Harlem Stage will present the world premiere of Notes of a Native Song, a new work by Tony and Obie award-winning playwright, singer-songwriter Stew (Passing Strange), co-composed with his long-time collaborator Heidi Rodewald, who also performs. Commissioned and produced by Harlem Stage, Notes of a Native Song is a live collage of songs, text and video inspired by James Baldwin's brave and visionary proclivity for airing uncomfortable truths as celebratory events of poetry and beauty. Notes Of A Native Song is the culminating presentation of The Year of James Baldwin, a 14-month celebration of Baldwin spearheaded by Harlem Stage.
In his most personal work to date, Stew filters Baldwin's wisdom through his joyfully irreverent, surrealist aesthetic, utilizing the great individualist's work as a prism, shield and springboard to contemplate the limits of "socially engaged art." Along with his band, Stew creates a deeply personal and bitingly funny show.
Stew said, "The work of
James Baldwin is embedded so deeply within my DNA that, until I began writing Notes of a Native Song, I was rather unaware of how intimately, if not thoroughly, it had guided my path: from church youth choir to punk rock clubs, from LA to Amsterdam, from Broadway to Harlem (Stage), Baldwin was my GPS. In my youth his work answered a lot of big questions but the challenges he posed I'm still wrestling with today.
"In this show I want to rescue Baldwin from respectability. I want to pull him out of the stuffy, noble, artist-activist tearoom and drag him back to the freaky cafe where he belongs. I want to reclaim him for those of us who knew we had to go to another country if we wanted to get to Giovanni's room. Notes of a Native Song deals with the complicated aspects of Baldwin's legacy, through a deeply subjective fan-boy's lens, with focus on his ideas around the limitations of protest art and his commitment to solutions that challenged us to see both the humanity behind the hurt and the healing power of art."
Six performances of Notes of a Native Song will take place June 3-6 at 7:30pm and June 6 & 7 at 2pm at the
Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (at West 135th Street) in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of the first performance, June 3, which will also serve as the official opening. $55 tickets ($44 MyHarlemStage Members) can be purchased online at HarlemStage.org or via phone at 212.281.9250 ext. 19 or 20.
Composer, singer, and raconteur Stew has received awards and nominations for works that include Passing Strange for which he received the 2008 Tony award for 'Best Book of a Musical.' Stew also wrote lyrics and co-composed music for the musical. A four-time Tony nominee and two-time Obie winner, Stew leads, along with his collaborator
Heidi Rodewald, two critically acclaimed bands: The Negro Problem and Stew. His critically acclaimed discography includes Post Minstrel Syndrome, Joys and Concerns, Guest Host, The Naked Dutch Painter, Welcome Black, Something Deeper Than These Changes, the cast album of Passing Strange, and "Gary Come Home" for the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants.
The Year of
James Baldwin,
Harlem Stage's most ambitious programming initiative to date, is conceived as a 14-month, citywide celebration of one of America's most acerbic thinkers and is presented in partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts and New York Live Arts, in collaboration with the New School/Vera List Center for Art and Politics, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and numerous other collaborators. The series presents work by some of the most gifted artists working today to further Baldwin's legacy and includes two major world premieres: Notes of a Native Song by Stew and
Carl Hancock Rux's recent Stranger on Earth.
Harlem Stage Executive Director Patricia Cruz says of the celebration, "The idea of honoring and examining the work of
James Baldwin began as a singular program concept that allowed us to continue the
Harlem Stage mission of recognizing artists whose work has helped define the unique legacy of Harlem. It is our great joy to do this during the 90th anniversary of Baldwin's birth. In these troubled times, his thinking still provides a path to understanding who we are. Hopefully that self-realization will enable us to be better and more generous citizens of our communities, our country and our world."
The Year of
James Baldwin kicked off April 26, 2014, when both Stew and Rux performed previews of their works at New York Live Arts as part of their Live Ideas Festival, which kicked off the larger festival. The celebration also includes this year's edition of
Harlem Stage's acclaimed dance series E-Moves (April 10-18), for which four exceptional choreographers are creating works inspired by the words and ideas of Baldwin and the soulful songs of
Billie Holiday; and
James Baldwin and Rethinking the Path Ahead (May 13), a discussion, co-presented with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, featuring Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Director of the Schomburg Center, and Dr. Fredrick Harris, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center on African-American Politics and Society at Columbia University. Also,
Harlem Stage (May-June) and The Vera List Center (April) will host a sound installation by Mendi & Keith Obadike entitled Blues Speaker (Praise Song for
James Baldwin). Through the generosity of Vintage Books,
Harlem Stage was also able to introduce his works to the public schools that they serve.
The Year of
James Baldwin is part of a
Harlem Stage season full of art that reverberates-the institution's signature mission.
Harlem Stage is also celebrating the
Billie Holiday centenary, not only with this year's E-Moves, but also with When the Moon Turns Green: The Myth and Music of
Billie Holiday (April 28), a discussion presented in partnership with Columbia University Center for Jazz Studies; Parallel Lives:
Billie Holiday &
Edith Piaf (April 30 & May 1), curated by
Nona Hendryx, including performances by Ms. Hendryx,
Joey Arias, Women of the World and others; and the New York premiere of José James' Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of
Billie Holiday (May 7-8). All three events are part of the 2015 Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival
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