In This Issue

SIMPLY SOCIAL OUTING - John Legend and India.Arie at Ravinia Park

Summer Festivals!!!!!

THEATER REVIEW - HOPE VI

HOPE VI

by Nambi E Kelley
Directed by Ilesa Duncan

With the subject matter of a family being displaced amidst the destruction of Chicago’s infamous Robert Taylor housing projects, I was prepared for the Chicago Dramatists production of HOPE VI to be yet another installment of the ever-popular tragic tale of “life in the ghetto.”  Bracing myself for an extended theatrical version of the saddening stories delivered to us daily in the evening news -- stories from which we can easily disconnect by simply changing the channel - I was curious to see just how much of the storyline would reflect its namesake – hope.  As in reality, there remains but an ounce of it, yet, as also in reality, an ounce is all one needs to survive.

For those driving southward through the city of Chicago a few years ago, it was as easy to notice the demolition of the Robert Taylor homes as it was to forget about them within the moments it took for them to be out of eye sight.  But just how many of us gave more than a thought to how the destruction of one’s own home and therefore the dismantling of one’s livelihood, much less an entire community, impacts those who resided within those walls.  Through her screenplay of HOPE VI, Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright Nambi E. Kelley forces her audience to not only take a close examination of the often ignored citizens of these communities, but she does so through one of the most honest and untainted perspectives – through the eyes of a child. 

Six year-old Hope is virtually just like any other child her age, talkative and playful.  The dilapidated motel room assigned to her family through the public housing program is filled with her Grandmother, parents, infant siblings and uncle.  Yet somehow, she manages to make the best of a bad situation.  She does this by clinging close to her grandmother’s love and being entertained by her own imagination, which is built upon an admiration for her favorite movie icon.  As the center of the story, Najwa Brown presents a magnificent and moving portrayal, displaying her “triple threat” talents of acting, singing and dancing.  Showing a wide range of emotions so convincingly at her young age, Brown already displays the skills of a master.  She quickly captures the audience’s heart as her Grandmother Messiah’s “baby girl,” the apple of her father’s eye and tragically, the thorn in her mother’s side.  When she laughs, you laugh with her and when she cries, you feel her pain.   [continued]

Summer Festivals!

Each year, I struggle to determine which To-Dos to include in the Festivals category.  What makes an event a "festival?"  Food?  Vendors?  Live Music?  A blanket or a lawn chair?  Dictionary.com defines it as "An often regularly recurring program of cultural performances, exhibitions, or competitions" and "a period or program of festive activities, cultural events, or entertainment."  At Soleil's To-Dos, we err on the side of abundance - so here you have it!