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Musical on Calypso Rose a Story to Be Told

NNPA NEWSWIRE — This light-hearted evening of entertainment defies the hyper-produced West End or Broadway experiences of shows like Tina – The Tina Turner Musical or Get Up, Stand Up, and The Bob Marley Musical. Instead, it traces a local route that was first established in 1995 by director and playwright Rhoma Spencer’s Bassman (Shadow), and then in 2003 by Zeno Constance’s The Road Make to Walk (Lord Kitchener).

Published

2 years ago

September 9, 2024

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By New York Carib News

Attendees at the Central Bank Auditorium were captivated by The Queen of the Road: The Calypso Rose Musical, which presented another instance of national theater rooted in the Carnival spirit. Thankfully, this production was better than the numerous instances of poor production quality and “uneven quality” common in Best Village drama.

This light-hearted evening of entertainment defies the hyper-produced West End or Broadway experiences of shows like Tina – The Tina Turner Musical or Get Up, Stand Up, and The Bob Marley Musical. Instead, it traces a local route that was first established in 1995 by director and playwright Rhoma Spencer’s Bassman (Shadow), and then in 2003 by Zeno Constance’s The Road Make to Walk (Lord Kitchener).

The musical had been in the works for some time, and during Spencer’s 2022–2023 artist-in-residence period at the Queer and Trans Research Lab at the University of Toronto, it made considerable progress. As stated on the lab’s webpage, “Spencer had been working since 2019 on a jukebox musical based on the life of queer Caribbean icon and ‘undisputed Calypso Queen of the world,’ Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis, popularly known as Calypso Rose.” Within the confines of Rose’s little over forty calypsoes, the four-act jukebox musical attempts to expound on Rose’s life, professional advancement, and evolution.

Spencer claims that her favorite model for this show was the Best Village model: “I make no apology for situating (the production) in the original Trinbago Musical Theatre style — Best Village.”

She has said previously that, “The Best Village competition was called ‘illegitimate theatre,’” however, that she “continued to crave the illegitimacy, a feeling that has inspired her whole career.”

Here, the music, dance, actor, and plot all worked well together thanks to excellent staging and directing. Rose’s life narrative, from birth to adulthood, is shown in flashbacks because she was the 2017 recipient of the French Grammy, the Victoire de la Musique award.

The term “light entertainment” used above does not minimize the fact that the musical touches on significant aspects of Rose’s life and work that have lasting relevance. The rural, very religious family with several children is discussed in Act I in terms of family dynamics. To defuse the tension, Rose’s uncle and aunt in Trinidad voluntarily “adopted” her from a family of thirteen brothers and sisters.

Rose’s development is directed and notably stable throughout the musical by her lifetime relationship with her Spiritual Baptist grandmother, both physically and subsequently in spirit. With impressive confidence and skill, young actor Thara Howe plays the preteen Rose. Her outstanding stagecraft manages to upstage everyone, and perhaps she will be seen in many shows.

Act II follows Stacey Sobers’s character, Calypso Rose, as she navigates the misogynistic and frequently anticipated hypersexuality of the calypso society in the late 1960s and early 1970s when her career was just starting to take off. Calypso Rose is a young adult who works in the Original Young Brigade Tent under the leadership of Kearn Samuel.

It cost her dearly that the church, women’s organizations, and the local newspapers of the time called her the “Queen of Slackness” and “Queen of Smut,” despite her musical pushback with wickedly double-entendre calypsoes like Banana and Sweet Pudding Man (1968) and Palet (1969) – the sweetness, and the reciprocal exchange of orality.

During this time, Sparrow and other people questioned her sexuality, asking “why she doesn’t have a man.”

Rose was not a prissy, coy, or weak-willed person at this time. She made a demand because she knew what she wanted. It was worthy of respect.

As an actress, Stacey Sobers is astonishing. She is already well-known for her singing and calypsonian skills; in 2018, she was named the National Women’s Action Committee (NWAC) National Calypso Queen and an NCC Calypso Monarch finalist. She also successfully mimics Rose’s stammer and Tobago accent with her body language.

In 2004, Gordon Rohlehr penned that “Rose’s prolonged wailing mode of delivery, a possible inheritance from her Spiritual Baptist/Shouter roots, has now become the signature style of a significant number of current female soca singers.

The performing style and tone are nearly exact replicas.

In Act II, the Sparrow-Kitchener duo that dominated Calypso at the time is essentially overthrown by Rose’s ascent to prominence with Road March and Calypso Monarch victories in the middle to late 1970s. Not only did she have to negotiate the narrow silo of a Carnival season, but she also faced rising antagonism towards her domination over a considerable number of male calypsonians, which led to jealousy and relocation to better pastures up the islands.

Her relationship with Andy Palacio, Belize, and Garifuna culture—which includes punta—is discussed. It turns out that she had a lucky link to Belize since Ivan Duran, a producer based in Belize, created her 2017 comeback album, Far From Home, which won an award.

The world, and the French in particular, welcome her as she moves toward near calypso immortality in Act IV, which is set in the 2010s and takes place thirty years after Act III. This marks the collapse of the main calypsonians who began their careers in the 1960s and 1970s.

The musical challenges the audience to realize that Rose is more than just Fire in Your Wire by showcasing her extensive body of work. A Caribbean queen, Rose is. One advantage was how simple it was to sing along to a couple of calypsoes. In order to respond with honor, audiences ought to hear the entire canon of our calypsonians. one stride at a time.

Under Michelle Henry’s direction, the musical accompaniment was superb, and the Central Bank Auditorium was transformed into a fitting calypso tent without any startling volume changes. The musical’s technical aspects were handled deftly, demonstrating progress over concerns that were noted on opening night.

The stage blocking and movement, which extended up and down and into the auditorium aisles, along with the set design, which featured projection screens to establish Rose’s homes in Trinidad and Tobago as well as the larger school area, the yard, the Original Young Brigade calypso tent, and performance stages in France and Coachella Festival, lifted the musical above the recollections of the basic folk theater of the past.

The two leads played by Rose received well-deserved applause.

To improve the quality of singing, which is essential for any musical, and to work out production problems, this play may and should be workshopped. Assuming that this is a tale that has to be discovered by everybody, local validation is safe.

Because it searches beyond itself for approval and economic development, Queen of the Road: The Calypso Rose Musical is a good illustration of the calypso musical style and quality that can eventually become commonplace in our creative industries.

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COMMENTARY: Jim Crow 2.0 at the Pentagon

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 3, 2026

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Pete Hegseth insists that he is restoring “merit” to the United States military. But after months of dismissals, blocked promotions, and ideological purges, the evidence tells a different story. His campaign against so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” has become something far more dangerous: an assault on equal opportunity that falls with particular force on African Americans, while also targeting women, Latinos, gay Americans, and transgender service members.

The latest example is both troubling and infuriating.

Once again, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly blocked the promotion of an exceptionally qualified woman—Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt. Bauernschmidt is no ordinary officer. She became the Navy’s first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the most demanding leadership assignments in the world. Her career reflects decades of exemplary performance, operational excellence, and leadership under extraordinary pressure.

Yet once again, a distinguished military career appears to have been subordinated to an ideological agenda masquerading as “merit.”

I call BS!

The American people are expected to believe that one extraordinary officer after another suddenly fails to meet some undefined standard of excellence. We are expected to ignore impeccable service records while accepting that political appointees alone possess the wisdom to determine who is worthy of advancement.

The pattern has become impossible to ignore.

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., only the second African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed despite a career that placed him among the most accomplished military leaders of his generation.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to serve as Chief of Naval Operations, was removed despite decades of distinguished command experience.

Reports have documented interventions that blocked or delayed the promotions of Black officers and women selected through the military’s rigorous promotion system.

Now Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt joins the growing list of highly accomplished officers whose careers have been derailed for reasons that have never been persuasively explained.

Where is Congress?

Its silence has become deafening.

Congress has an independent constitutional responsibility to oversee the armed forces. Instead, too many lawmakers have watched silently while one of the nation’s most respected institutions is subjected to ideological litmus tests and political interference.

This is not military reform. It is testosterone-fueled performative masculinity disguised as a philosophy of military excellence.

The irony is impossible to miss. Hegseth repeatedly invokes “merit,” yet his rhetoric begins with the assumption that Black officers, women, and other historically excluded Americans must somehow justify their achievements in ways that white male officers are rarely required to do.

That is not meritocracy. It is prejudice wrapped in patriotic language.

No one is asking that anyone be promoted because of race or gender. Americans simply expect that promotions be based on demonstrated competence, leadership, integrity, and service. The officers being targeted have already proven themselves repeatedly under one of the world’s most demanding evaluation systems.

Their records speak for themselves.

The attack on African American military leadership has been especially pernicious.

For generations, Black Americans fought in segregated units, earned decorations while denied equal treatment, and repeatedly demonstrated loyalty to a nation that often failed to extend them full citizenship. They broke barriers not because standards were lowered but because excellence finally overcame institutional discrimination.

Today’s campaign against “diversity” threatens to revive old assumptions under new slogans.

The implication that Black generals and admirals somehow owe their success to affirmative action rather than extraordinary performance echoes some of the ugliest stereotypes of the Jim Crow era. Yesterday’s segregationists claimed Black Americans were inherently less qualified. Today’s culture warriors simply employ more politically acceptable language while inviting the same suspicion about Black achievement.

That is why Hegseth’s campaign increasingly resembles Jim Crow 2.0.

The targets may now wear stars on their shoulders instead of military patches on segregated uniforms, but the underlying message is hauntingly familiar: Black excellence is presumed suspect, while white excellence is presumed earned.

America’s military became the finest fighting force in history because it opened its doors to talent wherever it could be found. It grew stronger after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. It became stronger when women assumed greater command responsibilities. It became stronger when every qualified American was given the opportunity to serve to the fullest extent of their abilities.

Diversity is not a concession. It is a strategic advantage.

The nation’s adversaries do not fear an American military because it is racially homogeneous. They fear it because it draws upon the talents of more than 340 million Americans whose diverse experiences, perspectives, and abilities make our armed forces unmatched anywhere in the world.

Every politically motivated dismissal of a distinguished officer sends a chilling message throughout the ranks: excellence alone may no longer be enough if you belong to the wrong demographic group.

That weakens morale. It weakens recruitment. It weakens retention.

And ultimately, it weakens national security.

Pete Hegseth has every right to pursue military readiness. He has no right to redefine merit in ways that repeatedly cast suspicion upon the accomplishments of Black officers, women, and others who have devoted their lives to defending this nation.

America deserves better. The men and women who wear the uniform deserve better. The Constitution deserves better.

And unless Congress finds the courage to exercise meaningful oversight, history may well remember this period not as a restoration of military excellence, but as the moment political ideology attempted to resurrect, in modern form, the old poison of exclusion.

Jim Crow did not strengthen America. Jim Crow 2.0 will not strengthen America’s military. It will only diminish it

Wade Henderson
Strategic Advisor
Civil and Human Rights
wade@wadejhenderson.com

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New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial

By Emilie St. John (Contributor) Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction. Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District […]
The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

By Emilie St. John
(Contributor)

Karmelo Anthony will return to court next month in his first step to overturn his murder conviction.

Anthony was found guilty last month in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison. His new legal team has filed motions seeking the recusal of State District Judge John Roach Jr. from overseeing the appeals process.

Two hearings have been scheduled on the motion for Aug. 9 and 10 in the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, according to Fox4 News.

On July 14, Senior Judge Sid L. Harle of the 226th District Court was assigned to preside over the defense’s motion to recuse Collin County Judge John Roach. The assignment took effect immediately and authorized Harle to handle all matters related to the recusal request, the filing read.

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office continues to defend its handling of the case by issuing a statement to NBC 5 DFW.

“The defendant’s new lawyers have filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings. The entire prosecution team and I conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel. We look forward to addressing these claims thoroughly in a Court of law in the coming weeks. The jury heard extensive evidence over the course of the trial and returned a unanimous verdict. We remain confident in that verdict and the fairness of the proceedings.”

Anthony’s new legal team, made up of appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys, was retained following Anthony’s conviction.

“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement.

“We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events,” the release reads.

Anthony was charged with the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf during a track meet in Frisco, Texas, April 2, 2025. Anthony has long maintained it was an act of self-defense.

The attorneys are representing Anthony pro bono. The nearly 200-page notice of appeal seeks a new trial because his Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated.

“The cumulative and practical effect of these provisions was to exclude members of the public from proceedings at every stage,” the filing reads.

The filing also focused on an alleged “handshake deal” that kept Anthony from taking the stand in his defense.

The defense filing said the agreement was that the jury would not hear that Metcalf and his twin brother had been accused of racism and bullying in the past. In exchange, they also would not see Anthony’s cellphone records or his school disciplinary record, according to court documents reported by the Dallas Morning News.

Anthony’s former defense attorney, Mike Howard, said the defense relied heavily on that deal. The team chose not to ask certain questions of witnesses or call on a separate expert witness based on that agreement. It also abandoned plans to introduce testimony and evidence about the allegations against Metcalf and his brother.

Appellate attorney Russell Wilson is now handling post-trial proceedings and Anthony’s appeal. He recently sat down for an interview, stating, “The court committed multiple errors during the June murder trial, preventing him from receiving a fair trial.”

“You know, we file motions that we expect to prevail on, but we understand that there’s two sides to every story. And at the end of the day, it’ll be a judge that has to make these decisions, but we feel confident in the positions that we’re taking,” Wilson said during an interview with WFAA. “There were substantial issues that we thought a reviewing court needed to look at. We thought these were constitutional irregularities, and we could have them addressed now. And so, we put them into a motion for a new trial.”

Bree West, a former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney, found it startling that so little time was given to Anthony’s team for such a serious “life or death” situation.

“I do think that it’s really challenging that potentially a court decided that you have 10 minutes to make that level of decision when it has the potential of being life-altering,” said West during an interview with Fox 4 News.

Judge Harle is no stranger to high-profile cases, having presided over the prosecution of a police officer charged in connection with the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Anthony was convicted on June 9 of the murder of Austin Metcalf and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The post New Judge Could Decide if Karmelo Anthony Gets a New Trial appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump!

WESTSIDE GAZETTE — The author criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric, noting his use of terms like “Dumbocrats” and “Communist” to describe Democrats and democracy. The column asserts that Trump’s current strategy involves creating doubt about midterm elections due to a lack of Republican agenda.
The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Oakland Post

Frankly Speaking

Wow! Wow! Wow! The swamp drainers have truly stepped down to new levels of stupidity. You remember Weapons of Mass Destruction? We now have Weapons of Mass Distraction. Trump has introduced Dumbocrats and Communists into the conversation about Democrats and Democracy.

Trump lies so much, and his current strategy is to set up doubt about midterm elections because he and Republicans have no agenda!

He has no “Trump “ card, but Iran has a strait! He called it a skirmish; it’s now a War. He said five days; now it’s five months. He said few casualties; now it’s 18 deaths. He knew nothing about Project 2025 but hired its architects! Trump lies about the lies and often forgets these little inventions called cameras and phones

We see and hear and then see and hear the inconsistencies.

I didn’t like 45 and dislike 47 even more!

The post LSMFT! Lord Save Me From Trump! appeared first on The Westside Gazette.

Based on reporting by Westside Gazette.

The post COMMENTARY: LSMFT! Lord Save Me from Trump! appeared first on BlackPressUSA.