KARAMU KUSH
By TUREKA TURK
MlchlSl!n Citizen
The 'first presentation, "A
Moment's Lifetime In Janet's
Mirror", was a piece suppos
edly about a young woman
deciding what she wants
from a relationship with a
man.
Two "ghosts" of men ap
pear on ei ther side of her
while she looks in the mi rror
to, con ven ien tly, con vi nce
NASHID FREED
The second presentation,
"Poetic Escape" was a tale of
a young man growing up in
the hood and how he inter
acts with his friends, lovers,
and family. Detroiter
Karamu Kush portrays
Lawrence, the lead charac
ter, and takes us through
"Law-Man's" trials and
tribulations.
KARAMU KUSH: Detroit native, a Cooley
graduate; performs in an off-off
Broadway production, "Law-Man."
Janet of what she wants.
Unfortunately, Janet has
a total of about five lines in
the whole piece and they con
sist of "Yeah" and "Maybe I
need more make-up." "In
Janet's Mirror" is reminis
cent of The World Class
Wrecki ng Crew's "Turn Out
The Lights".
WHILE THE DEBATE
between the two men be
comes repetitive after a cer
tain point (one is for
relationships being just' sex,
the other claims romance is
the key); Janet stands there
being easily swayed by cheap
line and pipe dreams. It
would have been an interest
ing piece had Janet's real
feelings been made known,
thereby proving that there
are still some men in the
world believing that their
views on r�lationships re
mains law.
Fareed's cast for this piece
(Milena Davila portraying
Janet, Robert Rudd r por
traying Dogg, and Fareed
himself portraying Brother),
especially Davila and Rud
der was p iallyentertain
mg.
Understanding that actors
can only do so much with
If there was an doubt that
Fareed writi ng top short of
bei ng origi nal � n the fir t
piece, there is no doubt in the
second piece. Dramatic thea
ter writing is upposed re
veal a character or
characters journey to some
thing and the obstacles that
get in the way. Fa ed leaves
one wonderi ng where Law
Man is going.
ROBERT RUDDER
Far ed giv sLaw-Man
one e cape, poetry. Through
out the course of the piece,
Kush giv s strong, effective
readings of Far d's poetry.
Al though it is n ver clear
that this is Law-Man's es
cap , Kush manage to con
v y this though as much as
th script would let him.
Ironically, although Law
Man is the lead character, he
seem to be the on to say
less. Far d couldn't have
d?ne a better job c sting this
pi e.
The actors and actres
wer a joy to w tch and it i
unfortunat tha he pie e it
selfcheated th m of a vehicle
that really d i played their
talents.
Davila a Wanda, the
young girl with th huge
crush on Law-Man, was
touching nd bitt r w. t.
She was remini c nt of th
young girl around in th
n -ighborhood, gum chewing
and 11. Davila man g d to
convey really very tender
moment 0 th audi nc
when talking ab ut bing
called a " itch", onfron ing
Law-M n abou hi r rva
tiona ab u h rand hari ng
touching, ronal bi of in
formation from h r p t
wh n lone wi h Law-M n.
HIS FEATHER RUF
FLED by an unyielding,
oblivious fath r (played by.
Fareed himself), Law-Man
facing growing pains in a
house that won't allow them
to exist. Di ffer nt from his
friends (played by Andre
Dell, Robert Rudder and D.C.
Johnson) in the hood (be
cause he's going to college),
Law-Man i treated with a
corny respect th a insinuates
that he is the smartest in the
neighborhood. And last but
not least, Law-Man is also
dealing with hi f lings for
Wanda' (M lina Davil ), ru
mor d to b the neighbor
hood "ho".
Now Fareed ries to tackle
an abundanc of i sues that
aren't new to-Black Dramatic
Art: the rei at 10 n s hip be
tween Black fathers and m
D.C. JOHNSON
MILENA DAVILA
, I
o •
ANDRE DELL
Shabazz (Mal col in X) at
Cooley High School.
While Fareed's script lim-
i t P ion hi c
this. time round, ther is in-
d ho will
tighten hi work in the fu
tur to th poin t of perfec
tion. If his commitment to
Black Art (on he professed
in the progr am) is true, then
ther should be no worries.
D�YI held at Elizabeth Howell
P rk. The tour pilled over into
Hi hland Park when she and her
Regional Promotional Manager,
Patrick Pore, stopped at the Mu
sic Outlet to promote her new
album, "Storyteller" on Mercury
Record. Crystal Waters new
ingle "One Hundred Precent
Pur Love" is on of the album's
gr t t hit.
Th lbums "Funkdafied" by
CRYSTAL WATERS
o
By ARDELLA M. THOMAS
Michigan. it izcn
hi go, Ill., where sh
r p cont st hosted by
Kross.
KEVIN CLARK
DA BRAT