ROBERT TOWNSEND: SHUFFLE GOES BEYOND HOLLYWOOD: Director/Producer/Actor juggles TV, film, web projects.

His 'Musical Theater of Hope' debuts this weekend on the Gospel Music Channel.

“It’s kind of like ‘Twilight Zone’ or ‘Hitchcock’ because I was a fan of those shows as a kid, and I’m acting as a Rod Serling type character where I introduce the different vignettes,” Townsend continued. “They will make you laugh, they will make you cry, and they will give you hope. The format is totally different. It’s never been done, but I’ve always been kind of in a zone by myself anyway, for me to pioneer a new concept of gospel music; a celebration.”

      *Actor/director/producer Robert Townsend has been doing the “Hollywood Shuffle” since he debuted the film of the same name in 1987.

      More than two decades, several film projects, a four-year reign heading up the Black Family Channel, and more later, Townsend has teamed up to form Bell Town Productions with Bishop Eddie Long among comedy and drama projects.

       “I came to Atlanta and he held a premiere of a web series that I directed called ‘Diary of a Single Mom’ that I did with Monica Calhoun, Billy D. Williams, Richard Roundtree, and Leon. He  had the premiere at his church; 5,000 people showed up. I had never met Bishop Eddie Long before, but I was really blown away by him as a man of God.”

      Townsend told EUR’s Lee Bailey that Long started talking about the negative images on TV and how faith-based community needs to step up and do something.

      “He and I just hit it off,” Townsend said. “He said, ‘Why don’t we create something where we can do a partnership and I’ll talk to the community and you’ll create the content?’ It made sense to me. I love the Lord, I love Church, so it made sense,” he continued. “That’s how we got together.”

      The two formed Bell Town Productions – a moniker made up of Long’s initials, Bishop Eddie L. Long, and the first half of Townsend.

      “The first idea I came up with was called ’The Musical Theater of Hope.’ It’s kind of a gospel version of ‘The Twilight Zone.’ It’s stories with twists and turns and it’s acting and singing,” Townsend described.

      The project is made up of three stories, and was created for the web. The Gospel Music Channel, which incidentally bought the Black Family Channel, bought the series concept and will premiere the show this Sunday, October 25.

      “It’s kind of like ‘Twilight Zone’ or ‘Hitchcock’ because I was a fan of those shows as a kid, and I’m acting as a Rod Serling type character where I introduce the different vignettes,” Townsend continued. “They will make you laugh, they will make you cry, and they will give you hope. The format is totally different. It’s never been done, but I’ve always been kind of in a zone by myself anyway, for me to pioneer a new concept of gospel music; a celebration.”

       In addition to the laughter and the tears of the stories, Townsend contends that the show weaves in “the best musical numbers he’s done since his acclaimed “The Five Heartbeats.”

      Townsend shot “The Musical Theater of Hope” in Atlanta, what’s quickly becoming competition for Tinsel town.

      “It’s a very highly artistic community,” Townsend said of the Atlanta scene. “You’ve got all these music producers and then you’ve got an acting community down there, too. Especially with Tyler Perry; he’s the biggest man in Hollywood that’s not in Hollywood. I like Atlanta a lot, too. I see what he sees as well.”

      With the new show premiering this weekend, Townsend has another project on the horizon.

      “I want people to tune in and watch the show, but I’m pretty proud of my web series ‘Diary of a Single Mom.’ We just shot another eight webisodes that will launch in November. It’s really entertaining,” he said.

      “And I’ve got a good 2010 coming up. I did a documentary called ‘Why We Laugh’ on the history of African American comedians. That’s with Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, and the Wayans Brothers. The film will premiere in February on Showtime. It’s really good. It’s a who’s who of comedy.”

      “And I directed Ving Rhames in the Sunny Liston story. That will be coming out straight to DVD in April. I just love the story. It’s with Rhames, Nick Turturro, and Stacy Dash. It’s a dark movie. Sunny Liston had a tragic life. I just loved the story and it’s really compelling.”

      “And I did a drama that I’m acting in with Angela Bassett. I produced it. Warner Brothers. is releasing that on DVD on Father’s Day.”

      Whew.

      “I’ve been busy. I’m tired,” Townsend said, “but I’m having fun; to be free, to be able to do what you want to do. I’ve always been able to make my way. I’m excited that I get to touch so many different things. I go form gospel music, to ‘Diary of a Single Mom,’ to comedy-in-your-face.”

      Look for "The Musical Theater of Hope” this weekend on the Gospel Music Channel and check out free webisodes of “Diary of a Single Mom” at Pic.tv.