Make your next group outing                         an ADVENTURE!         Join friends and family members on a world-wide                           tour of Cooking with Curry!                        March 27 - April 6 only            CURRY TALES           Special Group events include:                  Sat. March 28 at 8:00pm GREEK  NIGHT       Bring  your fraternity brothers & sorority sisters for a pre-show                                    Meet & Greet in the lobby        Tues. April 1 at 10:00am EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH Post show discussion with school groups and organizations  interested in enriching their knowledge of global complexities, cultural histories, and migrant stories.            Sat. April 5 at 3:00pm CURRY  ACROSS CULTURES                               A Post Show Salon with Nandini Dutta                                   ASK ABOUT OUR SPECIAL  RATES for GROUPS!                         732-545-8100   Make Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick your destination . . . Experience Curry Tales and meet a cast of characters whose wry observations on cooking, curry and life will entertain and intrigue you long after you've left the theater. Become an armchair traveler to faraway destinations and cultures whose names will now become part of your global experience.                            Crossroads Theatre Company is a Senior Member of the                                               New Jersey Theatre Alliance

"Celebrating 30 years     of artistic excellence!"         The 2007-2008 Season!   Melba Moore: Sweet Songs of the Soul                      Sept. 28-Oct. 7   Emergence-See! starring Daniel Beaty                     Nov. 29-Dec. 9 Curry Tales    March 27-30 & April 2-6             Genesis Festival of New Voices                           May 1-4     Single tickets are now on sale! Please call:           800-766-6048  MEMBERSHIP COUNTS! Season Subscription forms are available by clicking on "Print Subscription" to the left or by calling the customer service line at 732-545-8100.      Melba Moore: Sweet Songs of the Soul                           Sept. 28-Oct. 7   Tony award winner Melba Moore stars in this autobiographical musical.  This petite woman with the four octave range holds nothing back as she tells her story.  Through a dynamic mix of jazz, dialogue, gospel and Broadway blockbusters we share in her many triumphs as well as the personal trials and troubles that followed.  M                        Emergence-See!                         Nov. 28-Dec. 9 This highly acclaimed play begins with the supernatural emergence ofa slave ship in front of the Statue of Liberty sending New York City into a whirlwind of emotions and exploration.  Daniel Beaty's amazing solo tour-de-force features song, slam poetry, and multi-character transformation—among others he plays an 11-year-old boy from the projects, a scientist, a business executive and a homeless man. New York Magazine called Beaty "an intelligent and provocative new writer . . . the strongest debut of the year."   Click here for an NPR radio interview and videos with Daniel Beaty! Aap-5A387s/www.youtube.coAap-5A387s            Great Googley Moo (Postponed until later date)                                          Curry Tales will be performed                          March 27-30 & April 2-6  Call 732-545-8100 for 10AM Student/Senior Matinees               GROUP RATES FOR 10 or more                    Genesis Festival of New Voices                                 May 1-4 The Festival is a means of giving voice to young writers and new, cutting edge forms of theatre in a nurturing and creative environment.  The audience is an integral part of this process which challenges and supports the artists in their endeavor.  Among plays that have found their way from Genesis to the world's stages are Sheila's Day, George C. Wolfe's Spunk, and YO SOY LATINA! NEWS FROM CROSSROADS .  .  . Crossroads is the recipient of a $5,000 gift awarded at the Governor's Invitational Tennis Tournament.   This annual event is held to raise money to support the arts and cultural programs of the New Jersey Council on the Arts. On July 24 at the meeting of the New Jersey Council on the Arts, Crossroads was awarded a $25,000 grant. Maurice Hines has been named the first Crossroads Legacy Chair which is the national spokesperson for the Theatre. Crossroads will be represented at the Winston-Salem National Black Theatre Festival with Glynn Turman's Movin' Man.      Crossroads Theatre Company is a Senior Member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance

 

LAST SEASON

2006-2007

 

 

 

One Mo' Time      Nov. 3-12 Original cover for One Mo' Time One Mo' Time by Vernel Bagneris replicates a swinging New Orleans vaudeville, circa 1926.  This Crossroads' oldie--it was first performed at the Theatre in 1985-- is a celebration of New Orleans and the Black Vaudeville circuit of the 1920's.  You will be treated to sizzling renditions of the Charleston, the Black Bottom, and the Cakewalk along with the band lashing into "Tiger Rag," "Muskrat Ramble," and "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight."  One Mo' Time will be directed by Crossroads Theatre Company artistic director and co-founder Ricardo Khan and can be seen on the Crossroads' stage November 3 through November 12.   Movin' Man            Feb. 23-24-25 & Mar 1-3-4 Glynn Turman In February, Crossroads goes to Harlem with  Movin' Man conceived, written and performed by Glynn Turman who grew up on 147th St.  Turman made his Broadway debut at age thirteen in the 1959 landmark production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun with Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee.  He later appeared in the  hit NBC television series "A Different World."  Movin' Man celebrates the life of an adventurous boy who grew up in  New York and was drawn to theatre.  Glynn Turman's footsteps have impacted the entertainment industry over a lifetime of seemingly impossible dreams that have been realized beyond all imaginings. Those early dreams had been deferred, finally to be resurrected by a much greater dream. Directed by Woodie King, Jr.,  Movin' Man invites you into Turman's world to sit and dream with him from February 23 to March 4 at Crossroads Theatre.      An Evening With Maurice Hines featuring the all-female DIVA Jazz Orchestra                         May 24-27 _________________________________________________   The Tony Award Winning Crossroads Theatre Company is a Senior Member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. www.CrossroadsNB.com 732-545-8100

 

 

 

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

BY PETER FILICHIA

Star-Ledger Staff

NEW JERSEY STAGE

For its 2006-2007 season, Crossroads Theatre Company of New Brunswick will offer a musical, a one-person show -- and then a one-person show and a musical in the same evening.

One Mo' Time

The season, announced yesterday, begins with a revival of "One Mo' Time," Vernel Bagneris' look at New Orleans vaudeville, circa 1926. The musical employs such classic songs as "Muskrat Ramble," "Tiger Rag" and "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight." It was a Greenwich Village smash in 1979, where it ran until 1983, becoming the sixth longest-running musical in off-Broadway history.

One Mo' Time, under the direction of Ricardo Khan, Crossroads' artistic director and co-founder, runs Nov. 3-19.

Khan, who directed a previous production at Crossroads in 1985, says, "We're bringing it back to remind people that even after all New Orleans endured last year with Hurricane Katrina, the music lives on and keeps its cultural legacy alive.

"And," he adds,"it's a plain old good-time show, too."

 

Movin' Man

Next up is ," Movin Man" conceived, written and performed by Glynn Turman. He has quite a story to tell, for, at 13, he portrayed Travis Younger in the original 1959 landmark Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun." Later, he was cast as Han Solo in "Star Wars" -- until George Lucas changed his mind and went with Harrison Ford. Add in plenty of blaxploitation films and a marriage to Aretha Franklin, too.

"Here's a man who did a lot of moving to maintain his dream," says Khan. "He went from Harlem, to Broadway, to Hollywood films and television, and beyond. How a little kid was encouraged by his mother and turned into a success story is one we want to share with our audience."

"Movin' Man," to be directed by Woodie King, Jr., plays

Feb. 23-24-25 & March 1-3-4, 2007.

***There will be no performance on Friday March 2nd-Subscribers may exchange tickets for any other date***

 

Griots t'Garage  POSTPONED

Then comes the evening entitled "Griots t'Garage."

Curry Tales, originally announced as part of this show is in the plans for a future season in a full length version.

"Griots t'Garage" is Dennis Rollins' tribute to West African music. While a griot is a term that originally meant "oral historian," it has come to mean a musician who keeps alive the old African music, as well as the new. Trombonist Rollins will go from soca to soul, from reggae to hip-hop. Local musicians will join him, too.

Says Khan, " When I saw this show in Manchester, England, last year, it was only the second act of a two-act show. I suggested to  Dennis that he should expand the performance and create a full-length evening." That will happen at Crossroads this Spring.

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AND DON'T FORGET THE

2005-2006 SEASON

NJ’s own Savion Glover Opened With a World Premier      on October 8, 2006                      

In December Crossroads was pleased to present Cookin’ at the Cookery, the music and times of blues legend Alberta Hunter, written and directed by Marion J. Caffey.  The play takes the audience through the intriguing journey of Hunter’s life from the early days in Memphis to Chicago and on to the world’s stages.  Her musical career included performing in the 1928 original Showboat with Paul Robeson and singing on the same stages as Josephine Baker.  Also known as a songwriter, she wrote Bessie Smith’s biggest hit Downhearted Blues.  Although her singing career flourished from the 1920’s to the 1940’s, by the 1950’s she was out of work and went on to become a nurse.  Hunter stopped singing for twenty years only to make a comeback at the age of eighty-two performing fifteen shows a week.  The energetic performer became a hit at the Cookery in Greenwich Village and went on to release two new albums and become a popular talk show guest before her death in 1984 at the age of eighty-nine.  Playwright Caffey promises audiences a joyful show that celebrates the spirit of Alberta Hunter whose love of life is an inspiration for us all.  Cookin’ at the Cookery was seen at Crossroads December 2-11,2005.

February brought Yo Soy Latina by emerging playwright Linda Nieves-Powell who is making her debut at Crossroads.  A recent workshop at Crossroads culminated in an overwhelming success in this season’s Genesis Festival that inspired its writer and Ricardo Khan, Crossroads Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, to continue the development of Yo Soy Latina towards a fully professional production as part of the Crossroads season.  Nieves-Powell is excited about the opportunity to work at Crossroads with Khan. As she stated, “It felt like a natural fit to come to Crossroads—like coming home. Ricardo had a calming effect that allowed me to let go of this piece that I had created; I planted a seed that now can be nourished.”  This ensemble play challenges a group of diverse Latina women to examine their identity and their connection in the contemporary American landscape regardless of their countries of origin or shades of brown.  According to Khan, the ultimate message, power and beauty of Yo Soy Latina transcends racial and cultural barriers as it becomes an inspiring and enlightening cause for self-pride, self-love and unity for people of all colors. Yo Soy Latina ran February 10-19, 2006.

The thirteenth Genesis Festival of New Voices will ran from March 31 through April 2, 2006  The Genesis Festival began as the brainchild of Crossroads’ co-founder Ricardo Khan and New Play Development Director Sydney Mahone as a means of giving voice to young writers and new, cutting-edge forms of theatre in a nurturing and creative environment.  The Festival was sorely missed in the creative community when Crossroads closed its doors in 1999; the Festival returned last season with three plays in workshop.

Genesis Festival: March 31, April 1-2, 2006 The Genesis Festival of New Voices  provides a nurturing environment in which the author and creative teams can discover a play's potential in a particular stage of its development. Answers to the writer's most compelling creative questions can be explored with the support and encouragement of the Crossroads Community. This year's Genesis Festival will open the doors to the mind of the artist who is in transition and seeking the inspiration of individuals who care about and are willing to share in the creative spirit. Crossroads Subscribers: Choose from these Genesis offerings and call the Customer Service line at 732-545-8100 by Mon. March 27,2006 to reserve your seat.    Friday March 31, 2006 -8:00 PM An Evening with LeDerick Horne  Award-winning New Jersey Poet and Winner of Crossroads' 2000 Genesis Festival Poetry Jam. LeDerick is in the process of creating his full show to be independently produced at the Crossroads Theatre later this spring.  In support of the development of his efforts, Crossroads' Genesis Festival will provide this young and talented poet a unique first opportunity to share and test out his work and to benefit from the constructive audience feedback that's always a lively and helpful part of the Festival. Saturday April 1, 2006 -8:00PM Tsidii Le Loka: The Spirit of Miriam Makeba Songstress, Actress, Composer Tsidii is currently working on her new Show SONG ON SKY MOUNTAIN: A Tribute To Miriam Makeba.  At the Genesis Festival, Tsidii will engage the audience in a musical performance and conversation about the impact and influence of Miriam Makeba on our art and society. A rare insight into two lives of different generations that newly opens our eyes and ears to the experience of growing up as a child of color in apartheid South Africa. Tsidii is the Tony nominated star of THE LION KING ON BROADWAY and star of the Stephen King movies ROSE RED and THE DIARY OF ELLEN RIMBAUER. Sunday April 2, 2006-3:00 PM An Afternoon with Linda Nieves-Powell Author of YO SOY LATINA! Ms. Powell returns to Crossroads only months after the exhilarating success of her first play YO SOY LATINA!  Now, Linda shares with our Festival audience some of her more recent works and works-in-progress, including excerpts from Jose Can Speak, Soul Latina and, as a special treat, a private screening of her short film Mimi's Portrait. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT SOME OF THE MATERIAL IN THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN AS IT CONTAINS HARSH LANGUAGE. We look forward to seeing you at the Genesis Festival. Please remember to make your reservations by Mar. 27 as  the Festival will be held in the Theatre lobby for our Subscriber Community and seating is limited. Call 732-545-8100.

Thank you for your coverage of and interest in Crossroads Theatre Company.

Please contact Barbara Martalus to request interviews or photos.