mogul who has made his fortune
at the expense of others.
Scrooge foregoes using his
wealth to affect positive change
within his Harlem community
and instead lives a life of miserly
solitude. That is, until three
unexpected visitors arrive on
Christmas Eve to show him the
value of family and how cooperation
can lead to a healthy,
thriving and prosperous community.
This family-friendly
production includes original
and classic holiday carols
tinged with gospel, hip-hop,
pop and R&B influences to celebrate
the spirit of the season
the Harlem way.
“A Christmas Carol in Harlem”
touches on the issues
that are affecting so many New
Yorkers today such as gentrification
and social inequality but
infuses it with humor, hope and
holiday spirit. CTH reinvigorates
this timeless tale to remind
us that we all should celebrate
our shared humanity.
The company of “A Christmas
Carol in Harlem” includes:
Eryn Barnes (as The Ghost of
Christmas Past), Reed HarrisButts
(as Bennie), Kahlil
X Daniel (as The Ghost of
Christmas Future), Gabrielle
Djenné (as Fan and Belle; The
Zay Lewis Grenada’s V’ghn set to release EP
the local rap scene.
Lewis who has deep Brooklyn
family roots stretching
back some three generations
is looking to build on the legacy
of rappers such as The
Notorious B.I.G., Half a Mill,
Raekwon and Shock G. In an
interview with The Amsterdam
News, Lewis says the new video
is meant to capture what it feels
like running around New York
while on the hustle as a young
artist. “The flow in the first
verse was inspired by watching
the cadence of lights passing
in the tunnel as I traveled the
‘A’ train from Nostrand Avenue
to the West Village.”
Zay, as he is popularly known,
is no typical rapper as he started
playing music at the age of 10
when he joined his elementary
school band, playing the alto
saxophone. One could say that
creativity runs deep in his genes
as his maternal grandmother
was a self-taught pianist and
her husband a poet. And while
his mom lays no claim to being
a musician, she was a dancer
with the prestigious Alvin Ailey
Bacchae), Daniel Echevarria
(as Fezz; In The Heights,
Something like a Fairytale,
The Open Gate), Ure Egbuho
(as Sierra Jones; Good Friday,
Locked Up Bitches; SCRAPS),
Paula Galloway (as Claudette;
The Colored Museum, Ain’t
Misbehavin’), Steve Greenstein
(as Jacob Marley; Flashdance
the Musical), Emery Jones (as
Tiny Timothia), Kaden Jones
(as Child Scrooge and Bennie),
Charles Bernard Murray (as
Scrooge; The Bacchae), Andrei
Pierre (as The Ghost of Christmas
Present), Angela Polite
(as Clock Shop Lady; MARY
SPEAKS, Flambeaux), Jeffrey
Rashad (as Bob Cratchit and
Young Scrooge), and Kenzie
Ross (as Mrs. Cratchit; Blood
at the Root, When We Left).
The ensemble features dancers
from Elisa Monte Dance
includingTracy Dunbar, Kat
Files, Daniela Funicello, Ashley
LaRosa and Sai Rodboon.
“We are on the precipice of
the 100th anniversary of the
Harlem Renaissance. What
a remarkable opportunity to
launch into the next century
by complementing the existing
holiday programming downtown,
with a show that has
a unique uptown, New York
City aesthetic,” said Ty Jones,
American Dance Theater and a
model, winning the Miss Jamaica
USA pageant in the mid 80s.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri,
and raised in Illinois, Zay
could be described as a nomadic
Midwesterner. He spent much
of his childhood in semi-rural
Midwestern towns, however, as
a result of his dad and his various
job offerings, this resulted
in him living in a total of three
states and six different school
districts.
Being an only child from the
Midwest and with all his family
living in New York, meant Zay
spent a lot time alone and with
his thoughts.
Caribbean L 48 ife, December 20-26, 2019
Jeffrey Rashad as Young Scrooge and Gabrielle Djenné as Belle. Jill Jones
Classical Theatre of Harlem’s
producing artistic director.
“I believe that ‘A Christmas
Carol in Harlem’ will become
a classic, seasonal offering on
par with other beloved, locally
based holiday productions.
Shawn René Graham has taken
Dickens’ classic to show how
a community is healed, one
family at a time and exemplifies
how ordinary people can
do extraordinary things to help
one another receive the gift of
love at Christmas time.”
Continued from Page 47
Zay Lewis performs live in
Brooklyn.
Continued from Page 47
al DJ Stephen excitedly said
this project speaks volumes of
the artiste’s ambitious nature
and his personal mission to
take the Caribbean’s energy, to
every corner of the globe.
“The EP is basically a prelude
to V’ghn’s debut album, which
is aptly entitled, “XoniQ,” which
phonetically reads, (X on IQ),
a term created by the artiste
to mean Unlimited IQ. “It’s a
word that’s meant to describe
V’ghn’s immense voracity for
knowledge,” said Stephen.
The album is set for an April
2020 release but before that,
five singles, which deliver an
intrinsic view into the artiste’s
musical mind, highlighting his
love for Afrobeats, Afrofusion,
R&B, Pop and tropical dancehall,
will be shared with fans
this Friday.
V’ghn stands sure of himself,
with a pure heart and a
thirst to be among the great
creators of Caribbean music.
Happily, he has shared in the
musical credit for several of
the region’s popular entertainers,
among them, Konshens,
and Christopher Martin this
year alone. And with a crown
of his own from the land he
hails, Grenada, the reigning
Groovy Soca Monarch king of
Grenada and Grenadian Cultural
Ambassador, continues
to aim high.
Fans of the young, dynamic
artiste are encouraged to stay
abreast of his every move, by
following him @vhgnofficial
on Instagram and via his website
at www.vghnofficial.com.
Continued from Page 47
CHRISTMAS TALE
/www.vghnofficial.com
/www.vghnofficial.com