Champeen

Last updated

Champeen was a 1983 musical by Melvin Van Peebles. It looked at the careers of Bessie Smith and Joe Louis, and had a cast of 18. [1] It won 7 awards at the 11th Audelco Recognition Awards for black theater, including best actress, best choreography, and best director. [2] Although it covered Bessie Smith's life, it was not a biographical play. [3] The New York Times reviewed it positively, although it was stated that Miss Reaves-Phillips was not given enough singing time. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Albee</span> American playwright (1928–2016)

Edward Franklin Albee III was an American playwright known for works such as The Zoo Story (1958), The Sandbox (1959), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962), A Delicate Balance (1966), and Three Tall Women (1994). Some critics have argued that some of his work constitutes an American variant of what Martin Esslin identified and named the Theater of the Absurd. Three of his plays won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and two of his other works won the Tony Award for Best Play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander's Ragtime Band</span> 1911 song composed by Irving Berlin

"Alexander's Ragtime Band" is a Tin Pan Alley song by American composer Irving Berlin released in 1911; it is often inaccurately cited as his first global hit. Despite its title, the song is a march as opposed to a rag and contains little syncopation. The song is a narrative sequel to Berlin's earlier 1910 composition "Alexander and His Clarinet". This earlier composition recounts the reconciliation between an African-American musician named Alexander Adams and his flame Eliza Johnson as well as highlights Alexander's innovative musical style. Berlin's friend Jack Alexander, a cornet-playing African-American bandleader, inspired the title character.

<i>As Good as It Gets</i> 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by James L. Brooks

As Good as It Gets is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted, and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as a single mother with a chronically ill son, and Greg Kinnear as a homosexual artist. The film premiered in Regency Village Theatre on December 6, 1997, and was released in theaters on December 25, 1997, and was a critical and box office hit, grossing $314.1 million on a $50 million budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ma Rainey</span> American blues singer (1886–1939)

Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers. Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a "moaning" style of singing. Her qualities are present and most evident in her early recordings "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvin Van Peebles</span> American actor and filmmaker (1932–2021)

Melvin Van Peebles was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Van Peebles</span> American actor and film director

Mario Van Peebles is a Mexican-born American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in New Jack City in 1991 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic Baadasssss!, which he also co-wrote and directed.

<i>Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song</i> 1971 blaxploitation film by Melvin Van Peebles

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American blaxploitation film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities.

<i>Baadasssss!</i> 2003 film by Mario Van Peebles

Baadasssss! is a 2003 American biographical drama film, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles, as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the Blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.

<i>Heartbreak Ridge</i> 1986 American war film by Clint Eastwood

Heartbreak Ridge is a 1986 American war film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film also co-stars Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, and Mario Van Peebles, and was released in the United States on December 5, 1986. The story centers on a U.S. Marine nearing retirement who gets a platoon of undisciplined Marines into shape and leads them during the American invasion of Grenada in 1983.

<i>Watermelon Man</i> (film) 1970 film by Melvin Van Peebles

Watermelon Man is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D'Urville Martin, Kay Kimberley, Mantan Moreland, and Erin Moran. Written by Herman Raucher, it tells the story of an extremely bigoted 1960s-era white insurance salesman named Jeff Gerber, who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, and by John Howard Griffin's autobiographical Black Like Me.

<i>Identity Crisis</i> (film) 1989 film by Melvin Van Peebles

Identity Crisis is a 1989 comedy film directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Written by Mario Van Peebles, the film is about a rapper who winds up sharing his body with the soul of a dead fashion designer, switching between personalities every time he is struck on the head.

The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, performance, music composition and visual design. The Bessie Awards were established in 1983.

The Payback Press was a specialist imprint of Canongate Books devoted to (initially) reprints of classic black crime novels, which later branched out into contemporary black fiction. Notable authors included Chester Himes and Clarence Cooper Jr and Iceberg Slim. As with Rebel Inc., after its successful foundation in the late 1990s, it was discontinued due to a financial crisis in its parent company.

<i>Boxing Gloves</i> (film) 1929 film

Boxing Gloves is a 1929 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Anthony Mack. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 9, 1929, it was the 90th Our Gang short to be released.

William "Spaceman" Patterson is a guitarist and producer, who has collaborated with Miles Davis, James Brown and Frank Ocean.

Waltz of the Stork is a semi-autobiographical play written and originally performed by Melvin Van Peebles. It also featured his son Mario Van Peebles. The play originally ran for four months in 1982. It ran from January 5, 1982 to May 23, 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille A. Brown</span> American dancer

Camille A. Brown is a dancer, choreographer, director and dance educator. She is the Founder & Artistic Director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and has congruently choreographed commissioned pieces for dance companies, Broadway shows, and universities. Brown started her career as a dancer in Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company, and was a guest artist with Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Brown has choreographed major Broadway shows such as Choir Boy, Once on This Island and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! that aired on NBC. Brown also teaches dance and gives lectures to audiences at various universities such as Long Island University, Barnard College and ACDFA, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love, That's America</span>

"Love, That's America" is a song written by Melvin Van Peebles in 1970 for his film Watermelon Man. He re-recorded it for his 1971 album As Serious as a Heart-Attack. In 2011, the song became associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement due to being used on videos featuring footage from the movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail</span> 1971 single by Melvin Van Peebles

"Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail" is a song written by Melvin Van Peebles.

References

  1. New York Magazine. 1983-04-11. p.  110 . Retrieved 2012-11-18 via Internet Archive. champeen melvin van peebles.
  2. "Jet - Google Books". Johnson Publishing Company. 1984-01-23. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. Cooper, Carol (2006). Pop Culture Considered as an Uphill Bicycle Race: Selected Critical Essays ... - Carol Cooper - Google Books. ISBN   9780978890803 . Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. Gussow, Mel (1983-04-10). "THEATER:'CHAMPEEEN!' CELEBRATES BESSIE SMITH". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-28.