Jalylah Burrell

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Seattle-bred, Brooklyn-based cultural critic Jalylah Burrell riffs on anything and everything.

I Heard A Word: For Colored Girls... to Return to the Great White Way

Posted 03/16/2008 at 8:51 PM | Comment?

ntozake

So a little birdy whispered in my ear long ago that India.Arie would star in a to be mounted revival of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, but now that the cat is officially out of the bag, I'll weigh in. I know it is par for the course in contemporary Black performing arts to tap a recording artist for theatrical or film roles but I still don't think its a good idea. Of course, there are some singers and rappers who rise to the occasion but in most cases they fall flat. And it would be sad to see a work as classic as For Colored Girls... tarnished by a so so performance by Ms. Arie. Not to mention, I know too many exceptional out of work trained Black actresses and dancers who could really do Shange's masterwork justice. Nevertheless, please believe that I will pony up the funds for an orchestra ticket. I seldom miss a Black Broadway staging, and For Colored Girls... is too important to Black women to skip. Now I took a acting class at Spelman and selected a monologue from For Colored Girls... for my final performance. I'll share an excerpt of that monologue with you now:

one thing I don't need
is any more apologies
i got sorry greetin me at my front door
you can keep yrs
i don't know what to do wit em
they don't open doors
or bring the sun back
they don't make me happy
or get a mornin paper
didn't nobody stop usin my tears to wash cars
cuz of sorry

cosign.

*Pictured above are the playwright and a cast member in a vintage For Colored Girls... staging

Tags: For Colored Girls, Ntozake Shange

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