"I Feel Pretty" Joshua Silverstein

Beyond the Usual and Bootleg Theater Proudly Present

The World Premiere of Joshua Silverstein’s

Tell Me I’m Pretty

A Hilarious and Raw New Solo Show

Tackling Race, Gender and Poverty in America

Bootleg Theater

April 8 – May 7, 2016

Directed by Diana Wyenn

Award-winning Actor, Comedic Writer & Beatboxer Silverstein is Joined By

Musicians Damian Curry, Gerry Doot and Erik Hallsey

“Joshua is a beautiful and incredibly talented young man.” – Anjelica Huston

“That boy is FRESH!” – Queen Latifah

My Pretty, Pretty...

Beyond the Usual and Bootleg Theater proudly present the World Premiere of Tell Me I’m Pretty, a hilarious and riveting new solo show – written and performed by Joshua Silverstein and directed by Diana Wyenn. Tackling race, gender, and poverty in America through storytelling, spoken word, vocal percussion, and hip hop, Tell Me I’m Pretty opens its five-week run at Bootleg Theater on Friday, April 8, 2016. Performances run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm through Saturday, May 7, 2016. Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057 (213-389-3856). General admission tickets are $20 in advance online and $25 day-of online and at the box office. Student and senior admission tickets are $15 in advance online and $20 day-of online and at the box office. For more information please visit http://www.joshuasilverbat.com/tell-me-im-pretty.

With side-splitting humor and raw power, award-winning actor, comedic writer, spoken word artist, and beatboxer Joshua Silverstein delivers an explosive mix of storytelling, spoken word, vocal percussion, and hip hop. Backed live by a three-piece band, Silverstein layers playful and riveting narratives grounded in personal experience, and nuanced by the complexities and contradictions surrounding race, gender and, poverty in America. Plus, he reveals what it would have been like if Buster Keaton could beatbox!

Of a recent work-in-progress showing at REDCAT’s Studio Series featuring fifteen minutes of the production’s seventy minutes of material, Culture Spot LA proclaimed, “Silverstein set the bar high by opening the show with this high-octane one-man-show... He quickly builds upon the gimmick of entertainment by transfusing an emotionally charged narrative with captivating confessionals and spot-on cultural commentary.” Read the full review here.

Tell Me I’m Pretty is written and performed by Joshua Silverstein, and directed by Diana Wyenn. Live music is performed by musicians Damian Curry (guitar), Gerry Doot (drums), and Erik Hallsey (bass). The production team includes: Diana Wyenn (scenic design), Matt Hill (video design), Joey Guthman (lighting design), Mark Holden (sound design), and Joshua Silverstein (costume design). Additional credits include: Aaron Saldaña (stage manager), Diana Wyenn (choreography and dramaturgy) and Jamais Vu (graphic design).

LINKS:

• Joshua Silverstein - http://www.joshuasilverbat.com

• Tell Me I’m Pretty (TMIP) - http://www.joshuasilverbat.com/tell-me-im-pretty

• Joshua Silverstein Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/joshuasilversteinproductions

• TMIP Facebook Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/events/436202663252486

Get Down For Flint!

In case you haven't heard, there's a problem in Flint, MI - These guys are here to help!

The Comedy Get Down tour has seen overwhelming support from the people of Flint, and the five heavyweight comedians are excited to announce that proceeds from their Feb. 21 show at Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint, Mich.,will give back to the Flint community. 

Cedric ‘The Entertainer’, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, George Lopez and Charlie Murphy have chosen to donate proceeds from the show to the Flint Child Health and Development Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, whose focus is providing support to children exposed to lead. Please visit FlintKids.org for more information.

We're Here To "Get Down!"

Cedric "The Entertainer" is best known for crowd-pleasing performances in hit films such as Barbershop, Be Cool, The Original Kings of Comedy, and the top-ranking Madagascar animated franchise, just to name a few. Cedric will be seen next on the big screen‎ in the much-anticipated comedy feature BARBERSHOP 3 slated for release in early 2016. He is executive producer and stars in the current hit comedy series THE SOUL MAN on TV Land. Cedric also stars in the buzzed about new reality series, CEDRIC'S BARBER BATTLE, which debuted on THE CW on June 29th.

Eddie Griffin has received worldwide recognition through his numerous stand-up comedy specials, movies, television appearances, music and comedy albums for not only acting, but writing and producing as well. Most notably, Def Comedy Jam, HBO One Night Stand, Malcolm & Eddie for which he won the NAACP Image Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series award, Undercover Brother, My Baby's Daddy, Dysfunktional Family, Norbit, Freedom Of Speech, A Fool And His Money play, You Can Tell Em' I Said It and soon to be released Mucho Dinero and An American Hero. Comedy Central also honored Eddie as one of the Top 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of all time.

D.L. Hughley star of his namesake TV show that ran on ABC The Hughleys, is also well known as one of the standout comedians on the hit comedy tour and docu-film The Original Kings of Comedy. DL can currently be heard nationwide as host of his own nationally syndicated afternoon radio show “The DL Hughley Show”, heard in over 60 markets across the country. Known for being astute and politically savvy in true comedian style, Hughley is a published author; and was honored with a prestigious Peabody Award for his satirical documentary special DL Hughley: The Endangered List. He appeared in the TV drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and will next star in the upcoming NBC drama Heartbreakers. DL is currently starring in his ninth stand-up comedy special Clear.

George Lopez is a multi-talented entertainer whose career encompasses television, film, standup comedy and late-night television. For two seasons, Lopez hosted Lopez Tonight, a late-night television talk show on TBS, Television’s groundbreaking hit sitcom George Lopez, which ran for six seasons on ABC. Lopez has risen to become one of the premier comedic talents in the entertainment industry and known for his extensive charity work with various foundations.

Charlie Murphy became a household name as a cast member of "Chappelles Show" when he recanted his True Hollywood Stories of celebrity and excess, however he has spent the past two decades solidifying his position in Hollywood as a true acting and writing talent. He’s appeared in Lottery Ticket with Bow Wow and Ice Cube, Our Family Wedding with Forrest Whitaker and The Perfect Holiday w/ Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard. Charlie wrote cult classics like Vampire In Brooklyn and Norbit, and stars as ‘Vic’ in Adult Swim’s “Black Jesus”, currently in production on Season 2.

EVENT DETAILS:
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 @ 7:00 PM
FLINT, MI
DORT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION EVENT CENTER
THE COMEDY GET DOWN
FEATURING CEDRIC ‘THE ENTERTAINER’, EDDIE GRIFFIN, D.L. HUGHLEY, GEORGE LOPEZ AND CHARLIE MURPHY

Why Take 5? When You Can Take 6?

"When Angels Cry" Available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Spotify

"Believe" on March 25, 2016

You'd better "Believe" Take 6 is back! “When Angels Cry,” the first single from multi-award winning jazz, pop and R&B group TAKE 6’s highly-anticipated album “Believe,” is now available for purchase on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon and streaming on Spotify. The new album will be available worldwide on March 25, 2016 via SoNo Recording Group. Known for working with some of the biggest and most iconic names in music, including Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Justin Timberlake, Al Jarreau, Don Henley and James Taylor, to name a few, Take 6 will delight music lovers with “Believe” a contemporary record filled with exciting collaborations and new material with every hallmark of the classic TAKE 6 sound. Motown Legend Stevie Wonder recently met up with the guys in Nashville to contribute his exquisite harmonica playing to the song “You Know You Are In Love.” “When Angels Cry” iTunes – https://itun.es/us/96Rr- Google Play – https://goo.gl/7R6Utl Amazon – http://amzn.to/1Migrgd Stream on Spotify – http://spoti.fi/1NueQJU Back In Action Take 6 TAKE 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley), has been heralded by none other than Quincy Jones as the "baddest vocal cats on the planet!” Their uniquely cutting-edge style is comprised of six virtuosic voices united in crystal clear harmony, against a backdrop of syncopated rhythms, innovative arrangements, and funky grooves. All of this bubbles into an intoxicating brew of gospel, jazz, R&B, and pop. TAKE 6 are quintessential a cappella. The group, considered torchbearers for an entire reemergence of a cappella as a musical movement, has been performing together since their days at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama in 1980. Their debut album scored two 1988 Grammy Awards and landed in the Top Ten Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian Charts. Twenty seven years later, the most talked-about vocal group of all time, TAKE 6 is in greater demand than ever, selling out shows all over the world. They have performed on Saturday Night Live, the Oscars, the Grammys, had the honor of performing for four sitting U.S. Presidents, and appeared at the Democratic National Convention. The group, which has inspired and been a founding influence to a generation of recording artists including Boyz II Men and *NSYNC, has collaborated with a who’s who of artists – including Stevie Wonder, Gordon Goodwin, Don Henley, Whitney Houston, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Brian McKnight, Luis Miguel, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, Ben Tankard and Cece Winans. TAKE 6 Tour Dates: Dec 11 Lincoln, NE - Lied Center for Performing Arts Dec 12 University Park, IL - Governors State University Dec 13 Houston, TX - The Fountain of Praise Jan 02 Aspen, CO - Downstairs @ The Little Nell Jan 03 Aspen, CO - Downstairs @ The Little Nell Feb 12 Flagstaff, AZ - Northern Arizona University Feb 14 Chandler, AZ - Chandler Center for the Arts Feb 18 Santa Rosa, CA - The Summit: The Manhattan Transfer Meets Take 6 Feb 20 Bellingham, WA - Mount Baker Theatre Mar 17 Urbana, IL - Krannert Center’s Colwell Playhouse Apr 01 Reading, PA - Berks Jazz Festival (The Summit Show) Apr 06 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theater (The Summit Show) Apr 15 Oceanside, CA - Miracosta College - Oceanside Jazz Festival May 14 Malibu, CA - Smothers Theater - Pepperdine University   take6.com facebook.com/Take6Official sonorecordinggroup.com

Wiz Bomb!

We're Going to "Wiz"
Mary J. Blige & Queen Latifah

So NBC is reviving The W-I-Z. 

That's correct, The Wiz is being, revived, woot! I remember seeing the original film starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Oh, and let's not forget the late great Lena Horne as Glinda the Good. Directed by the great Sidney Lumet.

A lot of critics were divided, but I was completely spellbound. Hey "Ease On Down The Road" people.

Well current casting news on the NBC production eases like this: Queen Latifah as The Wiz and Mary J. Blige as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Personally I can't wait for this! I love myself some Latifah and Blige!

 Just say no to poppies!

Get Wizzy with:

Latifah at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001451/?ref_=nv_sr_6
Blige at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004763/?ref_=nv_sr_3

'Tis The Season For Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah Rulz! 

I have always loved Queen Latifah! When I first saw her in Set It Off I was a fan!

She has always brought something unique and interesting to every film she has graced. Not to mention she is one bad ass singer!

The news that her talk show has been cancelled is sad indeed. This being stated Ms. Latifah proves why she has the title of Queen.

Although the cancelled talk show will still run through March, since it has been given the boot the crew is no longer necessary. The Queen is using her own money to pay the show's crew through the Holidays.

"Your Family, Partners, Staff and Crew showed up with you every step of the way. Be very proud of that! Not everyone can say the same," the message continued. "You can also say you have been a blessing to and been blessed by amazing guests and incredible audiences for this show. We truly changed people's lives for the better. So…stay positive, stay strong, and most important, stay open...There is so much more God has in store!"

The Queen concluded with: "This letter is for me, my staff, my crew, and everyone who was by my side for this incredible journey," she wrote. "The most important thing in life is that you wake up every single day and take chances. No matter what the outcome…believe in yourself and continue to fly."

What's up next? Queen Latifah is getting great buzz for her portrayal of legendary blues singer Bessie Smith in HBO's upcoming Bessie. I can't wait! 

Long live the Queen!

Keep it real with The Queen at: http://queenlatifah.com/