I have commentary.

First, the news.

Fox has tapped Tyler Perry to host and narrate the musical, The Passion. According to a recent press release on the network’s site, the two-hour musical will be filmed live in New Orleans March 20, which is Palm Sunday. The musical is supposed to follow the last two hours of Jesus Christ’s life. Here is a quote from the Fox website announcing Perry’s leading role.

The Passion is both wonderfully entertaining and genuinely inspirational,” said David Madden, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “We are so thrilled to have the multi-talented Tyler Perry join us for this epic music production. He is the perfect host to lead the cast – and viewers – through the streets of New Orleans in this contemporary re-telling of a timeless story.

Now the commentary.

It is no secret that The Wiz, which we covered extensively, was a hit for NBC, which has no problem bringing out brown and black faces for ratings. I shoal wish that would translate into programming.

Fox, not to be outdone, is throwing out three live musical presentations, two of which have Black actors as the lead characters. Laverne Cox is set to play Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Perry is set to host “The Passion,” so I assume he is not playing Jesus. Hollywood tends to give biblical character roles to guys from Australia and the U.K.

And I suppose The Passion makes a lot of sense. Perry is no stranger to theater, having established his core following with religiously-tinged plays that turned into movies, that turned into TV shows, that turned into a succession of Perry rip-off artists, that turned into me reading more books.

This is definitely a no-brainer for Fox. We happen to be riding a very dangerous anti-Muslim wave right now fanned by fear, and buoyed by the GOP debates. So airing a musical where we can see a gigantic cross being dragged down one of our oldest cities in America is not just entertainment. It is a message.

So I get it. Ratings. Christian Agenda. A combination punch for the network. But what about those of us who love theater?

Despite the racist comments about a musical that was created out of a lack of diversity, people really seemed to enjoy The Wiz Live. There was a conversation sparked amongst different generations. The production had the best of Hollywood and the theater world combining with newcomers to recreate a classic that engaged us. That is what good theater does.

Will “The Passion” be able to do the same? I don’t know. To be fair, the movie “The Passion of Christ” kicked secular A$$, raking in over $600 million worldwide. It is not as though the subject and character of Jesus doesn’t spark interest, mystery and debate.

I am just saying it feels a little calculating. It doesn’t feel like an attempt to bring people to theater. Nor is it a chance to learn and be amazed by live performances. It feels like a political and financial agenda. But the thing ain’t even aired yet. Maybe I will be proven wrong. Maybe I just need to pray on it.

The post Tyler Perry to Host The Passion for Fox appeared first on Broadway Black.

The annual celebration has become the star-studded event of the season attracting A-listers from Broadway to D.C. to Hollywood.  Tyson was one of six honorees celebrated for their lifetime contributions to the arts and American culture.  Other honorees included Rita Moreno, Carole King, George Lucas and Seiji Ozawa.

Broadway Black beauties Viola Davis and Kerry Washington were on hand for Tyson’s tribute to share all the ways the timeless 90 year old had inspired them and their work.

“Cicely Tyson does not merely act,” said Washington. “She soars. She sings. She vibrates. She is music.”

Davis, who recently worked opposite Tyson as her daughter on the hit-series “How to Get Away With Murder,” had this to say about the icon: “my friend, my inspiration, my TV mother…[she] motivates others to follow her lead and her dreams.”

Since her breakthrough performance in the critically acclaimed “Sounder,” Tyson has earned a bevy of Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations over the span of her 60-year career.  In 2013, she won her first Tony Award for her captivating portrayal of “Carrie Watts” in A Trip to Bountiful.  She can currently be seen on Broadway in The Gin Game with long-time friend, James Earl Jones.

In all, Tyson has nearly 100 acting credits in film, TV and stage, but as Producer Tyler Perry explained, she has always been selective in the works with which she chooses to associate herself.

“She turned down more roles than you could imagine because they didn’t lift or serve us as a people,” Perry said. “For six decades, she has been diligent in her pursuit to better us all.”

When asked how she felt about receiving the presidential honor, she simply responded, “I am still in shock,” the humility ironic against her regal sophistication. “I consider this tantamount to being honored by the queen.”

The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will air on CBS on Dec. 29 at 9 P.M.

UPDATE:

Kerry Washington gives an amazing introduction for Cece Winans, Terrence Blanchard, & The Cicely Tyson Community School of Performing & Fine Arts Choir singing Blessed Assurance.

Aretha Franklin performs (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman like you’ve never seen before for another honoree, Carole King.

The post Kennedy Center Honors Featuring Cicely Tyson Airs on CBS appeared first on Broadway Black.

Thank you Memphis. 5 shows. Headed in to the last one. pic.twitter.com/fkFerIA9Sf

— Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) April 27, 2015

For all of his success, Perry still has many critics.

The animated show created by Aaron McGruder,  “The Boondocks,” lampooned Perry  in an episode entitled “Pause.”  The episode parodied Perry as a “closeted, cross-dressing cult leader whose love of the Christian faith is a mask for his true sexuality.” The jabs continued with Spike Lee and Perry engaging in a very public war of words on the value of Perry’s artistic offerings.

The character of “Madea” has invoked the ire of many as a stereotype of the worst sort, as she supposedly represents many of the matriarchs found in the extended families of African Americans.  To this criticism, Perry says in an interview with reporter Jen Yamato,

You know what; I’ve stopped trying to defend that stuff. I don’t even deal with it anymore. I like to let the audience speak for themselves. We all know what we like, and how we like it and what we want to see, and I think that it’s awful that we as Black people – and this is where most of the criticism comes from, it comes from within our own culture — that we are so ashamed about certain parts of our society, about our own culture, that we want to act like it doesn’t exist. But this woman exists. I still know her. She is still in my neighborhood. She was my mother and my aunt. She didn’t go to an Ivy League school, and she took care of the whole family. So it’s not a stereotype, it is a part of our culture that we all need to embrace.

Criticism of Perry has also come from within. From early in his career, there were rumblings of Perry’s poor treatment of his actors and the writing team. In 2008, Perry fired his “House of Payne” writing staff, setting off a firestorm of controversy. “I feel like I was slapped in the face, like we were used,” said writer Teri Brown-Jackson. “We were good enough to create over a hundred episodes, but now when it comes to reaping the benefits of the show being syndicated and having other spin-offs from it, he decides to let us go unless we accept a horrible offer.” “Disrespected, betrayed, saddened…it’s hard to describe,” said writer Lamont Ferrell. “The actors and a majority of the production crew on the show were working under union contracts and they received the pay and benefits that you need to survive on in this business. But after all those episodes and success when it came time for us to get a fair contract, we’re told on a conference call ‘sorry, you’re fired.’” “House of Payne’s” head writer, Kellie Griffin, added, “A lot of people who fought for civil rights and social justice never really saw what eventually came out of their work. While I’d like to see something positive come out of this for us, if this fight helps future Black writers get what they deserve, that’s a good thing.”

Most recently, Perry has been under fire again, as we previously reported, when two unions banned actors from working with the million dollar writer/actor/producer with the Midas touch but a tight clutch on the purse strings.

The stories of mistreatment are particularly disheartening because one would think that someone with Perry’s background would want to compensate those who had helped him earn his success. As a child, Perry was physically abused by his father. At the age of 16 he attempted suicide. Perry credits watching the Oprah show as the impetus for him to begin to write and launch his first stage play in Atlanta. That first show was a resounding dud with only 30 people in attendance. Undaunted, Perry went back to the drawing board to try again to launch the play, suffering similar letdowns in several cities, until the play “I Know I’ve Been Changed” hit its groove at the House of Blues in Atlanta. From near empty theaters to sold-out shows, Perry, who had at one point been homeless and living out of his car, had arrived.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CL88tfPxwM

Perry does seem to have a philanthropic side for those not connected to his organization, supporting victims of Hurricane Katrina, giving financial aid to Haiti, and donating  $1 million dollars to the NAACP in celebration of its 100th anniversary. Recently, Perry made news by providing significant assistance to the Houston/ Brown family during the tragic injury and later death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston.

Perry, for all his flaws and glory, remains an enigma.

His tenacity, vision and fortitude provide a platform for his writing and paved the way for the over the top character “Madea” to become a household name. His work continues to evolve with widespread support for his current televisions shows.  His characters reflect more depth; the storylines are more unpredictable and tackle more complex subject matter.  For all of his contributions, the question remains whether everything that is popular is good in a greater sense, particularly when the most lovable character is a mere caricature of the women who are most often the cornerstones of Black families. Perry’s themes of domestic violence, bitter and broken women, neglected children, and loosely moraled but ultimately redeemable heroines, don’t paint a fully realized picture of Black life.  In real life, every situation does not resolve itself through the love of a rough around the edges blue collar worker who falls in love with a damsel in distress sprinkled with a healthy dose of church/jail/Madea.

Is Tyler Perry any different from any other modern creator of entertainment targeted at Black people?

His appeal is undeniable, his success quantifiable. The difference is perhaps in his unwavering vision and dedication to his form of art and his willingness to stick to his tried and true recipe, despite criticism from his community and peers.  Ultimately, it is up to each one of us to paint the narratives we want to see portrayed of what Black life is. That responsibility does not reside only with Tyler Perry. Whether we support or decry his work, it is his idea of what we are that is being consumed by both Black and white audiences.  There is no doubt that he has opened previously closed doors and we, as a community, gave him the foundation to do so. But what happens next, whether we continue to follow along the path he trailblazed, or we support other deserving writers who share messages more in line with how we view ourselves, is exclusively up to us.

The post The Tyler Perry Factor – Will Madea Ever Go To Broadway? appeared first on Broadway Black.

According to Deadline, the AEA  put the production on its “do not work” list. Apparently, Perry’s production company has yet to sign a contract with AEA. Contracts dictate how much actors will be paid, and when and if actors will receive residual payments if a project goes into syndication or is featured on another platform.  Because Perry has refused to sign the contracts, some argue that it seems that he doesn’t want to be bound to any agreements that might lower his profits from the show.

We are concerned that it appears Perry does not want to allow artists to share in the profits from a show built on their talent. We hope this is resolved quickly to allow recognition of the hard work and dedication theatre artists bring to every performance.

The post Say What?! Two Unions Ban Actors From Tyler Perry Play appeared first on Broadway Black.