Conch Shell ‘Joseph’ espouses Garvey’s ideals
Center, 94-45 Guy R. Brewer
Boulevard, Jamaica, Queens.
Showtimes: March 5 and 6, 7:30
pm, and March 7, 11:00 am. to
10 pm.
“The festival is a celebration
of the diverse viewpoints of Caribbean
American female playwrights
and filmmakers,” said
Colimon-Christopher, who was
born in Brooklyn.
She said featured playwrights
comprise women of various Caribbean
heritages, including her:
Ingrid Griffith (Guyana); Amina
Henry and Monique A. Robinson
(Jamaica); Nancy Méndez-
Booth (Puerto Rico); and Myra
M. McPhee (Bahamas).
Colimon-Christopher said
“Lucky” by Méndez-Booth is “a
comedic story of how one Puerto
Rican adjunct wins the Pulitzer
and prosperity for all Boricuas.”
“Lessons My Father Taught
Me” by McPhee features a Bahamian
woman, trapped in her
own trauma, “wrestles with her
abandonment issues and her
attempt to recover from decadeslong
pain,” Colimon-Christopher
said.
She said “WaDe n Da WaTeR”
by Monique A. Robinson tells
the story of the United States
government taking “Hurricane
Katrina to court for the devastation
Caribbean L 42 ife, March 6-12, 2020
it left in its wake.”
“The trial turns into a realmaltering
and time-bending satirical
conflict between nature, spirit
beings and Orishas,” Colimon-
Christopher said.
She said “Unbossed &
Unbowed” by Ingrid Griffith is
a solo performance that explores
the life of the late Shirley
Chisholm, “a black woman of
Caribbean heritage who fought
the political machine and ran for
President of the US in 1972.”
show is that it was familyfriendly.
We had a good mixture
of the young and older folks in
attendance.
“The show has such positive
response that folks are asking
if we are going to have another
comedy show in the summer,”
continued Browne, who also
tried some comedic acts. “However,
we are hoping to make this
comedy show an annual event,
once we have a good slate of
comedians lined up that carry
the show.”
Janet Wyllie, the group’s general
secretary, also said that
patrons were very delighted
with the production.
“One guest said he was quite
pleased, and the type of event
made it a great segue from what
other organizations are doing,”
she said. “The committee itself,
having no experience in this
type of event and being one
of the fairly new organizations
in the community, was quite
happy with the turnout and the
way the show flowed.”
The show also featured two
other segments: “Battle of the
Sexes” and “If you Think You
Funny – Apollo Style.”
In “Battle of the Sexes,”
patrons gave answers to questions
posed by Master of Ceremonies
Allan “Tom” Doyle,
owner of San Souci Studio in
Brooklyn, and Victoria Wyllie-
Rabel, the group’s treasurer.
The answers did not have to
make sense but were expected
to be funny.
In the other segment, members
of the audience were invited
on stage to give a joke and, if
he or she was not funny, he or
she was pulled off the stage.
“The audience participation
piece was well received
and enjoyed by most, especially
Ms. Joanne Legair (a Vincentian
community worker), who
had them laughing their belly’s
full,” Janet Wyllie said.
Before performing, Legair
told the crowd: “I came here,
so I can feel better, because
Gailene was my close friend.”
Gailene Windsor, a St. Vincent
and the Grenadines Sports
Ambassador and community
activist, who resided in Brooklyn
before returning home permanently
over two years ago,
was found dead in her home last
Thursday.
Sherill-Ann Haywood, chairperson
of the Brooklyn-based
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Diaspora Committee of New
York, Inc., said her group, of
which Windsor was a foundational
member, is planning a memorial
Maurice Horne renders selections from his repertoire.
Photo by Nelson A. King
service in Windsor’s honor.
Howie Prince, St. Vincent
and the Grenadines Consul General
to New York, also requested
that members of the Vincentian
community inform him
and members of the Diaspora
Committee of their interest in
attending Windsor’s funeral at
home, so the necessary arrangements
could be made with Caribbean
Airlines.
Besides Legair, Prince and
Brooklyn resident Karitha
Lewis, formerly of Old Montrose,
Kingstown, were given
prizes for participating in “If
you Think You Funny – Apollo
Style.”
Horne and Daniel said they
were very happy with their debut
performances in New York.
“I grabbed the opportunity
with both hands,” said Horne,
who also hosts a Sunday program,
“Sentimental Sunday,”
on Magic Radio, 103.7 FM
in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“The show was very well
received.
“Comedy of this kind is new
to this venue, and I want to
thank the guys (organizers) for
putting this together,” he told
Caribbean Life. “The show really
went down well. I love the
response from the audience.”
Daniel, who resides in City
of Lachime in Montreal, lauded
MSS/SJCM Alumni Association
of North America for its “excellent”
organizational skills.
“Those guys did a great job in
organizing,” he said. “I love the
way they put things together.
For an organization, just two
years old, they produced a quality
show. They set a standard for
other organizations to follow.
“It was heart-warming to see
so many people show up on a
Friday night,” he added. “It was
a welcome stress reliever. We
need to have more of that (comedy
show) and less stress.”
Browne said he was “very
pleased” with the attendance,
adding also that the segments
were “well received.”
He said proceeds from the
event and two other forthcoming
ones – a BBQ and Annual
Dance – will go towards helping
the group’s alma mater in
upgrading its library, laboratory
and Home Economics Center.
Continued from Page 41
Myra M. McPhee.
Chanel Blanchett
Continued from Page 41
motes Africa for Africans at
home and abroad.
“We desire to promote in
areas where there is a strong
demographics of Caribbean
and African people,” Weekes
continued, disclosing that
the film, which was endorsed
and supported by the governments
of Ghana, Jamaica and
Barbados, was included in the
Ghana Tourism Authority Year
of Return.
She said “Joseph” — produced
by her award-winning,
independent film company,
Step By Step Productions —
was “beautifully shot on location
in Ghana, Jamaica and
Barbados.”
According to Weekes, the
film tells the very compelling
story of a Jamaican doctor who
must overcome family conflict
and self-doubt to discover his
African origins.
After successfully premiering
in Ghana, Atlanta, Barbados
and Jamaica to rave reviews,
Weekes said the film has now
landed limited distribution in
AMC Cinemas, the largest cinema
chain in the US.
“This is, indeed, groundbreaking,”
she exclaimed. “It is
important to promote ‘Joseph’
in New York because of the
important message of the film,
and a large number of persons
in our targeted demographic is
in New York.”
The film was shown in
Brooklyn at the Linden Boulevard
Multiplex Cinema, 2784
Linden Blvd.
“I just attended the showing
of ‘Joseph,’ and it was
awesome,” said Sam Taitt, a
Barbadian professor in communications
at Kingsborough
Community College. “Jamaicans,
Bajans (short for Barbadians)
and Ghanaians living
in New York should really see
this film.
“The actors and actresses
are Jamaicans, Barbadians and
Ghanaians,” he added. “It was
so good that I will see it again.”
Weekes said “Joseph” will
begin in Jamaica on March 11,
the United Kingdom on March
20, and premiere in South Florida
on March 15.
“It is our desire to continue
the AMC screenings in the US,
roll out in Canada and be successful
in the UK (United Kingdom)
and Europe, as well,” she
said.
For more information,
call Weekes on WhatsApp at
(246) 245-0665; or call Linda
Watson-Lorde, Cultural and
Community Affairs Officer,
Consulate General of Barbados
in New York, at (212) -551-
4332 or email: lwatson-lorde@
foreign.gov.bb.
Continued from Page 41
Marcia Weekes, Barbadian
producer and director of
“Joseph.”
VINCY COMEDY
/foreign.gov
