E TERTAI
A modern classic in comedy form
By yEo DeFU
One of the classical
American films is the Wizard of
Oz.This is a film that gave hope
and praise to a child's dreams
fantasies and childhood pride.
In the 70's another version of
this classic was put before the
American public. The name
"Wizard of Oz," became simply,
"The Wiz." And the all
American girl, Dorothy was
changed to an African­
American. The new Dorothy
was played by the famed Diana
Ross.
Now it's the 90's and a lot of
changes are going on. The Ber-
. lin Wall coming down,
democracy exploding allover
the world, and comedy in "The
Wiz". Over the Memorial Day
weekend "The Wiz was per­
formed at Martin Luther King
High School by the For Our
Children, Incorporated
(FOCI).
Founder and Organizer of
FOCI, Karen D. Byrd-McCord
says that she understands the
need for exposure to the fine
arts for our youth. Byrd-Mc­
Cord is not looking for answer
to the youths of today. "We do, .
however, have the answer to the
question, what ar "you", and
what are you going to do about
it."
She also ays all FOCI tries
to do is build character.
The cast of the new "Wiz" was
mostly young people. These
youngsters expressed themsel­
ves like professionals. The
wonderful Dorothy played by 10
year-old joslyn Hildreth dis-
played charm with her witty ex­
pressions, and fast grown-up
attitude. The young Dorothy
was always on cue, and made
the laughter of the audience boil
over.
This play showed how to
have fun with a dream. As al­
ways the cowardly lion, played
by Ron Clar overwhelmed the
audience with his cowardly, but
fearful charm. In each scene
there was laughter somewhere.
In the original movie of the
"Wiz", there were musical
scenes from the characters.
There's no difference in this
one. The vocals for Dorothy
played by Joslyn Hildreth was
performed Terry Dexter. Dex­
ter, a 12 year-old that sounds
and looks older than she looks.
Her first vocal silenced the
audience. While she hit high
notes like a pro and got as low
as anyone could the audience .
exploded with applause.
The main characters as in
any play have to be on their toes.
The lion, scarecrow, and tinman
along with Dorothy stepped and
followed the yellow brick road
as should be. It didn't seem like
they were just acting. but they
were also having fun. The
Scarecrow played by Milbert
Neeley, showed a brainless
scarecrow that knows how to
get out of tight situations: The
Tin man played by Solomon
Jones showed the audience his
stiff but witty charm as a man
with a heart.
The whole cast displayed a
comedy appeal while following
the classical script, with a little
African American cirisma.
For Our Children Inc., has
developed this program with
MICHIGAN CITIZEN PAGE" TWE TV-ON.:
the assistance of Startec TV
Productions, B II Cable, C
nel "34", metr politan Career
Development, C, and the ]VIP
Celebrities Ma azine.
Production of a new play will
be scheduled in two weeks.
Look for announcement and
enjoy a wonderful play.
Anyone wishing to audition
for their next performance con­
tact Karen D. Byrd-McCord at
(313) 875-0639.
•
The cast or -nte Wlz· tb t Performed at M_arUn Luth r KiD H
School 0
,
\'
,12
• I
""
.'.'
Emancipation Celebration of Freedom
Bicentennial Park: Located In downtown Grano R· P ds
JUNE 15th & 16th
Call 616/774-3265
Paradl e Impre slons' arrive
l1y Le h A. Samuel
Wayne State Univers1ty"
DETROIT-In celebration
of Black Mu ic Month. the
Detroit Hi torical Department
will present "Paradise Impr s-
ions." a .program on he
music and history of Dctroi't'
jazz scene of the 1930' and
1940's. Saturday, June l� t 1
p.m. at Hi toric Fort Wa'!jn .
The program features a
nine-piece ensemble or'-t e
Graystone International Jazz
Museum orche tra, which will
play original arr ngcments of
song from the earlier era of
show bars and after-hour
clubs, according to Gray tone
International Jazz Mus urn
Program Coordinator James
Fuffner.
"Authentically recreated
mu ic featured in Paradise
Valley and other Detroit
hotspots in the 1930's and
'SO's will be i ntersper e�
wi th historical narrative a out
that period." he explain.
"The program will feature
music from that period made
popular by such Detroit jazz
greats s Sonny Stitt and War­
delJ Gray."
Sponsors of the event hope
to make it a family and com­
munity event.
"WE'VE DESIGNED
THI program so that senior
citizens who might have fre­
q uented Detroit' j zz dubs
during that period can attend
the program and bring along
younger family members or
friends to share their
memorie with them," say
Lori Naplc • junior curator of
education at the Detroi t Hi -
tori cal Department.
"We will all benefit from
thi program," adds Ruffner.
"It's a major p rt of our his­
tory that needs to be remem­
bered in a live way. You can
read book about it or look at
picture , but he ring it live
and learning from tho e who
have experienced it i mo t
valuable."
"It' like a trip through hi -
tory .. agrees Matt Michael ,
director of Jazz Studies at
Wayne State University. "The
Gray tone orchestra i
probably the only uthentic
band, wi th original arrange­
ments of original music. No
one else c n play like that."