By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

“The Black White Love Play (The Story Of Chaz & Roger Ebert)” Debuts In Chicago

Posted Friday, October 2nd, 2015 - Comments Off on “The Black White Love Play (The Story Of Chaz & Roger Ebert)” Debuts In Chicago
Be Sociable, Share!
PRESS RELEASE
RogerEbert.com announces the premiere of THE BLACK WHITE LOVE PLAY (The Story of Chaz & Roger Ebert)
 
Conceived and produced by Jackie Taylor, founder, CEO of The Black Ensemble Theater
September 26 – November 15, 2015
 
CHICAGO, October 2, 2015 – As film critic Roger Ebert told it, he was smitten with his wife, Chaz, before he even knew her name. Dining with fellow newspaper columnist Eppie Lederer (better known as Ann Landers), Roger contrived a reason to visit the table of the mocha-skinned attorney — to say hello to an acquaintance, he explained as he excused himself.
He returned with Chaz’s phone number. “You sly dog,” Lederer said.

So began their epic love story, captured in the musical The Black White Love Play (The Story of Chaz & Roger Ebert), conceived, written and produced by Black Ensemble Theater founder and CEO Jackie Taylor.

The Black White Love Play
September 26 – November 15, 2015
Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark St.
Valet parking is available

The Black White Love Play follows the Eberts’ romance from their courtship, to their marriage, to Roger’s 10-year cancer battle. Roger frequently penned odes to Chaz in his blog and called her the angel at his side.

How can I begin to tell you about Chaz? She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone … and when it was necessary she forced me to want to live. She was always there believing I could do it, and her love was like a wind forcing me back from the grave. (Excerpt from Roger’s Journal on RogerEbert.com)
Together, they crossed boundaries and defied social conventions at a time, not long ago, when interracial couples drew sideways glances, even for a well-respected public figure like Roger Ebert.
 
“When I think about some of the romantic things he said, they still make my heart go pitter-patter,” Chaz wrote in her blog July 18, their wedding anniversary.
 
To capture the essence of their 20-plus years’ romance, Taylor drew from Roger’s biopic “Life Itself” and interviews with Chaz. The performance borrows a device from ancient Greece – where the chorus narrates the action via poetry, song and dance. “Ancient Greek theater was based on a celebration of the Greek gods,” Taylor explains. “I chose this form because in this story we are honoring love, and love is the greatest of the gods.”
The song list includes some of the couple’s favorites, including the song from the first dance at their wedding and an excerpt from the first Lyric Opera performance they saw together, “Tosca.”
“I am honored that Jackie wants to share our story,” Chaz said. “When Roger died, many friends told me that our love was a life force for them, too. Maybe that’s because he always focused on compassion and what unites us.”
The cast stars Rashada Dawan as Chaz Ebert and Kevin Pollack as Roger Ebert. The Chorus, members of which play multiple roles, includes Evelyn Danner, Rueben Echoles, Porsche King, Robbin Major, Jhardon Milton, Matthew Payne, Jessica Seals, Kyle Smith, Sally Staats and Qween Wicks.
 
B roll from The Black White Love Play is available for television and radio outlets featuring a number from the show and a scene.
Ticket prices:               $55 on Thursdays and Saturdaymatinees; and $65 on Fridays, Saturday evenings, and Sunday matinees. A 10% discount is available for students, seniors and groups.
Buy online at www.blackensemble.org or call (773) 769-4451.
 
The Black Ensemble Theater
Founded in 1976 by producer, playwright and actress Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater is the only African American theater located in the culturally, racially and ethnically diverse north side Uptown community. The mission of the Black Ensemble Theater Company is to eradicate racism and its devastating effects through the theater arts. The Black Ensemble Theater has produced more than 100 productions and employed more than 5,000 artists. For more information, please visit www.BlackEnsembleTheater.org or call 773-769-4451.
Be Sociable, Share!

Posted in MCN Curated Headlines, Movie City News, Press Releases | Comments Off on “The Black White Love Play (The Story Of Chaz & Roger Ebert)” Debuts In Chicago

Comments are closed.

Quote Unquotesee all »

It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon