Tyler Perry | Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

Lia Chang Photos: Willie Reale, Frances McDormand, Lewis Black, Bela Fleck, Renee Goldsberry, Duncan Sheik, Lisa Benavides, Abigail Washburn, Tim Blake Nelson at The 52nd Street Project Benefit

Willie Reale and Denise Burse at The 52nd Street Project Benefit on May 9, 2011 at Espace. Photo by Lia Chang

Last Monday, I joined “House of Payne”‘s Denise Burse at The 52nd Street Project’s He Started It! 30th Anniversary Benefit celebrating Willie Reale, the founder of The Project, at Espace in New York. Burse who plays Claretha on Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,” is featured in the latest episode “Talented Paynes.”

(L-R) Lyricists Edelys Tiana Guerrero, Haley Zoe Martinez Nicolas Carrero, Genesis Hires and Malik Velazquez (not pictured). Photos by Lia Chang

Willie Reale, is an actor, playwright and 1994 MacArthur Fellow, who recently received his third Daytime Emmy nomination as part of the producing team of “The Electric Company.” He is an Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song (with Henry Krieger) for “Patience” from Dreamgirls, a two-time Tony nominee for A Year with Frog and Toad (Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score with brother Robert Reale), a two-time Writers Guild of America nominee for “Damages” and “Out There” (with Mark Palmer). He won a 2010 Daytime Emmy as part of the producing team for “The Electric Company,” and was also nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Children’s Series for “The Electric Company,” that same year.

In 1981, Reale, started the project in response to a deepening need to improve the quality of life for New York’s inner-city children. As a company member of the Ensemble Studio Theater (EST), Reale used his company privileges to reach out to the children of the neighborhood by creating theatrical endeavors specifically for them.

Lewis Black Photo by Lia Chang

For almost two decades, Burse and her husband actor Peter Jay Fernandez have been among the countless professional theater artists who have volunteered their time and talent, being matched up with kids in a series of unique mentoring programs for The 52nd Street Project. The Project’s mission is dedicated to the creation and production of new plays for and by kids between the ages of nine and eighteen that reside in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in New York City. This was done with the cooperation and support of EST and its across-the-street-neighbor, the Police Athletic League’s Duncan Center. The Project is now an independent not-for-profit organization that creates over eighty new plays and serves over 115 children every year.

Frances McDormand Photo by Lia Chang

The evening was hosted by Lewis Black, with special remarks by Frances McDormand and Jose Soto. The entertainment featured songs with lyrics written by Project kids Nicolas Carrero, Edelys Tiana Guerrero, Genesis Hires, Haley Zoe Martinez and Malik Velazquez, set to music and performed by Lisa Benavides, Bela Fleck, Christopher Fitzgerald,Tim Blake Nelson, Duncan Sheik and Abigail Washburn. Adult composers included J. Michael Friedman, Henry Krieger, Rob Reale, Duncan Sheik and Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck.

Lisa Benavides and Tim Blake Nelson Photo by Lia Chang

Duncan Sheik Photo by Lia Chang

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn Photo by Lia Chang

Renee Goldsberry Photo by Lia Chang

Check back for a slideshow of the night.

Other Articles by this Author:
Christine Toy Johnson, Jaygee Macapugay, Jon Norman Schneider to perform in National Asian Artists Project: Discover: New Musicals at 47th Street Theatre on 5/23
Ruby Dee, Alicia Keys, Sidney Poitier among honorees at Woodie King, Jr.’s New Federal Theatre’s 40th Anniversary Gala at Edison Ballroom on May 22
Meshach Taylor talks Wigger on Wendy Williams Show
Artwork by Asia Flores on display in Mercy High School Annual Art & Soul Art Exhibition in SF
Photos of AEA’s Asian Heritage Celebration, featuring the Leviathan Lab Asian American Women Writers Workshop
Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival
Sixth Annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival – Ajay Naidu’s Ashes Screens on May 11 & May 15 in Edgewood, PA
Victory Gardens appoints renowned director and playwright Chay Yew as its new Artistic Director
André De Shields stars in Chicago Premiere of Charles Smith’s The Gospel According to James at Victory Gardens 5/14-6/12
Up Close and Personal with Darren Pettie, Star of The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore
Marva Hicks and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra light up the Southern Theatre with a “A Night at the Apollo”
Photos: David Duchovny, John Earl Jelks, Amanda Peet,Tracee Chimo opening night of Neil LaBute’s The Break of Noon
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2011 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com.

May 18, 2011
Categories: African American Artists, Entertainment, Television . Tags: A Year with Frog and Toad, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Claretha Jenkins, Daytime Emmy, Denise Burse, Electric Company, Ella Payne, House of Payne, Lia Chang, Talented Paynes, TBS, television, The 52nd Street Project, TV, Tyler Perry, Willie Reale . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Lia Chang: House of Payne’s Denise Burse chats up the 2011 NAACP Image Awards and Season 7, Watch Video of “Shout Out” Episode

Photo by Lia Chang

Since 2006, Denise Burse has been serving up sass and displaying an outrageous flair for fashion as Claretha Jenkins, Ella Payne’s best friend on Tyler Perry’s award-winning TV show House of Payne, which began airing new episodes on March 30th.

Fresh from the Atlanta set of House of Payne, the award-winning actress was a vision in a cream colored tuxedo when we attended a concert performance by Marva Hicks in Pat Holley’s Me and Caesar Lee at the Triad Theatre in New York earlier this month.

(l-r) Lia Chang, Peter Jay Fernandez, Denise Burse and Marva Hicks after the concert presentation of Pat Holley's Me and Caesar Lee at The Triad Theatre in New York on April 3, 2011.

Burse hinted at big developments in Season 7 for Claretha and talked about the festivities of the 2011 NAACP Image Awards in L.A.

“It’s been really hair raising,” said Burse. “I can’t give too much away until they start the new season. She’s in a very interesting storyline. I can only urge you to tune in because many eyebrows will be raised.”

Click here to watch “Payneful Visit,” the episode where Claretha reveals she has leukemia.

About Claretha, Burse shared, “She’s funny, she’s sassy, very sensitive. She is a woman who likes being in love, and has been hurt many times as a result. She has a great big heart. She loves her friends deeply and loyally. She has a sense of flair. I wear outrageous gear and change my hair to fit my outfit. From head to toe. She is always dolled up.”

In March, Tyler Perry and House of Payne won a host of awards at the 2011 NAACP Image Awards, including the 2011 NAACP Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. The Image Awards, first presented in 1967, were launched by the NAACP to celebrate “outstanding achievements by people of color in film, television, music and literature, as well as individuals or groups who promote social justice.”

It was a first for Ms. Burse at the NAACP Images Awards which were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, to share the glory with her castmates and good friend Samuel L. Jackson, with whom she walked the red carpet. Click here for photo coverage.

“I stayed at my friend LaTayna Richardson Jackson’s and Samuel L. Jackson’s house. I walked the red carpet with Sam, said Burse. “We were going to the same event. He was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor for “Mother and Child” (Sony Pictures Classics). He won. We walked the red carpet together and were photographed-which was a delight. It was a delight to be there with him. We’ve been friends for many, many years. He has always has been very supportive and encouraging. I was just glad to be able to celebrate him as well.”

“House of Payne was nominated again this year for several NAACP Awards, and we won again this year for Outstanding Comedy in a Series,” said Burse. I didn’t know the show won until the day of the actual event. We had a strong sense that we might win. It was nice because a lot of the cast was nominated and my castmembers were there. It was great to be able to rally and support and enjoy each other.”

After the awards ceremony, Burse headed off to Tyler Perry’s First Annual “Rise Above” Celebration held at Boulevard3 in Hollywood. “The party was really fun because I got to see Mary J. Blige, who was named Outstanding Female Artist, perform,” said Burse. “She was off the charts!”

Watch Ms. Burse as Claretha in “Shout Out,” the new episode of House of Payne.

Other Articles by this Author:
Denise Burse & Peter Jay Fernandez Featured in INTAR Reading of Andrew Dolan’s The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King
Multimedia: The 52nd Street Project Benefit Photos: Michael Cerveris, James Monroe Inglehart, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Matthew Morrison, Greg Naughton and Kelli O’Hara
Michael Cerveris, Matthew Morrison & Kelli O’Hara sing for 52nd Street Project’s Benefit
Eisa Davis Tells Story of Activist Angela Davis in Angela’s Mixtape
Multimedia: Zooman and The Sign Opening Night Party
Denise Burse, Rocky Carroll, Anthony Chisholm, John Earl Jelks and James A. Williams in Radio Golf by August Wilson at The Pearlstone Theater in Baltimore
Slideshow – On October 16, 2005, The Virginia Theatre was renamed the August Wilson Theatre
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Lia Chang Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

April 19, 2011
Categories: African American Artists, Entertainment, Television . Tags: Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Claretha Jenkins, Denise Burse, Ella Payne, House of Payne, leukemia, Lia Chang, Mary J. Blige, Samuel L. Jackson, Shout Out, TBS, television, TV, Tyler Perry . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Denise Burse as Claretha Jenkins in House of Payne’s “Payneful Visit”

Photo by Lia Chang

Denise Burse is most familiar to television audiences as Claretha Jenkins on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, the 2011 NAACP Award recipient for Outstanding Comedy Series. In the current season of House of Payne, Claretha reveals she has leukemia.

Ms. Burse can be seen in Bruce Beresford’s Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding, a new film starring Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Catherine Keener, Chase Crawford and Kyle MacLachlan, scheduled for release this year.

Production still of Charles Randolph Wright's Preaching to the Choir (l-r) Kia (Janine Green), Miss Nettie (Eartha Kitt), Butter (Roger Robinson), Willie (Jonathan Lopez), Sister Marcie (Denise Burse), Sister Emma (Adriane Lenox) Photo by Robert Barocci/Preaching to the Choir

Her favorite film roles include her co-starring turns as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s mother opposite Howard Rollins in The Boy King (WSB); as Buster Marshall, Thurgood Marshall’s wife in Simple Justice (PBS American Experience); as Sister Marcie in Preaching to the Choir, directed by Charles Randolph Wright, as Sergeant Martin in A Time to Triumph (CBS) starring Patty Duke; and as Eleanor Clark in Resting Place (CBS, Hallmark Hall of Fame), starring John Lithgow and Morgan Freeman. Other film and TV credits include the BET/STARZ movie Funny Valentines, with Alfre Woodard and Loretta Devine, Angel, Basquiat, The Juror, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, 100 Centre Street, The Sopranos, The Cosby Show, New York Undercover and One Life to Live.

Denise Burse as Harriet Tubman in Harriet's Return. Photo by Lia Chang

Ms. Burse appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Her Off-Broadway credits include Eisa Davis’ Angela’s Mixtape (Ohio Theatre), Don Juan of Seville (Classical Stage Company), Ground People (American Place Theatre), Harriet’s Return (Cherry Lane Theatre), Hannah Davis (Negro Ensemble Company) and Bill Harris’ Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil (New Federal Theatre). Her regional credits include Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West with Ruby Dee at The Kennedy Center; Charles Randolph Wright’s Blue (Cincinnati Playhouse, Geva); Miss Evers’ Boys (Illusion Theater); African Company Presents Richard III (Cleveland Playhouse); Fences (CENTERSTAGE); The Piano Lesson (Seattle Repertory Theatre, director Lloyd Richards) and James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner (True Colors Theatre Company/Alliance Theatre). Helmer Kenny Leon has directed her in August Wilson’s Fences (Alliance Theatre), Radio Golf (CENTERSTAGE, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars (Alliance Theatre). Ms. Burse garnered a Theatre World Award for her Off-Broadway debut in Ground People and an AUDELCO Award for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil.

(l-r) Denise Burse, Navaina Rhodes, Margo Moorer and Chandra Currelley in True Colors Theatre's production of The Amen Corner by James Baldwin at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Photo by Tom Meyer

A native of Atlanta, Ms. Burse honed her craft performing at the Just Us Theatre, The Alliance Theatre and The Atlanta Children’s Theater.

Here is the link – http://wp.me/pla1d-3hJ – to post this article on Facebook.

On October 16, 2005, fourteen days after American playwright August Wilson's death, the theatre was renamed in his honor. (l-r) August Wilson's niece Kimberly Ellis with Radio Golf castmembers Denise Burse, John Earl Jelks and Anthony Chisholm in front of the August Wilson Theatre on October 16, 2005. Photos by Lia Chang

Lia Chang, Peter Jay Fernandez, Denise Burse and Marva Hicks after the concert presentation of Pat Holley's Me and Caesar Lee at The Triad Theatre in New York on April 3, 2011.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on “One Life to Live”. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and “New York Undercover”.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are now in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

April 6, 2011
Categories: African American Artists, Entertainment, Film, New York, Television, Theater . Tags: 100 Centre Street, 2011 NAACP Award, A Time to Triumph, African Company Presents Richard III, Alfre Woodard, An American Daughter, and Misunderstanding, Angel, Angela's Mixtape, Atlanta, AUDELCO, August Wilson, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Basquiat, BET/STARZ, Blue, Bruce Beresford, Buster Marshall, Catherine Keener, CENTERSTAGE, Charles Randolph Wright, Chase Crawford, Claretha Jenkins, Daniel Sullivan, Denise Burse, Don Juan of Seville, Eisa Davis, Elizabeth Olsen, Fence, Flyin’ Wes, Funny Valentines, Ground People, Guy Davis Miss Evers’ Boys, Harriet’s Return, House of Payne, James Baldwin, Jane Fonda, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, John Lithgow, Just Us Theatre, Kenny Leon, Kyle MacLachlan, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Lia Chang, Lloyd Richards, Loretta Devine, Love, Morgan Freeman, New Federal Theatre, New York Undercover, One Life to Live. Wendy Wasserstein, Patty Duke, Payneful Visit, Peace, Preaching to the Choir, Radio Golf, Resting Place, Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil, Ruby Dee, Seven Guitars, Simple Justice. Sister Marcie, The Alliance Theatre, The Amen Corner, The Atlanta Children’s Theater, The Boy King, The Cosby Show, The Juror, The Piano Lesson, The Sopranos, Theatre World Award, Third Watch, Thurgood Marshall, True Colors Theatre Company/Alliance Theatre, Tyler Perry . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Lia Chang: Denise Burse and Peter Jay Fernandez Featured in INTAR Reading of Andrew Dolan’s The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King, 9/21-22

Photo by Lia Chang

Denise Burse, Francesca Choy-Kee, Ato Essandoh, Peter Jay Fernandez and Andrew Dolan are featured in the TWILIGHT THEATRE COMPANY’s workshop reading of The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King, a new play by Andrew Dolan, directed by Sturgis Warner, at INTAR, 500 West 52nd St., 4th fl. in New York, on September 21 & 22 at 7pm.

Set in a university town, Andrew Dolan’s darkly humorous play, The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King, tells the story of a modern American family of mixed races and second wives, with all its attendant politics, both academic and racial.

Andrew Dolan

Andrew Dolan is an actor who, aside from his many television and film roles, has performed On and Off Broadway, at the National Theatre in London and in many regional theatres (including 5 seasons as an ACT company member). His first play, That Good Night, was read at New York Stage & Film with a cast that included Reg Rogers, Marin Ireland and Mary Beth Piel. His baseball play 04: A Muse of Fire premiered last March at Mile Square Theatre’s 7th Inning Stretch Festival. He has sold two screenplays and is presently developing several television projects. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and the American Conservatory Theatre.

Denise Burse is best known for her role as Claretha Jenkins on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, the 2011 NAACP Award recipient for Outstanding Comedy Series. She can be seen in Bruce Beresford’s Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding, a new film starring Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Catherine Keener, Chase Crawford and Kyle MacLachlan. Her favorite film roles include her co-starring turns as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s mother opposite Howard Rollins in The Boy King (WSB); as Buster Marshall, Thurgood Marshall’s wife in Simple Justice (PBS American Experience); as Sister Marcie in Preaching to the Choir, directed by Charles Randolph Wright, as Sergeant Martin in A Time to Triumph (CBS) starring Patty Duke; and as Eleanor Clark in Resting Place (CBS, Hallmark Hall of Fame), starring John Lithgow and Morgan Freeman. Other film and TV credits include the BET/STARZ movie Funny Valentines, with Alfre Woodard and Loretta Devine, Angel, Basquiat, The Juror, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, 100 Centre Street, The Sopranos, The Cosby Show, New York Undercover and One Life to Live. Ms. Burse appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Her Off-Broadway credits include Eisa Davis’ Angela’s Mixtape (Ohio Theatre), Don Juan of Seville (Classical Stage Company), Ground People (American Place Theatre), Harriet’s Return (Cherry Lane Theatre), Hannah Davis (Negro Ensemble Company) and Bill Harris’ Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil (New Federal Theatre). Her regional credits include Pearl Cleage’s Flyin’ West with Ruby Dee at The Kennedy Center; Charles Randolph Wright’s Blue (Cincinnati Playhouse, Geva); Miss Evers’ Boys (Illusion Theater); African Company Presents Richard III (Cleveland Playhouse); Fences (CENTERSTAGE); The Piano Lesson (Seattle Repertory Theatre, director Lloyd Richards) and James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner (True Colors Theatre Company/Alliance Theatre). Helmer Kenny Leon has directed her in August Wilson’s Radio Golf (CENTERSTAGE, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Piano Lesson and Seven Guitars (Alliance Theatre). Ms. Burse garnered a Theatre World Award for her Off-Broadway debut in Ground People and an AUDELCO Award for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil. A native of Atlanta, Ms. Burse honed her craft performing at the Just Us Theatre, The Alliance Theatre and The Atlanta Children’s Theater.

Peter Jay Fernandez

Peter Jay Fernandez recently appeared in the world premiere of Yussef El Guindi’s Language Rooms at The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. Broadway: Cyrano De Bergerac; Julius Caesar; Henry IV; Jelly’s Last Jam; The Merchant Of Venice. Off Broadway: Too Much Memory ( Fourth St. Theater); Zooman and the Sign (Signature); The Pain and The Itch (Playwrights Horizons); Thunder Knocking On The Door ( Minetta Lane); As You Like It, Coriolanus, Winter’s Tale, Henry VIII, Spell# 7 (Public); Widowers’ Houses (Epic); Checkmates (New Federal), and more. Regional: Arena, Longwharf, Hartford Stage, McCarter, Goodman, Old Globe, Seattle Rep, Williamstown, Alliance, Milwaukee Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse,Geva,and more. His television and film credits include Deception, Preaching To The Choir, Funny Valentines, Fringe, Damages, Law and Order(s), Hackand Cosby . He can currently be seen with Justin Timberlake in the Sony VAIO vs. the Media Monster Commercial Spots.

Email twilighttheatre@earthlink.net to rsvp for the reading.
www.twilighttheatrecompany.org
Other Articles by this Author:
BD Wong and Adam Gwon Set to Headline CACF Benefit on October 4
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Signs Fred Korematsu Day Bill, Bill Establishes January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution
Multimedia-Photos and Video: Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas- In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Crafting a Career
Norman Y. Mineta: A Boy from San Jose by E. Samantha Cheng, screens at National Portrait Gallery
Photo Call: BD Wong and the Cast of Heading East at the Asia Society
Multimedia: Promises, Promises’ Stars Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes at Lord & Taylor Fifth Ave
Multimedia: The 52nd Street Project Benefit Photos: Michael Cerveris, James Monroe Inglehart, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Matthew Morrison, Greg Naughton and Kelli O’Hara
Making the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution Bill a Reality
Photos by Lia Chang at the Shanghai World Expo 2010’s USA Pavilion, Library of Congress and Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection in L.A.
Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, has been extended through November 7, 2010
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

Photo by Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

This year, selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space will become part of newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

September 20, 2010
Categories: African American Artists, Entertainment, New York, Non profit, Theater . Tags: Ato Essandoh, Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, Beresford, Claretha Jenkins, Denise Burse, Francesca Choy-Kee, House of Payne, INTAR, Jane Fonda, Justin Timberlake, Lia Chang, Love, Peace, Peter Jay Fernandez, Sony, Sturgis Warner, The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King, Tyler Perry . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Lia Chang Multimedia: The 52nd Street Project Benefit Photos: Michael Cerveris, James Monroe Inglehart, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Matthew Morrison, Greg Naughton and Kelli O’Hara

The 52nd Street Project lyricists Brandon Leon, Elizabeth Vasquez, Adnan Ahmed, Melissa Rebolledo and Wendell Jenkins. ©Lia Chang

Rebecca Naomi Jones, who is currently starring in American Idiot on Broadway, with Denise Burse. Photo by Lia Chang

I had a great time at The 52nd Street Project’s Spring Sing Thing: A Garden Variety Benefit at Espace on Monday night, thanks to my hosts Mildred and Borah Walton, whose daughter Denise Burse (House of Payne) invited me to the party. Ms. Burse and her husband Peter Jay Fernandez (FX’s Damages), are among the countless professional theater artists who have mentored and nurtured kids of The 52nd St. Project for almost two decades.

Looking for a way to improve the quality of life for New York’s inner-city children, actor/playwright and 1994 MacArthur Fellow Willie Reale founded The 52nd Street Project in 1981.

Willie Reale, an actor, playwright and 1994 MacArthur Fellow founded The 52nd Street Project in 1981. Photo by Lia Chang

Mr. Reale, an actor, playwright, and company member of the Ensemble Studio Theater (EST), used his company privileges to reach out to the children of the neighborhood by creating theatrical endeavors specifically for them. This was done with the cooperation and support of EST and its across-the-street-neighbor, the Police Athletic League’s Duncan Center. The Project is an independent not-for-profit organization that creates over eighty new plays and serves over 115 children every year.

For 29 years, The Project’s mission has been dedicated to the creation and production of new plays for and by kids between the ages of nine and eighteen that reside in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in New York City.

Cocktails and dinner were followed by a delightful show, emceed by Martha Plimpton, featuring songs with lyrics written by kids of the Project and music supplied by professional artists.

Martha Plimpton emceed The 52nd Street Project's Spring Sing Thing Benefit at Espace in New York on Monday, May 10, 2010. © Lia Chang

Spring Sing Thing was written by John Sheehy, directed by Jonathan Bernstein, and featured musical direction and piano by Kimberly Grigsby, Thad DeBrock on guitar, Jeff Potter on drums, and backup singers Emma Hunton and Gabriel Violett. With music coordination by Kim D. Sherman, lighting design by Greg MacPherson, sound design by Charles Coe and set design by George Babiak.

Memphis’ star James Monroe Inglehart, who sat at our table, was adorable singing ‘She the Best’ by lyricist Adnan Ahmed, age 10, and composer Brian Lowdermilk (Henry and Mudge).

James Monroe Inglehart is currently appearing on Broadway in Memphis. © Lia Chang

‘Immortal Powers’ with lyrics by Melissa Rebolledo, age 13, was composed and sung by Michael Cerveris (Assassins).

American Idiot’s star Rebecca Naomi Jones (Passing Strange) rocked ‘To The Beat of New York’ by lyricist Elizabeth Vasquez, age 12, and composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal).

American Idiot's star Rebecca Naomi Jones © Lia Chang

Glee’s Matthew Morrison, who has charmed Broadway audiences in South Pacific, Hairspray and Light in the Piazza, sang ‘Need U’ by lyricist Wendell Joseph, age 13, and composer Jeanine Tesori (Caroline or Change, Shrek The Musical).

Lyricist Wendell Joseph, age 13 and Glee's Matthew Morrison © Lia Chang

Greg Naughton of the band The Sweet Remains was joined by his wife Kelli O’Hara (South Pacific, Light in the Piazza) to sing ‘Springtime the Joyful Time’ by lyricist Brandon Leon, age 12, which Naughton composed as well.

Greg Naughton and Kelli O’Hara © Lia Chang

Proceeds from Spring Sing Thing will support the project’s original writing, performance and tutoring programs.

The 52nd Street Project now has a home of their own, their very first theater located at 789 Tenth Avenue between 52nd & 53rd Streets, in the Archstone-Clinton development, which is slated to open later this summer. For more information, visit: www.52project.org.

Lia Chang, Matthew Morrison and designer Selena Evans Photo by Robert Evans

Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer and an award-winning multimedia journalist. Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog. As a photographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden. Her HERRINGBONE Backstage Pass with BD Wong photography exhibition was on view at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, N.J. Lia currently plays Nurse Lia on One Life to Live. She has appeared in Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman, As the World Turns and New York Undercover.
Other Articles by this Author
Michael Cerveris, Matthew Morrison and Kelli O’Hara Lend Vocal Talents for 52nd St. Project Benefit
Peter Jay Fernandez and Jane Summerhays in star in Mr. Lincoln at New York Historical Society
Angela’s Mixtape Opening Night
Zooman and The Sign Opening Night Party
Peter Jay Fernandez and Laura Heisler Star in Too Much Memory
BD Wong to Star in Asia Society Benefit Concert of Heading East, May 24-26
Achieving the American Dream, Professional Charmer Andre De Shields Sees Theater is a Way to Life
Multimedia: Yellow Face Reading and Book Signing with David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng, Francis Jue and Special Guest Edward Albee
Multimedia: NAATCO’s LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! with special guest Terrence McNally
The Bacchae Opening Night Photos: Andre De Shields, Jonathan Groff and Anthony Mackie
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive.

May 13, 2010
Categories: African American Artists, Entertainment, New York, Non profit, Performance Photography, Theater . Tags: Angela's Mixtape, Assassins, Brian Lowdermilk, Caroline or Change, Charles Coe, Damages, Denise Burse, Emma Hunton, Ensemble Studio Theater, Gabriel Violett, George Babiak, Glee, Greg MacPherson, Greg Naughton, Henry and Mudge, House of Payne, James Monroe Ingle, Jeanine Tesori, Jeff Potter, Jonathan Bernstein, Kelli O’Hara, Kim D. Sherman, Kimberly Grigsby, Lia Chang, Light in the Piazza, Martha Plimpton, Matthew Morrison, Memphis, Michael Cerveris, Next to Normal, Peter Fernandez, Shrek The Musical, South Pacific, Thad DeBrock, The Sweet Remains, Tom Kitt, Tyler Perry, Willie Reale . Author: Lia Chang . Comments: Leave a Comment

Previous page Next Page »

Lia Chang

Lia Chang Photos: Willie Reale, Frances McDormand, Lewis Black, Bela Fleck, Renee Goldsberry, Duncan Sheik, Lisa Benavides, Abigail Washburn, Tim Blake Nelson at The 52nd Street Project Benefit

Lia Chang: House of Payne’s Denise Burse chats up the 2011 NAACP Image Awards and Season 7, Watch Video of “Shout Out” Episode

Denise Burse as Claretha Jenkins in House of Payne’s “Payneful Visit”

Lia Chang: Denise Burse and Peter Jay Fernandez Featured in INTAR Reading of Andrew Dolan’s The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King, 9/21-22

Lia Chang Multimedia: The 52nd Street Project Benefit Photos: Michael Cerveris, James Monroe Inglehart, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Matthew Morrison, Greg Naughton and Kelli O’Hara

Recent Posts

Meta

Follow “Backstage Pass with Lia Chang”