Darryl Maximilian Robinson Announces Refracted Theatre Co. Wins 8 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards With Their 2023 Production of 'Tambo & Bones'!

A CHICAGO THEATRE VETERAN'S 2024 50TH ANNUAL CHICAGO NON-EQUITY JEFF AWARDS NEWS VIEW!:

A PERFORMING ARTS DEI VICTORY!: REFRACTED THEATRE CO. WINS 8 2024 50TH ANNUAL CHICAGO NON-EQUITY JEFF AWARDS AT THE PARK WEST THEATRE IN THE WINDY CITY!

Theatre Lovers and Supporters, your humble servant in The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, is pleased and delighted to share the news that the 2023 Refracted Theatre Company's revival production staging of playwright Dave Harris' "Tambo & Bones" won no less than 8 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards at the ceremony held Monday Evening March 25th at the Lincoln Park neighborhood's popular Park West Theatre.

"Tambo & Bones" captured 8 awards in all at the event, which marked the 50th anniversary honoring the very best in Chicago's Non-Equity professional theater community.

"Tambo & Bones" earned honors for best production of a play, best director (Mikael Burke), best principal performers (Patrick Newson Jr. and William Anthony Sebastian Rose II) , best lighting design (Eric Watkins), best projection design (Eme Ospina-López), best sound design (Ethan Korvne), and best original music in a play (Ethan Korvne).

In an October 20, 2023 notice, theatre critic Kerry Reid of The Chicago Reader commented:"There’s a long tradition of Black American playwrights and filmmakers subverting the tropes of vaudeville and other popular entertainments to critique white supremacy and its violent power structures—power structures that of course also include American theater and filmmaking...Now in its local premiere with Refracted Theatre Co. under the direction of Mikael Burke, Harris’s play in three acts is bold, disturbing, raw, messy, sardonic, angry, and thought-provoking—polemical without offering any easily digestible bromides about ending racist oppression and its legacy in America. Featuring hypnotic performances from William Anthony Sebastian Rose II as Tambo and Patrick Newson Jr. as Bones, it’s a piece that interrogates itself with the same degree of pitilessness as it does its audience. (The “playwright,” in the form of a life-sized puppet seated in the front row, is disemboweled onstage by his characters at one point )."

A play that addressed serious racial issues in American Society, critical reviews note that "Tambo & Bones" reached theatregoers in Chicago in a way that was raw, funny, serious, impactful and provocative.

And the 2 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards for Outstanding Performer In A Principal Role In A Play victories for William Anthony Sebastian Rose II for his role of Tambo and Patrick Newson, Jr. for his role of Bones may be considered part of Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards History, as two male African-American Principal Role Performer In A Play Nominees have not won the prize on the same night ( or at the same ceremony in more than 40 years ) since all four male African-American stars of esteemed African-American play director and noted multimedia Chicago black theatre historian Pemon Rami's 1980 Kuumba Theatre Company revival of playwright Richard Wesley's "The Mighty Gents" each captured a 1981 Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Citation Award for Principal Actor In A Play for their performances in the gritty, urban drama.

For an internationally produced play by an African-American playwright ( Dave Harris ) to score such a triumph at The Jeff Awards is certainly a victory for DEI.

However, 8-Time Non-Equity Jeff Honored "Tambo & Bones" was not the only 2024 50th Annual Jeff Awards Winner that was a production that featured and highlighted talented Performers of Color.

Born under punches - Visión Latino’s 'That Must Be the Entrance to Heaven' is about far more than boxing.

by Alejandro A. Riera, The Chicago Reader, October 23, 2023

"If boxing is a metaphor for life, as many scribes, boxing fans, and websites proclaim (just type “boxing as a metaphor for life” and you’ll find over 1.5 million results alone), then for the four boxers at the heart of Franky D. Gonzalez’s play That Must Be the Entrance to Heaven, life has delivered some brutal punches, some of them self-inflicted. The ring is the place where they will define their legacy, fulfill promises made, and even earn back the respect from a father figure.

Receiving its midwest premiere as part of CLATA’s Destinos: 6th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, and as staged and directed by Visión Latino Theater Company’s artistic director Xavier M. Custodio, That Must Be the Entrance to Heaven might be the most minimalistic of the plays presented by the festival this year...

...Ramirez is astounding as Armando, the promise of Cuban boxing who is now facing the twilight of his career. There is so much pain in his performance, especially when his character calls home every time he fights . . . and loses. His sadness and the way he hunches his shoulders as he waits for a sympathetic response from his father are devastating, more so when his coach throws in the towel in a key fight. Ramirez does double duty as the play’s referee; to watch him bring a high level of energy and agility as he moves outside the ring is a real treat."

Your humble servant in The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, is pleased and delighted and thrilled to share the news that Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago Alum Sam Ramirez, who starred in the title role of ESC's 1998 revival production of George Bernard Shaw's classic comedy of life after death "Don Juan In Hell" at The Holstein Park Theatre of Bucktown, played a significant pair of roles: The Cuban Boxer Armando and The Referee in the 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Award-nominated staging of Vision Latino Theatre Company of Chicago's staging of "That Must Be the Entrance to Heaven," which had scored three honors including Outstanding Production of A Play-Short Run for Vision Latino, Outstanding Director of A Play-Short Run for VL Artistic Director Xavier M. Custodio and Outstanding Ensemble of A Play-Short Run for its entire talented cast.

At the Monday Evening March 25th Ceremony at The Park West Theatre, The Vision Latino Theatre Company's revival production of "That Must Be The Entrance To Heaven" won in two of its three nominated categories: it captured the 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Production of A Play - Short Run and the 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Director of A Play - Short Run for Vision Latino's talented Artistic Director Xavier M. Custudio.

And, indeed, special recognition must be extended to Texas playwright Franky D. Gonzalez for the the award-winning staging of his passionate and heartfelt piece.

Sam Ramirez is a skilled, experienced, veteran Chicago theatre actor who has appeared in several fine productions with Latino Chicago Theatre Company, Three Cats Productions, Hidden Stages Theatre of Chicago as well as The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago. The ESC congratulates and salutes Mr. Ramirez and the entire cast, crew and production team of Vision Latino Theatre Company of Chicago's noted and Non-Equity Jeff Award-nominated production of "That Must Be the Entrance to Heaven" and wishes them much continued success.

It was a true delight to see Sam Ramirez honored for his acting work along with his gifted and talented fellow Latino Artists: Adriel Irizarry as Edgar, Juan Munoz as The Voices, Nelson A. Rodriguez as Juan and Joshua Zambrano as Manuel Bernal of skilled playwright Franky D. Gonzalez's work in the Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Award Outstanding Ensemble-Short Run Category.

And, in addition to these gifted, local Chicago performers of color appearing in Jeff Award-honored plays, there was an exuberant new company of gifted African-American thespians who brought home a Jeff Award prize for Short Run - Outstanding Ensemble, and they captured it for their work in a charming musical.

Buzz Center Stage, Tuesday, 14 November 2023 16:17 'ONCE ON THIS ISLAND' - A CARIBBEAN FAIRYTALE WITH A MODERN TWIST FEATURED Written by Wesley David

"Once On This Island” is receiving a spirited and lively revival by Pulse Theatre at the once venerable ETA Creative Arts Foundation, now a rental space on the Southside of Chicago.

Set in the French Antilles, namely Haiti, this vibrant production rivals any Broadway In Chicago production. It is a large production with a cast of 25, including young children. The story follows the star-crossed love between Ti Moune, (the captivating Alexandria Simone Irby) a young peasant girl with a yearning for something more than her humble existence would allow and Daniel Beauxhomme (the gifted David Taylor) the son of the lighter skinned grand hommes who are rich and comfortable. Their romance is challenged by class and racial prejudices, quite a lot for a fairytale, luckily the gods are there to guide them. The gods, inspired by Haitian Vodou are Asaka (Marquetta Jackson) mother of the earth, Agwe (Kendall Devin Bell) God of Water, Erzulie (Paige Rene Brown) Goddess of Love and Papa Ge (Isis Elizabeth) the Demon of Death.

These four gods, each with their unique domains and influences, play a significant role in shaping the narrative of “Once on This Island” They test the characters faith, challenge their choices, and ultimately determine their fates.

Director Aaron Reese Boseman and Associate Director and Choreographer Florence Walker-Harris masterfully weaves dance and movement into the narrative, creating an immersive and captivating atmosphere. The audience is swept away by the energetic calypso rhythms, ecstatic ritual dances and even a jazzy French quadrille. All are seamlessly integrated into the storytelling."

The ETA Creative Arts Foundation was and is a fine venue to give an exciting and intriguing performance of a play. Predominantly African-American performing artists and receptive black audiences have found this place a great home to experience live, quality professional theatre for decades.

Indeed, in 1988, under the direction of the late and skilled actor and playwright Charles Michael Moore, your humble servant in The Theatre, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, made his ETA debut in the dual roles of Clyde and Rueben in the midwest premiere of the late and talented playwright Ray Aranha's "Sons And Fathers of Sons," playing onstage opposite the very talented former ETA Artistic Director and actor Runako Jahi and the late and gifted, multiple Jeff Award-winning actor Ellis Foster.

However, more recently, since the years of the passing of ETA's President and Founder, the skilled, respected and revered African-American theatre presenter Abena Joan Brown, ETA has struggled to find its footing, and ceased to present regular, full seasons of live theatre, becoming nothing more than a rental space.

The Magic at ETA, that enthralled African-American audiences and audiences of all races in The Chicagoland Theatre Community for decades at 7558 South Chicago Avenue in The Windy City, seemed to have faded.

However, last year, a new kind of Magic occurred in this historic venue. A fresh and exciting and young company of skilled African-American performers, emerging from the South Suburbs of Chicago, and calling themselves The Pulse Theatre Company, rented the ETA stage and brought to it a critically-praised, dynamic and intriguing revival of the hit Broadway musical "Once On This Island," which has caused such a local stage sensation that it has garnered two 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards nominations including Outstanding Production-Short Run and Outstanding Ensemble-Short Run.

The Pulse Theatre Company with its touching and moving island musical fairy tale, has given new life and ideas to those creative talents on the Southside of Chicago who are looking for the perfect place to stage an award-caliber theatrical production.

At the Monday Evening March 25th 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards Ceremony the cast of The Pulse Theatre Company took to the stage of The Park West Theatre and presented a well-received musical segment from their "Once On This Island" to a full house.

Before the event was over, The Pulse Theatre Company had won the 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Ensemble - Short Run for their inspired rendering of "Once On This Island."

Much praise, bread and roses to the entire cast, crew and creative production team of The Pulse Theatre Company and their marvelous, award-worthy revival of Stephen Flaherty's and Lynn Ahrens' classic musical "Once On This Island."

And many, many congratulations to all the 2024 50th Annual Chicago Non-Equity Jeff Awards Ceremony nominees, winners, performers, presenters, judges and production team.Much Bread and Roses!

Most recently, 1997 Chicago Joseph Jefferson Citation Award Winner for Outstanding Actor In A Principal Role In A Play for his critically-praised performance as Sam Semela in Athol Fugard's "Master Harold And The Boys" at the much-missed Heartland Cafe Studio Theatre of Rogers Park, Darryl Maximilian Robinson, Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of both The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project, was named a winner of 2022 Making The World Happening Award from Allevents.in for his numerous online theatre-related offerings during the early years of The Covid-19 pandemic.