Probably the worst is a monologue from a drag queen, played by Richards, that simply isnt as funny as the others.
The Colored Museum Text Free For ThePetersburg Clearwater Hillsborough Pinellas Pasco Hernando Florida Nation World Topics Politics Buzz Education Gradebook Business Health Transportation Environment Crime Climate Change Reporting Network Politi Fact Centr o Sports Pro Bucs Rays Lightning Rowdies College Bulls Gators Seminoles Other High Schools Outdoors Opinion Letters to the Editor Submit a Letter Life Culture Arts Bright Spots Entertainment Kids Family Food History Music Pets Things To Do Food Reviews News Bars Breweries Cooking Long Reads Investigations Narratives Pulitzer Winners Weather Videos Photos Connect with Us About us Donate Obituaries Homes TV Listings Coupons Deals Jobs Classifieds Expos Contests Local Ads Legal Notices Sponsored Content Special Sections Newsletters Todays Paper Apps e-Newspaper Podcasts Archives Careers Advertise Legal Contact Coronavirus Hurricane News Sports Opinion Life Culture Food Obituaries Classifieds Todays Paper Newsletters e-Newspaper GO Subscribe Log in Account Manage my subscription Activate my subscription Log out Advertisement Our coronavirus coverage is free for the first 24 hours.Find the latest information at tampabay.comcoronavirus.Please consider subscribing or donating. Life Culture Review: The Colored Museum offers humor that is hardly black and white You might expect a 26-year-old play about African-American culture to seem dated. And, in fact, a lot of the references in The Colored Museum are quite stale. Wolfes play, which comprises 11 sketches, is relevant, mildly thought-provoking and extremely entertaining. The first of the 11 sketches, which are billed as exhibits, shows how timely Wolfes writing is. A bubbly stewardess cheerily greets African passengers being flown from America to become slaves. She instructs them to keep their shackles fastened at all times and advises that their luggage will be thrown away. Its startling and almost shocking, but deft writing by Wolfe (who is African-American) and Stephanie Roberts hilarious performance keep it from becoming offensive. To really put it in perspective, the same weekend this production opened, people around the country heard about a Republican legislator from Arkansas who wrote that slavery was a blessing in disguise for black people, because it enabled them to become U.S. It was difficult not to connect the legislators horrific words with the playwrights jokes and see that Wolfes satire is still regrettably relevant. The emphasis is on comedy, but theres an undercurrent of piquant social commentary. Wolfe never lectures or polemicizes, but he makes his points while hes entertaining us. Director Anna Brennen has assembled a first-rate cast, mostly consisting of actors familiar to local audiences. Besides Roberts, the cast includes Gloria Bailey, Tia Jemison and Joshua Goff, some of the best actors in the area. The great local musician Alvon Griffin provides drum accompaniment. Probably the most well-known vignette from The Colored Museum is The Hairpiece, an absolutely hilarious bit in which a young woman is preparing to meet her boyfriend to break up with him. Ones an aggressive Afro; the others a straightened do with a Marlo Thomas flip. The two wigs (played by Bailey and Jemison) get in a boisterous argument about which one of them is a better choice for the occasion. Its a funny scene even if you read it from the script, but Bailey and Jemison elevate it with riotous performances. One of the most thought-provoking scenes is Symbiosis, which has a businessman throwing away relics from his youth an Afro comb, Sly and the Family Stone records, autographed photos of Stokely Carmichael because he wants to finalize his assimilation into mainstream America. Only a couple of the exhibits misfire, and even those arent bad.
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December 2020
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