OEG Photography
Clark, center, with statuette; Jemar Phoenix, center right with hat, was the play’s lead.
The cast of Legends of the Forgotten Borough, a play written and directed by New Haven’s Sharece M. Sellem and produced at Bregamos Community Theater, returned home this week from a triumphant staging at the Atlanta Black Theater Festival (ABTF) Columbus Day weekend, garnering a gleaming Festival Favorite Award statuette for best supporting actor.
Forty plays were performed at the four-day festival described as,“One of the most sought after festivals for emerging and master storytellers from across the Diaspora…” according to event promoters.
“I don’t know what to say,” said actor-choreographer Maurice “Reese” Clark, after claiming the prestigious award in a special ceremony at Atlanta’s Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College. As Jessie, his character in Legends, Clark channels the late pop idol Michael Jackson through much of the production, an historical comedy based on The Force MDs, a 1980s Staten Island-based music group that combined elements of R&B, doo-wop, and early hip hop. Clark said he now understands the befuddled and somewhat clichéd reaction of some winners.
Clark with statuette.
Clark later rallied, however, to thank those who supported him on his theatrical journey: “Thank you to the mighty, mighty cast and crew of Legends of the Forgotten Borough… This really is a family! We all supported each other and this is all our victory. And we are just getting started!” he noted in a Facebook post.
A second award of sorts — an official aldermanic citation introduced by New Haven Alder Alfreda J. Edwards (19‑D) — congratulated and honored the Legends of the Forgotten Borough production for “shining a light and preserving a period of American musical history” and Bregamos Community Theater for “continuing to support, educate, and inspire under served communities through its creative programming.”
Rafael Ramos
One of the backdrops depicting NYC skyline from Staten Island Ferry, in full disclosure, by David Sepulveda.
The ensemble cast of 12 and its support team made the 2,000-mile round trip from New Haven to Atlanta, Ga. in a pair of rented vans, their stage scenery backdrops neatly rigged to the roof of one of the vans.
The shoestring operation was made possible through several fundraising performances at Bregamos Community Theater, in which cast members impersonated an array of ‘80s-era superstars, and an online GoFundMe campaign.
Original Force MDs member Stevie D, left, with writer-director Sharece M. Sellem.
Among those who attended the Atlanta performance was original Force MDs group member Stevie D., who, with Force MDs member Khalil Lundy, served as consultants and provided valuable insights and coaching regarding the group’s history.
Maria Roman
Bregamos founder Rafael Ramos.
Flying to Atlanta for the show was Bregamos Community Theater founder-director (and WNHH radio show host) Rafael Ramos. He noted that though the play had been staged at Bregamos for several runs, Saturday’s show was the first time he had been able to see the show in its entirety, and from the front row. “I cried, I laughed, and I intellectualized about many of the issues raised in the play,” he said.
Rafael Ramos
Actors (l. to r.) Chinequia Bailey, Shannon Mykins, and Jon Cohen.
“Atlanta loved it — the cast was on point,” said the play’s director, who also noted the warm reception and standing ovation after the show.
Sellem summed up her mission in creating the play in the show’s program notes: “Preserving what is dear to us can be accomplished through various means. Some people keep photo albums, some write stories, some make music and some put it on display for others to appreciate. This production attempts to take its audience to the secret episodes of an iconic group. We enter the minds and hearts of these unique, but not so unfamiliar characters and witness what once was. May respect and preservation continue to be part of our culture as we move through time. The only way we can know where we are going is by honoring and appreciating where we have come from.”
Jemar Phoenix as Frankie, left, Chadd Balfour as Stevie, right.
Legends cast members included New Haven natives Jemar Phoenix and Shannon Mykins, a veteran of several Bregamos productions. Also in the cast were Alix Goubourn, Byron Knox, Chadd Balfour, Chinequia Bailey, Jon Cohen, Jason Phenix Hall, Jus Hues, Martin Smith, Maurice Clark, and Oliver Lester. The show’s musical director was Colin Ivan Osborn.
On stage at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center.
The next step in the life of the Legends production will be helped by the strong showing at the Atlanta festival.
“I see this production moving to higher ground,” Sellem said. “It has the ability to pack large venues and entertain not only old-school music fans, but theater lovers as well. I’m excited to see how this will grow.”