Vincent Victoria Adapts BLAQUE TCHERIE For the Screen

Producer/Playwright Vincent Victoria will be screening the film adaptation of his play "Blaque Tcherie" on Juneteenth Weekend.

"Blaque Tcherie" set in Harlem circa 1954 is a fictional account of the launching of the first all African American girlie magazine similarly styled after Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine. In the film two ambitious black men decide to create a "Black Playboy" and it chronicles their attempt to convince legendary actresses Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, and Dorothy Dandridge to pose nude for the centerfold.

Says Victoria "In actuality there did exist a Black Girlie magazine called "Duke" that featured beautiful "Negro" centerfolds. The magazine only put out six issues in 1957, then it folded. I want to show that there were always beautiful black women around but because of racist attitudes and ideas about beauty that existed at the time, there wasn't a huge market for such a magazine.

Today such stars like Beyonce, Andra Day, Halle Berry, and Lupita Nyongo set standards for beauty and frequently grace the cover of magazines in various stages of undress. Sixty years ago that would have been a very rare and almost riot provoking occurrence."

The film came about after filmmaker Lionell Hilliard saw the play version of Blaque Tcherie six years ago and mentioned to Victoria that it would work well on screen. Fast forward to 2021 and Covid -19 and the film became a reality and was shot in 10 days.

The new film, also directed by Victoria, will feature prominent Houston actors Brandon Morgan and Harold Jay Trotter as well as a host of local talent. The entire film was shot inside Midtown Art Center a hidden jewel of a performance space in Houston's Third Ward. Empty rooms were transformed by Set Designer Nicholas Lewis into a barbershop, a bordello, a 1950's game show set, and a Harlem apartment for the film.

The film will have three screenings. One on Friday, June 18 at Cinemark Tinseltown on 290 at 7 PM. A red carpet screening at Midtown Art Center (3414 La Branch) at 7 PM on Juneteenth and additional two showings on Father's Day at Midtown Art Center at 1 PM and 5 PM. All tickets are $20 and can be purchased only at http://www.vincentvictoriapresents.com.

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