Photo Credit: Helen L. Collen

Is it “gentrification” or “rebuilding”? That is the question dividing two brothers in New Orleans, La. as they try to make sense of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Brothers from the Bottom. Wendell Pierce stars in and produces the post Katrina production’s New Orleans run that makes its way to NOCCA’s (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) Lupin Hall June 5-28. Its first run was  at Brooklyn’s Billie Holiday Theatre in March.

All of America remembers the day terror struck the shores of the South as Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005. Lives were lost, communities were displaced, and businesses were destroyed. New Orleans took the hardest hit when days later the levees broke and the Crescent City was submerged under water from the Mississippi River. Now, ten years later, the city has come a long way, but is still trying to replace what was lost. Brothers from the Bottom tackles the issue of what progress has been made since then and what still needs to be done. Bothers Trey and Chris have different views on the same issue. Trey is all for replacing older more rundown homes in their neighborhood with newer up-to-date condos and his brother, Chris, thinks it sounds more like gentrification than revitalization.

Brothers from the Bottom is written and directed by Billie Holiday Theatre’s artistic director Jackie Alexander and also stars Kevin Mambo, Toccarra Cash, Thaddeus Daniels, Wendell Franklin and Megan Robinson. It features original music by Edward Anderson and Darrell Lavigne of Bleu Orleans.

Check out the promo for Brothers from the Bottom’s New York run!

Tickets for Brothers from the Bottom are $30 for general admission, $25 for seniors and students with ID. Visit www.thebillieholiday.org or 504.940.2800

The post Brothers From the Bottom in New Orleans for 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina appeared first on Broadway Black.

According to The Public Theater’s website, “The Fortress of Solitude is the extraordinary coming-of-age story about 1970s Brooklyn and beyond — of black and white, soul and rap, block parties and blackouts, friendship and betrayal, comic books and 45s. And the story of what would happen if two teenagers obsessed with superheroes believed that maybe, just maybe, they could fly.”

Check out this video from our friends over at Playbill.com of Kevin Mambo and Kyle Beltran performing Superman/Sidekick in the studio, as they record the Original Cast Recording of The Fortress of Solitude. 

You can pick up your copy of the recording in stores, or online HERE.

The post Original Cast Recording: The Fortress Of Solitude appeared first on Broadway Black.