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3 BLACQUE CHIX IN ENCORE PERFORMANCES: At LA's Stage 52 - May 5-13
WHO: Written by: 3 Blacque Chix: Mariann Aalda, Love Love and Iona Morris.
Music by: Munyungo Jackson & Joe Ayoub Originally directed for cabaret by: Kamali Minter. Directed for the stage by: James Reynolds. Musical Director: Munyungo Jackson. Choreographer: Candy Brown. 3 Blacque Chix Productions.
WHERE: Stage 52, 5299 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016. Free gated parking and plenty of well-lit street parking.
WHEN: Thursdays & Fridays - May 5, 6, 12 & 13 at 8:00 p.m.
ADMISSION: General admission $25; Groups $20.
CONSUMER ADVISORY: Contains explicit sexual content, but no nudity. For audiences 18 and over.
RESERVATIONS: 866-811-4111.
MEDIA INQUIRIES: 818-255-1096
ONLINE TICKETING & INFORMATION: www.3BlacqueChix.com
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Lola Love, Iona Morris and Mariann Aalda, AKA: 3 Blacque Chix
“Herotique-Aahh…” – described by its writer-creators and stars, veteran actresses Lola Love, Iona Morris and Mariann Aalda, (aka 3 Blacque Chix) as “a sexistential comedy celebrating the sexual vibrancy and vitality of women over 40…and those planning on living to be – was tagged by one reviewer as “the emotional cousin to The Vagina Monologues and Menopause: The Musical.”
“Actually, it more closely resembles a stage version of Sex & the City,” says promoter and booking agent, Steven Cooper of BRC Productions in Westwood. Cooper is presently lining up East Coast tour dates starting this summer for the saucy, “seasoned” trio. “I don’t gauge commercial viability from what theater critics have to say,” he continues, “even though the reviews for this show were phenomenal. I judge the audience reaction – and when I saw the way the cross-section of women and men of differing generations, ethnicities and sexual persuasions responded with huge belly-laughs at a performance I saw in Pasadena, I knew these ‘Chix’ were onto something.”
Incubating for almost a year as a wildly popular (with sold-out audiences and standing ovations almost nightly) cabaret act directed by 26 year-old NYU film-school graduate, Kamali Minter, “Herotique-Aahh…” was given its world premiere as a full theatrical stage production earlier this winter, directed by Days of Our Lives star, James Reynolds, and produced by his wife, Lissa Layng-Reynolds at the couple’s Fremont Center Theatre in South Pasadena. “After watching 3 Blacque Chix ‘bring down the house’ at the 2005 National Black Theatre festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., I knew this show was destined for bigger things, and I wanted to help launch it at my theatre,” says Lang-Reynolds.
“We want to film the show and our exploits while we’re on tour and put it into movie theaters,” says Love. “What is it saying when today’s top two black female box-office stars are black men (Tyler Perry as “Madea,” and Martin Lawrence as “Big Momma) in drag!”
“That’s right!” chimes in Morris. “We want to show Hollywood what real women – 3 ‘seasoned,’ sassy and sexy Blacque Chix – can do!
Aalda concurs: “Black women over 35 accounted for more than $15 million in box-office receipts for Madea’s Family Reunion its opening weekend. Well, Lola, Iona and I fall into that category, too, and our ‘sistahs’ are telling us how much they relate to our stories…and how liberated they feel by our telling them. In fact, black women in that age group have put together theater parties as large as sixty for our show – patrons & friends from one beauty shop in Covina!”
“And as pleased as we are about our fabulous reviews,” says Morris, “nothing can beat the satisfaction from great word-of-mouth. Somehow, this little show that the three of us wrote simply as an expression of our own re-invigorated sexual awareness as we’ve aged (like fine wine!) and seasoned has really struck a chord. ‘Herotique-Aahh…’ is empowering women – of all colors and all ages – to love their bodies and discover and love their own true selves. It’s changing lives.”
“That’s why we decided to do more performances of the show, locally, at Stage 52, before starting our tour, says Love. “After closing in Pasadena, we got phone calls and e-mails from women who’d heard about the show from friends who had seen it…and they were really upset that they’d missed it.”
“We’d already added two late-night shows and a post-matinee show after our regularly scheduled performances closing weekend at FCT, to try and accommodate everybody who was just hearing about “Herotique-Aahh…” at the close of our run.” says Aalda. “But then those people told even more of their friends, and…Hey, isn’t that how Tyler Perry started?! Well, anyway, for all those who miss us this time around…hopefully, next year, they’ll be able to see us on the big screen…”
Pass the popcorn.
“…Or at the very least, at home on DVD,” she adds. Well, then, order the pizza and let’s open a bottle of wine… Cheers!
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Source:
Mariann Aalda, Co-Producer/Media Relations
818-255-1096 BlacqueChixNews@aol.com
www.3BlacqueChix.com (downloadable pix)
