ENTERTAINMENT
THE ROPE AND
THE CROSS
Nixon Cesar (left) as Jesus and Emilio Evans as Judas in a scene from Easton Lee’s “The Rope and The
Caribbean Life, A BQ pril 12–18, 2019 39
By Nelson A. King
The 40th anniversary production
of Jamaican playwright Easton Lee’s
“The Rope and The Cross” will be
staged on Easter Sunday, April 21, at
The New Vibe Lounge, in Rockville
Centre, Long Island.
According to Rachel Damarr Williams,
public relations coordinator of
Sure Thing PR, the four-decade-old
play, considered a classic in the pantheon
of Caribbean literary works, is
being revived as a “Staged Concert
reading,” directed by award-winning
Jamaican playwright and producer,
David Heron (“Against His Will”).
There will be oneperformance of
the production, at 3 pm on Easter
Sunday.
Damarr Williams said the casting
includes Nixon Cesar (Paul Calderon’s
“Master of The Crossroads”)
as Jesus; Emilio Evans (Layon Gray’s
“Black Angels Over Tuskegee”) as
Judas; Candice McKoy (“Intimate
Apparel,” Portland Stage) as Mother
of Judas; and Fleurette Harris (Heron’s
“Against His Will”) as Mary,
Mother of Jesus.
They will be joined by Lincoln
Brown as narrator / shepherd; Kevin
Elden as High Priest Annas; Fulton
Hodges as The Blind One; Hector
Lincoln as High Priest Caiphas; Fitgi
Saint-Louis as Sarah’ and Osombu
Thambo as John the Disciple.
Rounding out the cast are: Marsha-
Ann Hay as Pontius Pilate and Joanna
Pickering as Herod, representing the
play’s gender-neutral casting of roles
that have historically been portrayed
Continued on Page 40
Patricia Chin, VP Records principal
displays her award with Trudy
Deans, Jamaica’s consul general.
Christopher Chin, File
VP Records annual Record Store Day
Sound System Showcase will be held
this Saturday in Jamaica, Queens from
12-6 pm. This year, both VP Records
retail stores (Jamaica, NY and Miramar,
FL) have received the distinct
designation as official Record Store Day
Locations.
To commemorate the annual celebration
of vinyl culture, the free events
are a day for fans and consumers to
experience authentic Jamaican Sound
Systems while being able to purchase
Continued on Page 40
“Queen Bey: A Celebration of the
Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles
Carter,” edited by Veronica Chambers
c.2019, St. Martin’s Press
$27.99 / $36.50 Canada
224 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
You were crazy in love.
It happened the first time you heard
Beyoncé Knowles, before she won a
Grammy, before she added to her life
with a man and motherhood. It happened
the first time you saw her, a skinny
child with a mispronounced name,
and in “Queen Bey,” a book of essays
edited by Veronica Chambers, you’ll
want to say that name again.
“What might a Black girl be in this
world?”
Continued on Page 40
FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT, GO TO CARIBBEANLIFENEWS.COM/ENTERTAINMENT
Sound System
Showcase
Queen Bey reigns
over her hive
Cross.”
A full cast Easter Sunday production
/ENTERTAINMENT