Robert Townsend Delivers Tales & Truths, Honestly by Robert M. Gardner When co-producer Don Reed steps forward to introduce Robert Townsend, enthusiasm for the show immediately energizes us. For 90 joyful minutes, Townsend astounds, confides, and reveals the challenges and triumphs of a remarkable life in show business. The common note through his…
Marcus Gardley Celebrates Her-Story from Africa to Oakland by Robert M. Gardner Marcus Gardley has written a great play celebrating Black community and sisterhood from Africa to Louisiana to Oakland. “A Thousand Ships” evoked a thunderous welcome on Sunday at Oakland Theater Project as heroic Black women looked on from framed photos. Randy…
Leah Nanako Winkler’s Muse Speaks Out Frankly on Sex by Robert M. Gardner “Thirty-Six” recalls our own experiences with awkward first dates, right down to the moment a partner farts without shame. Director Michelle Talgarow unveils the script’s audacity and obscenity with skill and taste. Despite the sexual talk, there’s no bare skin—our imaginations…
“Love is stronger than Hate, Justice is stronger than Fear.” Jinho “Piper” Ferreira repeats the refrain as he tells a tale about “justice,” recounting the frightening crimes against Black Americans by the police that go unpunished.
Their names echo: Tamir Rice, 12-years old, shot, by a Cleveland patrolman while carrying a toy gun. Unarmed Michael Brown killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Trayvon Williams in Florida, drinking a soda. None broke any law.
But the black victim is demonized, not the police. Most notorious of all was the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmet Till. Till was brutally tortured and killed in Mississippi with two other Freedom Riders.
It pains us to repeat their names and recall our horror that the police went unpunished. Ferreira’s one man play unfolds how these travesties of justice affect Black men everywhere.