Review:  John P. Kee’s “Change the World Tour” wows at Harris Memorial
Apr16

Review: John P. Kee’s “Change the World Tour” wows at Harris Memorial

By Patsy Isenberg Last Friday, April 13, Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter and pastor John P. Kee and his New Life Community Choir paid a visit to a packed Burton church to perform for the congregation and many visitors. Adding to the lively music, the event also brought in donations for a new boiler for Doyle Ryder Elementary School and a truckload of water for the city. Key, 56, a Durham, N.C. native, sang lots of gospel and...

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Review:  “20/20” exhibit at downtown’s MW Gallery is remarkable
Apr06

Review: “20/20” exhibit at downtown’s MW Gallery is remarkable

By Patsy Isenberg Someone was heard saying that the Flint Farmer’s Market is the jewel of Flint. Well, there actually are several jewels here, and one of the brightest is the MW Gallery downtown. Illustrating the point is the MW’s new exhibit, “20/20 Influential Artists of the 20th Century,” comprised of work by more than 20 notable “artists of the African diaspora and those who reflect on it.” The rotating exhibits at MW...

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Review: City’s crime, race, politics all in the lens of compelling, humanizing “Flint Town”
Apr02

Review: City’s crime, race, politics all in the lens of compelling, humanizing “Flint Town”

Ed Note:  A community conversation about the eight-part Netflix series “Flint Town,” co-sponsored by East Village Magazine and the Flint Area Public Affairs Forum, is set for 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 at the Flint Public Library. Thanks to Ed Bradley for reviewing the series in advance of that event.  The series, directed by Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper, was released March 2.  Flyer for the April 10 event...

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Review:  “All the Pieces Matter:  The Inside Story of The Wire”
Mar31

Review: “All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire”

Review by Robert R. Thomas Aptly titled, Jonathan Abrams’ book demonstrates his premise via an oral history that focuses on the creation of The Wire, a critically acclaimed HBO television series that ran from 2002 to 2008. Abrams’ book is an engaging dialogue script. But this script is a well-edited transcription of recorded interviews rather than a script written by writers to be performed by actors. The author supplies concise,...

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Book review:  “The Impossible Presidency” and its sobering path to an “impossible president”
Mar06

Book review: “The Impossible Presidency” and its sobering path to an “impossible president”

By Robert R. Thomas In 2008 American mythology got a sobering lesson delivered by profligate banksters who caused a near-collapse of the global economy. They then explained to the political class the economic alt-reality of BIG. How big? Too big to fail. Even bigger than our government and the rule of law. No banksters went to jail. Instead we taxpayers bailed them out. Too big to get it right was rewarded. So much for the rule of law...

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Two Black History Month plays at McCree a great choice, delivering telling clout from a ’60s view
Feb27

Two Black History Month plays at McCree a great choice, delivering telling clout from a ’60s view

By Patsy Isenberg The African American playwright/director/actor, Douglas Turner Ward, wrote two award winning plays in 1965, “Happy Ending” and “Day of Absence.” Those two one-act plays, biting satires with timely themes, were offered by The New McCree Theatre on Feb. 22-24. The plays, always performed as a pair, according to McCree executive director Charles Winfrey, were directed by Billie Scott Lindo. In their commentary on the...

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