Politics

Bob Marley Musical Tries to Help Heal an Uneasy Baltimore

Published

9 years ago

May 27, 2015

This image released by Center Stage shows Mitchell Brunings during a performance of the musical “Marley.” (Richard Anderson/Center Stage via AP)

MARK KENNEDY, AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Most theater professionals like to say that whatever they’re working on is very relevant to what’s going on in the real world. That was not possibly more true than in Baltimore this spring.

The city’s flagship theater, Center Stage, debuted a musical about reggae icon and civil rights activist Bob Marley during the city’s spasm of violence and peaceful protests following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.

Several preview performances for the musical “Marley” were lost amid protests marching near the theater and the actors had to rush to finish rehearsals early on several evenings to accommodate a city-wide curfew.

There were soldiers, horses and armored vehicles in the streets and helicopters in the air as the cast and crew tried to finish a work that highlighted the life of a singer who demanded social justice and freedom for black people.

A new framing scene was added to the play in which two black men watch footage of the Baltimore protests on a smartphone, making the connection between the two movements clear. On May 2, the cast went out into the streets to give a free concert, including singing “One Love” to try to heal the city.

“When real life is happening around you and you’re trying to produce art, you have to submit to real life and have faith,” said Kwame Kwei-Armah, Center Stage’s artistic director who also wrote and directed the Marley musical.

“I’m not sure in my life that I’ll ever feel that connected or ever feel that blessed or ever feel that visceral call that theater is about the here and now.”

The musical focuses on the years 1975 to 1978, when Marley survived an attempted assassination in Jamaica and went into exile in London. It’s the first time a stage musical has used both Marley’s songs and his life story.

The musical features mid-’70s Marley albums as “Exodus,” ”Kaya,” and “Rastaman Vibration,” which include the songs “Jamming,” ”Three Little Birds” and “Roots, Rock, Reggae.” Mitchell Brunings portrays the title character.

Kwei-Armah played Marley’s song “Burnin’ and Lootin'” on his way into work on the night of the first curfew. The song’s lyrics were prescient: This morning I woke up in a curfew/Oh God, I was a prisoner, too/Could not recognize the faces standing over me/They were all dressed in uniforms of brutality.”

“Somebody wrote these lyrics 30 years ago, somebody tapped into something 30, 40 years ago and it’s more applicable than some of the work I’ve done throughout all of my life,” said Kwei-Armah. “It’s humbling and beautiful. It validates for me why I’m doing theater.”

Suzette Newman, an executive producer of “Marley,” said she is working to get the musical on the road after it ends its run in Baltimore on June 14. “We absolutely hope that it will travel and go elsewhere. We’re in the process of those discussions right now,” she said.

Until then, she and Kwei-Armah watch nightly as the audience goes from punching the air with “Get Up, Stand Up” to joining the actors onstage in the show’s emotional climax with “One Love.”

“The power of Bob hits me afresh nearly every night. Suzette and I are standing at the back, seeing the audience as they respond and run onto the stage to sing with the cast ‘One Love’ in a city that needs to be one and healed,” said Kwei-Armah.

___

Online: http://centerstage.org

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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April 26, 2024

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.