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Pink Leather Notebook: The Great Brown Way

So, in non-Barack Obama news, an all-black version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is coming to Broadway in March and I can't wait to see it!  Debbie Allen will be directing her sister, Phylicia Rashad, as well as  Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose and James Earl Jones.  I have also been hearing whispers that Lynn Whitfield may return to Broadway in another legendary Tennessee Williams vehicle, A Streetcar Named Desire, as (who else?) Blanche DuBois.  Anika Noni Rose will take on the legendary role of "Maggie the Cat" and Terrance Howard will, of course, play the repressed and tortured Brick. 

That is going to be so good...

Chaka Khan recently made her Broadway debut as Sophia in The Color Purple.  BeBe Winans (who I believe is making his Broadway debut as well) is playing Harpo. That's a good thing because for whatever reason, I initially thought he was going to play Mister and I thought, Huh???  I have seen Chaka Khan sing live before and trust me, I'll be right there. I have been dragging my feet about seeing The Color Purple since I missed the original cast, but I won't wait any longer.

I am also going to see the Broadway revival of William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba, which will open next week at the Biltmore Theater at the Manhattan Theater Club.  S. Epatha Merkerson is known to most for her role as Lt. Anita Van Buren on Law & Order.  Since I don't watch Law & Order, she is best known to me for her fabulous Emmy-winning role in the Halle Berry-produced Lackawanna Blues.  Wasn't that a good film?

Kerry Washington has a political/fashion spread in the New York Times where she is photographed with various presidential candidates like Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich (below with his wife Elizabeth), Mike Gravel and Rudy Guiliani.  Yes, Rudy Guiliani.  The picture above and below are from a Generation Obama concert. Hey, where'd that dude get that t-shirt?

The Backstory: Kerry Goes to Washington? , Party Girl (slideshow).

Speaking of Ms. Washington, how did I miss this?  It's from last year:

Congressman Hits on Actress Kerry Washington

Who knew that a Congressman's funding request for sewer projects in his district could be so... so sexy?

When Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) went before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Thursday, he found himself appealing instead for the affection of famed silver screen beauty Kerry Washington.

Turning to Washington, the 39-year-old Congressman said as "a single member" of the House, he "personally" wanted to welcome her to Capitol Hill.

The room erupted with laughter, according to eyewitnesses. Davis went on to make his appeal for more money for his sewer projects and left the room - without even trying to seal the deal (he didn't get her phone number!).

When Washington got up to testify, she said she was "honored" to be welcomed before Congress but "surprised" at "being hit on." Again, rousing laughter.

It looks like flirtation is where this story ends. (Sigh.) Rep. Davis, who is - yes, ladies - single and highly eligible, tells the Sleuth: "A beautiful actress who doesn't live in Washington or Birmingham doesn't have time for a politician."

Doesn't sound like you put in much effort Congressman!

55 Secret Street

* Lemlem by Liya Kebede - Model Liya Kebede debuts her line of children's clothing Lemlem ("in bloom" in Amharic). 

* 55 First Look: Vivienne Tam MP3 Player - Yes, it's an MP3 player, not a cellphone!

Who Does She Think She Is?

 

Michelle Obamarama

Ah, Michelle Obama. Should she work? Bake cookies?  And will she be doing her own hair on the road?  They better not pull any of that John Edwards hair scandal mess on her!  I'm sorry, but it's different.  It just is.

Also, I'm not exactly worried about her quitting her job because she is essentially leaving one job for another: the very viable and historic presidential campaign of her husband.  Why this is a mystery to people, I'll never know.

Michelle Obama: A Long Tryout for First Lady - via The New York Times with video features.

Michelle Obama's Career Timeout via The Washington Post.

Michelle Obama quits board of Wal-Mart supplier - via Lynn Sweet's blog in the Chicago Sun Times.

Michelle Obama's Sacrifice via Salon - Debra Dickerson is in a "feminist fury" because Michelle Obama quit her job.  Debra - snap out of it!  An Ivy League-educated lawyer is allowed to quit her job when her husband has a real shot at the presidency of the United States of America.  Is it really that unclear to you, or do you just dig getting under the skin of the commenters at Salon?  This foolishness was worse (well, almost) than Maureen Dowd's "emasculating" nonsense a few weeks ago.

Michelle Obama: the latest Racial Rorschach Test: - via Mirror on America.

Barack's Rock - via the Chicago Tribune.

Wife Touts Obama's 'Moral Compass' - via The Washington Post.

Low Key Protection for Michelle Obama? via the Chicago Sun Times.

Michelle Vouches For Husband's Character to Voters  - video via CBS 2 Chicago. Michelle says that joking references to her husband's shortcomings are "played out."  "Everybody's heard that" she said.  "I need to keep it fresh.  I think everybody understands the broader point, which is Barack is human."

Obama's Wife No Mere Coat Holder via Forbes.com.   How would Michelle Obama serve as First Lady? "I come to this with a lot of interesting talents, but I think it would be unfair of me to say today what I would do in a couple of years," she continued. "I need to be prepared to do what the country needs me to do at the time.

"Whether that's baking cookies or serving as a wonderful hostess, that's my job. I have to be prepared to do what's necessary. And we won't know what that's going to be until we get there. I will be staunchly invested. It is a joint project."

 

Amazing Audra

Audra McDonald is on track to become the biggest Tony winner ever - and she's only 36.  She has won four Tony Awards in her career for roles in 'Carousel,' 'Master Class,' 'Ragtime' and 'A Raisin in the Sun' and she's currently nominated for her fifth Tony for 110 in the Shade.  As usual, she's getting rave reviews, but not from the producers of the new all-black Debbie Allen-directed Broadway staging of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  She was originally set to play the iconic role of Maggie the Cat, but the hedge fund monied backers bounced her for a name they knew: Beyonce.  The show was set to debut this fall and the original story was that it was postponed due to a lack of an available theatre.  Now, the story is that production was pushed back to accomodate Beyonce's  schedule.  Audra had a classy response to the news: "I think Beyoncé's an incredibly beautiful, talented singer," she says. "But the stage is a very difficult beast . . . a lot of people don't understand how difficult it is not just to do it right once, but do it right eight times a week and keep it up."

I swear, 'suits' are determined to kill Broadway, aren't they?  I don't care if some knucklehead thinks it's 'hating' on Beyonce, but to push Audra aside for her is truly nuts.  And the idea of LL Cool J as Brick is even worse.  Two words people: Jeffrey Wright.  I almost forgot that he is slated to play Easy Rawlins in the film adaption of Little Scarlet  alongside Mos Def as Mouse. Yay!!!   

Princess Anika

It's official! Anika Noni Rose will be the voice of Disney's newly renamed Frog Princess, Tiana (thanks Disney - Maddy definitely sucked.)  She made an announcement on her Myspace blog: FINALLY!!!!! IT"S OFFICIAL!!!  thank you to all of you who have sent me congratulations.  I could not be more excited and tickled and honored and pleased. YES!! I am the Frog Princess!!!  This has been something I've wanted to do since i was a little kid.  YaYYYY!!~

The name of the film has been changed too, from The Frog Princess to The Princess and the Frog, after it was discovered that the original title essentially translates into a slur in French.

 
 

55 Secret Street

* Anovelista in Cocoa Mode - I was a guest on XM Radio's Cocoa Mode this weekend (Thanks Shawna!)

* High-Minded Heels - Hollywould's Darfur Ribbon Sandals

* Here Comes The Sun

* $55 and Under: Patrick Robinson for Target

   

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Disney Crowns a B.A.P. (Sort of)

Hello, remember me?

I won't bore you with any long winded explanations about where I've been.  Suffice to say I'm still trying to get the whole "balance" thing down.

I'm also getting over my amusement at Disney's latest princess - a black girl!  In New Orleans!  Her name is Maddy, The Frog Princess and it will be the first hand-drawn Disney animated film in years.  It will be released in 2009 - only a decade into the 21st century!  Cool!  I have no idea why her name is "Maddy" of all things but moving along...

When I was a little girl, the idea of a black Disney princess (or any black princess!) was still out of the question.  In fact, a lot of things were "out of the question" when it came to color - even in an all black setting.  I went to an all-black elementary school up to the third grade and quite often, we girls would "play Charlie's Angels" during recess.  There was always a hierarchy of who would play which character - usually based on skintone and/or popularity.  The lighter-skinned "prettier" girls would always get to be Jill (Farrah Fawcett-Majors then with her famous hair and poster).  "Jill's" best friend (or the next most popular girl) would get to be Kris (Cheryl Ladd, Jill's baby sister) or Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) and the less popular (and often darker and definitely nerdier) girls would have to settle for Sabrina (Kate Jackson).  I was always Sabrina.

Nobody wanted to be Sabrina! Political correctness be damned! I have to admit though, we had a lot of fun - but not as much fun as we did singing songs out of Right On! magazine (the lyrics were printed inside.)

Anyway, the kids today have it made.  Maddy, The Frog Princess, is getting the full Disney rollout - lunch boxes, dolls, the works.  I wonder if the little girls of today, who have grown up with black Barbie dolls as a matter of course, will really care?  A black doll was rare enough when I was growing up, so I would have been beside myself.  After all, the "diversity" portion of my doll collection consisted of Cher and Diana Ross dolls.  I wish I still had them!

Anyway, The Frog Princess casting should be interesting.  It's a singing role, so Alicia Keys, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson are the top contenders.  I love all three, but I wouldn't mind seeing Anika Noni Rose get a break like that - or see Jennifer Hudson not be a one-movie wonder with Dreamgirls.  I have a feeling it'll probably be Alicia Keys though.

   

Keep Young and Beautiful If You Want To Be Loved

* Does Beauty Make You Smarter?  Of course not - but it'll help you get a raise anyway.

* How Aesthetics Inform Our Everyday Judgments. You may want to hit the gym before you go on that job interview - or run for office.

* What If Anna Nicole Smith Had Been Black? Well, the whole "Who's The Baby Daddy?" game would take on an entirely different meaning.

      

More Than Just A Pretty Face

* Vanessa Williams on NPR discussing her new film, My Brother and Ugly Betty.  She also celebrated her 44th birthday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

* Kim McLarin gives her take on Maddy, The Frog Princess on Michel Martin's NPR show in development, Rough Cuts.

* Oprah Winfrey opens a second school in South Africa. Note to all of Oprah's critics: wake me up when you build your $40 million school!

* Hillary Clinton's Plan To Woo Black Female Voters.  Try being Michelle Obama.  Just kidding Senator (sort of). How about a black female Supreme Court Justice?

   

55 Secret Street

* You Sexy Mother Pucker

* Wild & Peaceful Lady Tees

* Ne Plus Ultra: Wek1933