Stages around Bradenton celebrate African-American artistry
It'd be cool if there was no need for a Black History Month, if we could recognize all year long how Africans and African-Americans have put their imprint every thread of our social and cultural fabric. We're probably a long way from that, though.
Meanwhile, the performing arts are an ideal way to experience the influence of Africans-American men and women on the broader culture.
Some of it can be overtly, though creatively, educational. Decades ago, I first learned of the Civil War's Buffalo Soldiers through one play, and I learned through another that George Washington Carver revolutionized agriculture, that he wasn't just the guy who worked with peanuts.
More recently, Matthew Lopez' astonishing play "The Whipping Man" revealed to audiences around the country a little-known aspect of slavery in 19th-century America.
Other works celebrate African-American culture in a less obvious way, by immersing the audience in musical and literary art forms that couldn't exist without inventions and innovations from African-American men and women.
There's plenty of stuff to choose from on Sarasota stages this month that offers edifying and entertaining opportunities to celebrate the season.
A great place to start is Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. You'll have to hurry to catch WBTT's current production, a terrific fact-based story of the Harlem Renaissance that revolves around civil rights leader W.E.B. Dubois, poet Countee Cullen and jazz great Jimmie Lunceford. It's called "Knock Me a Kiss," after one of Lunceford's songs, and it closes Sunday.
WBTT will follow with one of its trademark musical review, called "Jazz Hot Mamas." It opens Feb. 25 and celebrates the music of women like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson.
WBTT is at 1646 10th Way, Sarasota. Call 941-366-1505 or go to westcoastblacktheatre.org.
Nearby, Florida Studio Theatre has just opened "Fly," a wildly acclaimed play about the Tuskegee Airmen. It's directed by Ricardo Khan, the co-writer and original director. Productions in places like Washing
ton and New York have earned raves from major critics for the way they refresh a familiar story with the unlikely injection of tap dancing that's functions as a commentary on the action.
The theater is at 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. Call 941-366-9000 or go to floridastudiotheatre.org.
Anytime you go to see a jazz concert (or for that matter a rock or blues show) you're implicitly studying the cultural heritage of African-Americans. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall has some phenomenal jazz offerings this month, including the great Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra on Feb. 11. Jazz aficionados know Mayfield well, but just about anyone ought to be able to appreciate his fluid and tasteful playing.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra, now led by Pal Mercer Ellington, Duke's grandson, comes to Van Wezel on Feb. 9.
If there's one show in the area this month that most beautifully celebrates Black history, it's the great Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, arguably the greatest modern dance company in the country or even the world. AADT will be at Van Wezel on Feb. 17, and the program includes "Revelations," the gorgeous and epic homage to the spirit and legacy of black Americans. It's an important work that everyone should see at least once, for its beauty as much as its message.
Van Wezel is at 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Call 941-953-4668 or go to vanwezel.org.
None of these shows is billed as a Black History Month event. Ten years ago some of them probably would have been. Maybe we're getting to a point where we realize that black history and American history are not separable entities. But as long as we're still noting Black History Month every month, it can't hurt to watch these performances with some thought to their significance to our country.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-08-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.
This story was originally published February 8, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Stages around Bradenton celebrate African-American artistry ."