Black in Period Films

Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.

Checkout this photos from the upcoming adaption of August Wilson's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'.  Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues". The film features Viola Davis as Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman as Levee in his final film. Viola Davis front and center as Ma Rainey. (Credit David Lee/Netflix) Boseman with Michael Potts (Slow Drag) and Colman Domingo (as Cutler). (Credit David Lee/Netflix) The film is directed by George C. Wolfe who also did amazing work with period films 'Lackawanna Blues' (2005) and 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' (2017). I am loving how different Viola Davis is looking here. She looks like Ma Rainey here. (Credit David Lee/Netflix) Boseman with Glynn Turman (Toledo), Michael Potts (Slow Drag), and Colman Domingo (as Cutler). (Credit David Lee/Netflix) 'Ma Rainey's B...

  Jackie Ormes is known as the first Black American woman cartoonist. Jackie Ormes was born Zelda Mavin Jackson on August 1, 1911, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was born to  William Winfield Jackson,  the owner of a printing company and movie theater proprietor and Mary Brown Jackson.  Ormes's first comic strip, Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem, first appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier on May 1, 1937. Although it was not syndicated in the traditional sense, it was read from coast to coast. Her Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger, a single-panel cartoon would run for 11 years and lead to the creation of the Torchy Togs paper doll and the Patty-Jo doll. Both dolls were represented black girls and women as well dressed and in a positive modern light.  Jackie Ormes is a trailblazer and I am happy Google honored her in this way.  I've talked about Ormes before. Take a look!

This morning Leslie Jones presented the nominations o the 2020 Emmy Awards. There are a few nominations that are very exciting to me as they feature talent from period series! Drama Series  “The Crown” (Netflix) “Stranger Things” (Netflix) Comedy Series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video) Limited Series “Mrs. America” (Hulu) “Watchmen” (HBO) Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”) Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Regina King (“Watchmen”) (Included becasue its Regina (duh!) and because of their flashbacks) Octavia Spencer (“Self Made”) Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”) Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Thandie Newton (“Westworld”) Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Sterling K. Brown (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”) Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen”) Jovan Adepo (“Watchmen”) Louis Gossett Jr. (“Wa...

The trailer for the cultural phenom Hamilton is here! The proshot is coming to the Disney+ streaming service this July 3!! Fans of the history making musical play will get a chance to see the beloved original cast. I firmly believe in Broadway productions becoming more accessible to fans of the medium, so proshots that can reach everyone are a step in the direction.  I am in love with the soundtrack and can not wait to see the OBS in action!! Hamilton OBS Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler Chris Jackson as George Washington Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan / James Madison Anthony Ramos as John Laurens / Philip Hamilton Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds Jonathan Groff as King George III  Jon Rua as Charles Lee / Ensemble Ephraim Sykes as George Eack...

Martha and Pinkie Yates in a buggy decorated for Juneteenth, Houston Library “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”

I've been listening to this rendition of "Til We Reach That Day' lately. I am in love with the way this casts' voices blend together and how they bring such emotion to the song.  The Soloists : Piper Jones ('12) as Sarah's Friend Deonte Warren ('10) as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. Jessica Blair ('09) as Emma Goldman James Lombardino ('09) as Tateh Kara Farmer ('09) as Mother Belmont University Musical Theatre Department - RAGTIME - Fall 2008 Till We Reach That Day  Music by Stephen Flaherty  Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Book by Terrence McNally COALHOUSE (spoken) : No! SARAH'S FRIEND : There's a day of hope May I live to see When our hearts are happy And our souls are free Let the new day dawn Oh, Lord, I pray We'll never get to heaven Till we reach that day MOURNERS : It's a day of peace A day of pride A day of justice We have been denied When a man can live And a chi...