(Akiit.com) At the Broadhurst Theater on Broadway, an all-black cast, lead by the inimitable James Earl Jones, is re-interpreting Tennessee Williams in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Around the corner, at the Belasco Theater, another all-black cast is playing African-American, Dutch and German characters in the autobiographical rock musical “Passing Strange.”

Meanwhile, down the block, at the Booth Theater, Laurence Fishburne is bringing civil rights stalwart and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to life in the recently opened one-man show “Thurgood.” One street over, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, Morgan Freeman is playing a washed-up actor opposite Frances McDormand in the revival of “The Country Girl.”

This unusual confluence of shows with all-black or mixed-race casts, with black actors in roles that have typically been cast white, has some in the Broadway community wondering if blacks have finally “arrived” on Broadway.

“It’s a new day and an exciting one,” said Marcia Pendelton, founder of Walk Tall Girl Productions, a marketing and group sales company that reaches out to non-traditional theatergoers. “African-American artists are able to do what they’ve been trained to do and play all the kinds of roles that we’re seeing on Broadway this season.”

“Broadway is changing,” agreed David Binder, the lead producer of the “Raisin in the Sun” revival with Sean “Diddy” Combs. “It looks like New York City.”

A big reason for the change is that large black audiences are flocking in droves to see shows with some of their favorite stars and with themes that reflect their lives. “It’s not as mysterious as you think,” Pendelton told ABCNEWS.com. “The fact that more people are interested in bringing work [with African-Americans] to Broadway is because they have a viable audience of people of color. If there’s something for us to see, we will definitely come out.”

Stephen Byrd agrees. The rookie producer of “Cat” told ABCNEWS.com that his audience, which he estimates to be 70 to 80 percent black, has already brought in more than $12 million since it opened in March 6, making “Cat” one of the highest grossing shows on Broadway. “We’re helping Broadway,” Byrd said. “We’re bringing new audiences to Broadway.”

Change came slowly, however. In 1987, the all-black production of “Fences” the only play written by black Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson that was a box-office hit hardly drew a black crowd. Even in 2002, Russell Simmons’ “Def Poetry Jam” had difficulty attracting black theatergoers, while Suzan-Lori Parks’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Topdog/Underdog” with Jeffrey Wright and Mos Def, became a commercial success with a diverse audience.

Many credit Binder’s “Raisin” with being the first to attract large black crowds to Broadway. But, even with Combs at the helm, Binder said many people were dubious about his play ever finding an audience. “Everyone said an African-American audience would never come to Broadway,” said Binder, who spent five years trying to get the show to the stage. “If I could get 20 percent of the audience to be black, it would be a miracle.”
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(Akiit.com) A few years ago, Robert Downey Jr. was known for abusing drugs, doing jail time and skipping out on rehab sessions.

Next week he’s starring in one of the summer’s biggest movies, “Iron Man.”

Downey is not the only celebrity to bounce back from hard times with the law.

Willie Nelson was fined $32 million by the Internal Revenue Service during the early ’90s. The country singer sold most of his possessions and paid back about $16 million. Today, Nelson is as popular as ever, a beloved music icon.

Four years ago, Martha Stewart also did jail time for lying about a stock sale. Now the domestic diva is back on her throne as America’s homemaking queen.

Which brings us to Wesley Snipes.

This week Snipes was sentenced by a federal judge in Ocala to serve three years in prison for willfully failing to file tax returns. Snipes also faces paying millions of dollars in back taxes, interest and penalties. His lawyers have said they will appeal the sentence.
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(Akiit.com) Aretha Franklin could lose her home to tax collectors. The singer says an attorney’s mistake caused her $700,000 mansion in Detroit to slip into foreclosure over $445 in 2005 taxes and late fees.

The Detroit Free Press reports Thursday the Queen of Soul owes a total of $19,192 in back taxes on the property through 2007. She says she plans to pay up and reclaim it by a March 31 deadline.

A spokesman for the Wayne County treasurer’s office says the foreclosure judgment for $445 was entered earlier this month.

Records show Franklin owes $18,746 in back taxes and fees for the 2006 and 2007 tax years, but foreclosure proceedings on those debts wouldn’t begin until next year.

Franklin’s slate-roofed brick mansion was built in 1927.

(Akiit.com) Have you ever tuned in to VH1’s “Flavor of Love” or its spinoffs, “I Love New York” and “Flavor of Love: Charm School”?

I sure have and I must admit these programs, as well as many other “reality TV” shows, were downright hilarious.

However, afterward I would always go back and converse among my female friends. We were always baffled at the stereotypes of black women. At one point, I remember asking a friend, “Is this what people think we are like?” You know, booty shaking, potty mouthed, lascivious women.

If you are ignorant of the African American culture, I would presume that based on the media’s false representation of black women, you would think that all, if not a great majority of these women were like this. I know I would be — especially if I came from another country and this is what I saw on television daily.

Recently, a boycott was launched against VH1 to protest network executives who perpetuate negative portrayals of black women. Supposedly, a reality show that involved professional black women actively involved in or seeking interracial relationships was scrapped because the show would not sell.
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LOS ANGELES (Akiit.com) — The wedding ceremony between Eddie Murphy and film producer Tracey Edmonds two weeks ago was only symbolic — and that’s as far as they plan to go, they announced Wednesday.

Murphy, 46, and Edmonds, 40, traded vows on New Year’s Day on a private island off Bora Bora in French Polynesia in a ceremony that was not legally binding.

“After much consideration and discussion, we have jointly decided that we will forgo having a legal ceremony as it is not necessary to define our relationship further,” said a statement on behalf of both Murphy and Edmonds issued by publicist Arnold Robinson.

“While the recent symbolic union in Bora Bora was representative of our deep love, friendship and respect that we have for one another on a spiritual level, we have decided to remain friends,” the statement said.

The statement did not clarify whether the two remained a couple. In an e-mail exchange, Robinson said he could not comment beyond the statement.

Murphy has six children from previous relationships. He and Edmonds, whose credits include “Dreamgirls” and “Beverly Hills Cop,” began dating last year. They became engaged in July.