Walter’s World: Weekend Picks Theatre, Bearden and Jazz

By Walter Rutledge

MONETTE- I Love My Life,  Saturday October 29^th, 8pm at Walkerspace, 46 Walker Street.

Kymberle Joseph makes her official Off Broadway debut  with this one- woman show. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are $30 with discounts available for senior adults, students and groups of 10 people or more. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.smarttix.com, by calling 212.868.4444 or at the Walkerspace box office (46 Walker Street) an hour before the performance

With divorce papers in front of her, and her only child off to college, Kennedy Monette is completely alone. How will this soon-to-be-divorced empty nester reclaim her life? Jasmine Eileen Coles plays more than ten characters including Monette’s smooth-as-silk African-American father, her folklore tale telling Caribbean mother, and one very uptight best friend in this laugh-out-loud story about learning how to love who you are and where you are in the moment. Directed by Jesse Wooden, Jr (The MAAFA Suite, Black Nativity, MONETTE (pronounced MO-nay) features the formidable talents of newcomer Jasmine Eileen Coles. The show will play a limited engagement through November 27, 2011.

Romare Bearden The Painter: An Exhibition Of Watercolor and Oil Paintings at the Essie Green Galleries  October 29 to December 3. The gallery is located at 419A Convent Avenue for more information and gallery hours call  212 368 9635.

Bearden is primarily recognized for his collages, although he is a master water colorist as well. In fact, his exhibition of watercolor work at the prestigious Samuel Kootz Gallery in New York, in the 1940′s, was highly lauded and secured his reputation in the art world. His cubist style works rendered planes of jewel-toned watercolor articulated with dynamic, linear detailing in India ink. The black line and intense color call to mind the French artist Georges Rouault (1871-1958). The Harlem Renaissance patron, Carl Van Vechten, did declare Bearden to be “The Negro Rouault”. Bearden’s paintings that are mainly in watercolor, have received disconcerting muted attention. To a degree this is due to the fact that in the hierarchy of the fine arts establishment, watercolors lack the prestige of oils or collages. However, during the final years of his life, Bearden returned to using watercolors as a prime medium. The works on paper in this exhibition explore several themes employing southern roots, conjure people, jazz musicians, and rural and lush Caribbean landscapes. Romy was modern artist contributing to the contemporary canon and its development, and his work was an expression of his personal journey as an African American.

The Staten Island Jazz Festival returns to the Snug Harbor Cultural Center located at 1000 Richmond Terrace on Saturday October 29. 

The concert will showcase jazz artists ranging from the traditional to the avant-garde, professional to emerging. The roster of artists will include: Bob Cunningham, Leopoldo Fleming Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble, Winard Harper Ensemble, Kiane Zawadi, Lee Pearson, Vishnu Wood & Safari East, Danny Mixon Quartet, Betty Shirley, Taru Alexander, Jeannine Otis, Vinnie Ruggieri, David Jones, WaFoo, Rudi Wongozi and Joy Ryder. Advanced tickets are priced at $25 for adults and $10 for children. Workshops are $10 and group rates are available. For more information please contact Universal Temple of The Arts at (718) 273- 5610 or info@utasi.org. The Staten Island Jazz Festival is sponsored by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Richmond County Savings Bank, Con Edison and Ferry Ads.com.

These are just a few of the events happening around the city and in the community. As always, thank you for letting me share my world with you.