Miracle in Rwanda
Leslie Lewis Sword brilliantly transforms herself into a host of characters to tell the incredible story of a Rwandan genocide survivor, Ms. Immaculee Ilibagiza. Ilibagiza is a real life messenger of hope in a new play opening April 5 at the Ohio Theater in Soho called "Miracle in Rwanda."
Last year, performer and writer Sword traveled to Rwanda with Ilibagiza to develop this unique piece of theater. In fact, this return of Ilibagiza to Rwanda was the subject of a 60 Minutes segment last December, bringing international attention to her story.
Ilibagiza's family was brutally murdered during the three-month slaughter in Rwanda that began in April 1994. Miraculously, Ilibagiza managed to survive. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently in an undiscovered extra bathroom in a local pastor's home. The terror escalated when hundreds of machete-wielding killers searched the house repeatedly for her without success. Ultimately, Ilibagiza moves beyond intense fear and rage, to find a deeper connection to God than she ever thought possible.
With an uplifting message of forgiveness and compassion, Sword chronicles these dramatic events through the interior life of Ilibagiza. The message is one of personal empowerment, of overcoming all obstacles through the power of faith, and ultimately finding peace of mind amidst unbelievable hardship.
This year, Sword, who made her New York debut as Dorothy Dandridge in a solo show at the National Black Theater of Harlem, and her husband adopted two children from Rwanda.
Party Against Parkinson's
Plans for the 50th anniversary celebrations of Page Morton Black's Parkinson's Disease Foundation (PDF) were discussed at a cocktail party given at the east side home of Dr. Karen Burke Goulandris, a board member and wife of shipping tycoon Peter Goulandris. Among the attendees were Morley Safer of 60 Minutes, Dr. Stanley Fahn (once Muhammad Ali's Parkinson's syndrome doctor), and Dr. Lewis Roland. The PDF's big event is the Bal du Printemps May 16 at the Pierre Hotel.
Crazy About Shakespeare
An electrifying reading of a new play called "Corsetless" was presented last month at The Rose Studio in the Time-Warner Center. This was a production written and performed by the talented Catherine Eaton from texts by Shakespeare himself. Producer Carol Todd and her Stirproductions did a marvelous job in this major step toward eventually mounting the play to Off-Broadway.
"The play weaves together Shakespearean text to tell the story of Olivia, a troubled young woman struggling for her sanity in a mental health facility, who communicates with her doctor exclusively in the words of William Shakespeare," Ms Todd told The Epoch Times.
Yet even with the use of Shakespearean prose, Catherine Eaton made it lively, fast-paced, and understandable. While emotionally charged, it was thought provoking at the same time. Austin Pendleton, a well known Broadway and film character actor, who is a playwright in his own right, did a fine job playing Dr. Elaine Kwon, a doctor in the mental hospital. Demetrius Spaneas accompanied the cast with lively jazz-accented background music. Stirproductions hopes to have an Off-Broadway run later this year.