PrideFest, the annual LGBTQIA+ street festival celebrating diversity, is slated for June 28.\n<\/p>\n
This year, however, the title could easily apply to New Yorkers who have spent the month enjoying an onslaught of activities saluting individualism, diversity and the pursuit of happiness.\n<\/p>\n
With diasporans immersed in Caribbean American Heritage Month celebrations; Juneteenth commemorations marking freedom from slavery; the annual Tribute to the Ancestors observance at Coney Island; Father\u2019s Day; Black Music Month; early primary election voting; FIFA watch parties; buildings illuminated in black, red and green for Juneteenth; and municipal skyscrapers glowing orange and blue to honor the New York Knicks\u2019 milestone season before a Canyon of Heroes parade, it seemed as if pixie dust had been sprinkled across the city throughout the month.<\/p>\n
Jubilation has swept across generations, offering opportunities to express unapologetic exhilaration for culture, community and identity.\n<\/p>\n
Following last week\u2019s celebrity-filled, ticker-tape extravaganza in Manhattan that drew an estimated 2 million spectators, another parade is set for Sunday.\n<\/p>\n
This time, as millions of revelers are expected to make their way through Greenwich Village, feathers, sequins, colorful pageantry and elaborate outfits will likely command the same attention recently given to Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Fat Joe, Leon, Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, DMC, coach Mike Brown and the celebrated athletes who captured the city\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n
The theme of the 56th annual Pride celebration is \u201cFor All Of Us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Grand marshals include Bowen Yang, whose work on the weekly television show \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d has earned a devoted following.\n<\/p>\n
Dominique Jackson, best known for her role on the television series \u201cPose,\u201d and three other distinguished honorees will also serve as grand marshals.\n<\/p>\n
The march steps off at noon from 26th Street and Fifth Avenue.\n<\/p>\n
Grenada is \u2018Blooming in Dry Season\u2019<\/p>\n
A musical now playing near Broadway and West 76th Street in Manhattan embodies many of the vibrant qualities associated with the Caribbean island of Grenada.<\/p>\n
Titled \u201cBlooming in Dry Season,\u201d the production celebrates the lifelong dedication to quality theater demonstrated by Woody King Jr., founder and director of the New Federal Theatre.\n<\/p>\n
While the title does not fully explain its origins, one can easily surmise the intentional messaging behind this gem now staged at WP Theater.\n<\/p>\n
King died before the play\u2019s May debut. Yet his artistic vision permeates the family-friendly production.\n<\/p>\n
From the outset, audiences are transported to a seaside fishing village on the small island nation.\n<\/p>\n
Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay provide scenic imagery that establishes a rum shop, the kind of neighborhood gathering place where villagers meet and conduct daily business.\n<\/p>\n
Apparently inherited as a family legacy, the colorful establishment is run by Rose, portrayed by Melanie Matthews. It is here that all the drama unfolds.\n<\/p>\n
Rose is the mother of Garland, an ambitious teenager played by Nikyla Boxley.\n<\/p>\n
Garland embodies old-school Grenada, where children traditionally pursued ambitions that honored their parents\u2019 wishes. Yet Garland, as written by playwright Eljon Wardally, goes against the grain. She chooses to play the tenor pan, following a path her father never managed to conquer.<\/p>\n
The three-member ensemble also features Brian Richardson as Fitz, a regretful musician whose dream of achieving acclaim in the national calypso arena never materialized.\n<\/p>\n
Determined to steer his daughter away from the dream he once pursued, he relentlessly attempts to dissuade her.\n<\/p>\n
Rose is talented and persistent, spending much of her spare time chasing her aspirations.\n<\/p>\n
The way the story of this triumvirate unfolds feels like music to the ears because calypso infuses nearly every utterance.\n<\/p>\n
Directed by Jackie Alexander, the comedic musical drama offers authentic and effortless entertainment.\n<\/p>\n
The intimate theater creates the kind of communal comfort audiences have been praising. To witness this short-lived production is a rare opportunity.\n<\/p>\n
Then there are the invading flying insects that seem to have traveled from Central Park to evoke the likeness of lightning bugs. During one performance, they flickered past the carefully positioned lighting designed by Antoinette Tynes.<\/p>\n
Whether incidental or not, the unlikely addition resonated with both reality and imagination.\n<\/p>\n
What truly strikes a chord, however, is the calypso that permeates the production.\n<\/p>\n
Sure, the Caribbean beat is unmistakable.\n<\/p>\n
Rose plays the instrument with the confidence of a professional.\n<\/p>\n
But it is the cadence and authenticity of the performers that provide the metaphor for a truly delightful outing to the theater.\n<\/p>\n
See it before it closes at the end of the month.\n<\/p>\n
Catch you on the Inside!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PrideFest, the annual LGBTQIA+ street festival celebrating diversity, is slated for June 28. This year, however, the title…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[105418,98,100,99,105419,105420,9,24,63,31659,99956,105421],"class_list":["post-273951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-blooming-in-dry-season","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-caribbean-life","tag-inside-life","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-pride","tag-pridefest","tag-pridefest-for-all-of-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}