinean West African attire. That play also featured modern dancing, R&B/Hip/Hop dancing, as well as dramatic recitations & skits that were sometimes religious, and sometimes humorous.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & THANKS
Thanks to Langston Hughes for writing the "Black Nativity" song/play. Thanks to all those whose articles are featured in this post. Thanks to all those affiliated with "Black Nativity" productions.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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