Highlights this week include playwright Charles Randolph Wright‘s hip hop-themed interracial love story, Sam Feder’s eye-opening documentary about a transgender lawyer prepping for a U.S. Supreme Court case and “The Gospel at Colonus” seen like never before.
Free events include a Roots concert in Queens, the Latin American Foto Festival in The Bronx and the fifth-annual Waterfront Festival on Randalls Island.
Theater
“Duke & Roya”
Lucille Lortel Theatre — 121 Christopher St., Manhattan (Greenwich Village)
Through Aug. 23. Various showtimes,
Playwright Charles Randolph-Wright‘s latest drama, “Duke & Roya,” is an interracial, international love story set in Afghanistan with hip hop as its driving force.
Starring “Insecure” heartthrob Jay Ellis and Stephanie Nur (of “Lioness” fame) making their Off-Broadway debuts, the play follows a superstar American rapper who falls in love with an Afghan interpreter while performing for troops in war-torn Kabul. The cultural divide isn’t the only tension; the bombing of a military base causes all hell to break — further complicating the forbidden romance.
As the young couple’s parents, “Harry Potter & The Cursed Child” breakout Noma Dumezweni and Obie Award winner Dariush Kashani bring much gravitas to the Warren Adams-directed show, featuring original music by hip hop artist and professor Ronvé O’Daniel. Producers include John Legend, Kerry Washington and Naturi Naughton.
Randolph-Wright, whose Broadway credits include “Motown The Musical” and “Trouble In Mind,” tells The Daily News he started working on the project over 12 years ago after reading a book about the struggles of women and girls in the Middle East.
“I realized that it was far more important to tell this story right now, even more than when I first did it years ago, because women in Afghanistan and women around the world, including this country, have far less rights now than they did 10 years ago,” he said.
The “Dreamgirls” alum said he’s proud the play is resonating with a wide range of people since opening last month.
“An older, white woman said, ‘I’ve only thought about the soldiers. I never thought about the people,’” Randolph-Wright shared. “And it was just … the greatest moment.”
Tickets start at $49.
Art
“SEED BOMB: Art & Education”
Manhattanville Community Center — 530 West 133rd St., Manhattan (Harlem)
Through Aug. 15. Thurs–Sat, 4:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Artist and cultural organizer Yasuyo Tanaka is the visionary behind this arts and education series that reimagines the detonation of the first atomic bomb and its aftermath through the eyes of Harlem youth, artists and healers.
Blanka Amezkua, Michele Brody, Laura King, Eiko Nishi, Tomo Mori, Nancy Paredes and Tammy Wofsey are among the artists bringing a unique perspective to the themes of war, memory and restoration.
The “Seed Bomb: 80th Anniversary of the USA–Japan Atomic Bombings” exhibit continues through Aug. 31 at the Children’s Art Carnival (62 Hamilton Terrace). Board of Trustees co-chair Michael Unthank said they are proud to host, noting that “research and development of the bomb occurred just blocks away in West Harlem’s Manhattanville neighborhood.”
Free.
Film
“Heightened Scrutiny”
DCTV Firehouse — 87 Lafayette St., Manhattan (East Village)
Through July 24. Various showtimes.
Brooklyn-born auteur Sam Feder’s latest documentary is a deep dive into a transgender lawyer’s preparation for a U.S. Supreme Court case during the most consequential election season of this generation.
ACLU attorney Chase Strangio‘s high stakes, and ultimately unsuccessful fight against Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (United States v. Skrmetti) is at the center of the eye-opening, 89-minute film featuring insights from professor Jelani Cobb, opinion columnist Lydia Polgreen, actress Laverne Cox and appearances from drag performer Miss Peppermint and actor Elliot Page among others.
Tickets are $16, discounts available.
Music
The Roots/DJ Scratch
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park — Universe Court, Queens (Flushing)
Sun. July 20. 7 p.m.
The Grammy-winning hip-hop band from Philadelphia will be joined by Brooklyn’s DJ Scratch at the free Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage event.
Fusing jazz, socially conscious lyrics and traditional hip hop with live instrumentation, “The Tonight Show” house band’s frontman Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson have a knack for attracting A-list collaborations. And Scratch — a turntablist who has worked with Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, LL Cool J and Q-Tip — is no slouch either. So attendees could expect some surprise special guests for the outdoor concert under the sun.
Free.
Outdoors
“The Gospel at Colonus “
Little Island — Pier 55 in Hudson River Park at W. 13th St., Manhattan (Meatpacking District)
Through. July 23. 8:30 p.m.
Lee Breuer and Bob Telson’s acclaimed Black Pentecostal retelling of the Sophocles’ epic “Oedipus Rex” tragedy has new life breathed into it by Obie Award winner Shayok Misha Chowdhury and a cast of talent so abundant that a traditional theater space couldn’t contain it. That’s why the panoramic, open air view of The Amph is the perfect setting to transport New Yorkers to another place and time.
This contemporary version of “Gospel at Colonus” directed by stage and screen veteran Stephanie Berry features an enveloping scenic design by David Zinn and music direction from Dionne McClain-Freeney and James Hall.
Boasting solo performances by opera baritone-bass Davóne Tines, gospel singer Kim Burrell, and Brooklyn R&B artist serpentwithfeet, the show has a modernized style and stellar cast that includes Jon-Michael Reese, Kevin Bond, Samantha Howard, Ayanna George Jackson, Brandon Michael Nase and “blind-from-birth New York City native” Frank Senior. Members of James Hall’s Flatbush-based Worship & Praise choir lend their voices as well.
Tickets are $25, limited standing rail tickets are $10.
Family
5th Annual Waterfront Festival
East River Picnic Area — 20 Randalls Island Park, Wards Island Park (Randalls Island)
Sat. July 19. 12 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The fifth annual, family-friendly event celebrates water, science and summer fun along the Randalls Island waterfront. Family-friendly activities include face painting, lawn games, interactive environmental education activities, musical performances, cooking demonstrations, storytime and stretches with Jazy Cintron and free treats for all.
Free.
Free
8th annual Latin American Foto Festival
Bronx Documentary Center — 614 Courtlandt Ave, Bronx (Melrose)
Through Aug. 3. Various times.
This year’s festival — featuring large-scale photographs by both emerging and established photographers from Puerto Rico, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia — will be displayed at the venue and throughout the South Bronx’s Melrose neighborhood.
Artists featured include Coletivo FotoFlores, Tortugas al Viento, Bats’i Lab, Gabriela Oraa, Federico Rios, Charlie Cordero, Boris Mercado, Carlos Barrera, Jessica Orellana, Carmen Mojica and Mikey Cordero.
From July 24 through Aug. 3, the works will be shown in community spaces in other boroughs: Loisaida Center in Manhattan, Terraza 7 in Queens, Toñita’s Caribbean Social Club in Brooklyn, El Maestro Boxing Gym, Casa Amadeo, and Bronx Arts Space. In-person workshops, tours, panel discussions, and other community events are among the planned programming highlights.
Free.
If you have an upcoming weekend event you’d like to submit for consideration in an upcoming roundup, please email: nycevents@nydailynews.com with the full listing details. Consideration does not guarantee inclusion.
