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