JONATHAN BLAKE FLEMINGS AND ZURI HODGE
 
Pittsburgh Musical Theater has been known to take risks when it comes to choosing productions to present on stage.

The company has presented “Spring Awakening” and “Hair” in the past.

Now “Tarzan” will be swinging onto the Byham Theater stage as the season-ender of Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s season.

It is based off of the 1999 Disney film of the same name, and features powerful and fun music by musical juggernaut, Phil Collins. The musical began on Broadway in 2006 and opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on May 10 of that year, making it the only Disney theatrical production without any non-New York-based actors trying out for parts.

“Tarzan” closed in July of 2007 after 35 previews and 486 performances. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical and then went on to a widely successful two-year run in the Netherlands from 2007 to 2009.

With a history like that, one would think that actors would shy away from the challenge of the musical.

But that is not the case with Zuri Hodge and Jonathan Blake Flemings, two of the ensemble actors in the Colleen Petrucci directed and choreographed Pittsburgh Musical Theater Professional Company’s production, which runs from May 9-19 at the Byham Theater. Tickets run from $12 to $44.

Tickets for “Tarzan” can be purchased by calling 412-456-6666 or by visiting www.pittsburghmusicals.com/tix-tarzan or www.pgharts.org.

“The story of Tarzan is so captivating. That a stranger from an outside world would come in and get acclimated with a community of apes is amazing,” said Jonathan Blake Flemings, a Point Park University senior from Los Angeles who portrays the ape, Jasiri in the play.

“I’m glad that the theater is moving to something new with ‘Tarzan,” said Zuri Hodge a senior at Vincentian Academy in the Penn Hills School District. This will be her final production with Pittsburgh Musical Theater. “I’m glad that my final production with them will be Tarzan and that I’m playing an ape.”

To come across as real primates on stage, cast members went to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium to observe the movements and mannerisms of the gorilla.

“They were really energetic and it was fun watching how they react when they hear a noise and how that noise dictates their next move,” Hodge said.

Flemings agreed with his cast mate.

“We’re bringing creatures to life. We’re hunched over a lot. I don’t stand up at all. It’s physically exhausting, but it’s a great show. It’s Disney so it’s not super-deep. It is what it is,” Flemings said. ‘Tarzan’ works because of the story of it, the characters and what they are trying to do. That’s at the heart of the show.”

Pittsburgh Musical Theater was founded in 1990 with the mission of creating a regional theater company committed to quality productions of the best of Pittsburgh’s own professional talent at a price affordable to all residents, especially families and children.

As a non-profit performing arts organization, the mission expanded to include a strong commitment to education, training, and outreach programs through the Richard E. Rauh Conservatory for Musical Theater. General music education and appreciation programs are offered for students ages 4-18. The pre-college program is a highly structured accredited program designed for high school students with serious aspirations for careers in the performing arts.

“As African-Americans there are some shows that we can’t do, but when you really find a show that you can be in, you jump on it,” Flemings said. “Pittsburgh is a very traditional town when it comes to casting, but this is a big deal because it allows you to be in the show and have an opportunity that not a lot of people have.”

Hodge believes the underlying themes of tolerance, love and family will draw in audiences both young and old.

“The kids are going to love the apes and how goofy we are and the parents will relate to the animals and the human characters. The theme of acceptance will touch moms in the audience as well as the relationship between mother and son and dads will resonate with the male ape,” Hodge said. “The show is surprising because it relates to all of us.”

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(BlackNews.com)--Mo’Nique, who once glorified being overweight, is looking super thin these days after making a decision to eat better and exercise every day. She was recently interviewed on New York City's Hot 97 radio station, and shared her opinions on a lot of topics, including why her popular show on BET was cancelled.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan speaks to Detroit City Council on May 17, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
 
by Jeff Karoub
DETROIT (AP) — Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan urged Detroit's pastors and majority Black population Friday to join him in an effort to buy neglected properties and take other steps to help revitalize the struggling city where the movement started more than 80 years ago.

The fiery orator offered few specifics in a speech to the Detroit City Council, but made plain his displeasure with Gov. Rick Snyder's decision to appoint an emergency financial manager. He likened the takeover to buzzards circling over a carcass.

"The city abandoned, crime and violence rampant, and the governor has seen fit to take away the rights of the voting public," Farrakhan said, referring to putting someone in charge of the city's finances that wasn't elected. "I don't know what democracy really means if you can be given the right to vote and then somebody can take it away."

He said the city's downtown is "coming along pretty good" as its buildings are bought and renovated, but many other areas are "like a wasteland."

"But a wasteland always gives opportunities those who have a vision," he said.

Detroit's problems include high crime, joblessness and abandonment; its budget deficit is about $330 million and rising.

"Suppose we in leadership, the pastors of the city, stop arguing," he said. "Why shouldn't we come together and own Detroit?"

At the movement's annual convention in February, Farrakhan called on Blacks nationwide to curb economic disparities by cutting back on excessive spending, pooling resources and investing in land. The Nation of Islam has more than 1,500 acres of farmland in Georgia, and leaders have said the group is looking to buy thousands more acres in the Midwest.

Now based in Chicago, the Nation of Islam was founded in 1930 in Detroit by Wallace D. Fard, who the movement says attracted Blacks on the margins of society with a message of self-improvement and separation from whites.

The group, which promotes Black empowerment and nationalism, was rebuilt by Farrakhan in the late 1970s.

He became notorious for calling Judaism a "gutter religion" and suggesting crack cocaine might have been a CIA plot to enslave Blacks. Farrakhan has over the years denied claims of anti-Semitism, arguing his remarks are often taken out of context and that criticism of Jews in any light automatically earns the "anti-Semite" label.

His message on Friday was one of unity among races and religions, but he said he's focusing on African-Americans because they are city's majority population.

Farrakhan said it was important to return to Detroit "at a time of intense dark."

"We got to come home and help this city," he said.

Farrakhan also is scheduled to deliver an evening public address at Fellowship Chapel on the city's northwest side.

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Shawn Scott, 24, a suspect in the Mother's Day parade shooting is led out of the New Orleans 5th District Police Station, May 16, 2013 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
 

by Kevin McGill
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Days after a burst of gunfire brought a chaotic and bloody end to a Mother's Day neighborhood parade in New Orleans, news of six arrests gave an organizer of the traditional event reason to celebrate again.