NEW YORK- Norm Lewis has been tapped to be Broadway's next Phantom in the megahit "The Phantom of the Opera," a move that makes him the first African-American to slip behind the famous mask on the Great White Way.
Mathew Knowles who was once managed Beyonce and Destiny’s Child, making gazillions in the process, is now down and out and can barely pay child support.
By: Deborah Bayliss - March 12, 2014 3:19 p.m.
On March 14, South African artist, Jabu, who now resides in Los Angeles, will be in Chicago for an exhibit at the Africa International House, 6200 S. Drexel Ave. The exhibit will include a panel discussion with Jabu and art curator, Soraya Sheppard about their experiences under the apartheid regime.
Five-time, Tony award-winner, Audra McDonald, known for her roles in both television dramas such as Private Practice and Broadway musicals “Ragtime,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” and “Porgy and Bess,” returns to Broadway to play legendary jazz singer, Billie Holiday in the Broadway premiere of Lanie Robertson's "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill."
The legacy of photographer, film director, musician, and social justice advocate, Gordon Parks, was honored with a $25 million donation from filmmaker George Lucas and his new wife, Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Investments, to support construction of a new arts hall at the University of Chicago (U of C) Laboratory Schools that will be named after Parks.
By: Deborah Bayliss - February 28, 2014 4:11 p.m.
Brother Jacob & His Blues Crew, a blues band featuring a young African American blues singer, who has emerged on the scene with 10 years of performing already under his belt, will serve as the opening act for the University of Chicago’s (UIC) 24th Annual Blues Cabaret on Feb. 28 as part of the school’s Black History month celebration.
By: Lee Edwards - February 6, 2014 11:04 a.m.
In honor of Black History Month, the Chicago Urban League and the Gary Comer Youth Center are both hosting Black history film festivals.
By: Deborah Bayliss - January 29, 2014 10:51 a.m.
Chicago is maintaining its status as the place for major film and television productions, with an overall increase in filming activity, according to information released from the Chicago Film Office at the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).
“This past year has been an outstanding year for film in Chicago with major films and six full-time TV shows in production,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Valisia LeKae has a New Year's resolution that has nothing to do with weight loss, money or watching less TV.
"I will be cancer-free in 2014," she's vowed.
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union are engaged.
The Miami Heat star proposed to his longtime girlfriend Saturday and the actress accepted. They announced the news through social media, around the same time as the two-time defending NBA champions were gathering for a team Christmas party.
"Saturday Night Live" plans to add one or two black female performers to its cast as soon as January.
Motown founder Berry Gordy recalls that when he first signed The Jackson 5, he sent them to live in a house in California — and the rowdy kids ended up getting kicked out and had to move in with him.
The gospel artist Tonex is being boycotted by a group of students at Howard University in Washington, DC who feel that he is sending the wrong messages to the public.
By: Deborah Bayliss - October 15, 2013 4:48 p.m.
Monday morning brought news of the a death of a young South Side celebrity chef who was found Friday morning in an alley with a gunshot wound to the head.
After a tragedy like the Trayvon Martin killing, calls routinely arise for a conversation about race. But Henry Louis Gates thinks the more direct way for structural change is through schools and their curriculum.
