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acsaper 's review for:
One Night in Miami
by Kemp Powers
I want to see this performed! I came across Powers' play while researching the Hampton House in Miami. Apparently, the Hampton House is an old hotel in Overtown that hosted the who's whose of Black visitors to Miami during (and presumably after) segregation. While Black performers would sell out theaters in Miami Beach, they were invariably forced to retreated to Overtown for the night. And, as such, the Hampton House became the place to see and be seen - not to mention, one of the only places to legally spend the night.
I no longer remember why or how I found the Hampton House (researching civil rights related markers in Miami, I think?), but in doing so I came across photos of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X talking over the bar. I kept digging to find more, and ended up finding this play. A work of fiction, but based in history, Powers chronicles a single evening at the Hampton, after Ali, then Clay, has just won the heavy weight title.
Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown (who I previously had not heard of), come together in a meeting organized by Malcolm. Clay has just won the title and is talking to Malcolm about converting to Islam. Simultaneously, Malcolm is struggling with his place in the Nation of Islam, both wanting to practice Islam, but also having troubles with the NOI's leadership. Jim Brown is cognizant that his body is used as a tool to generate ticket sales for sports fans, but also that his power and pride are his and only his. And, Sam Cooke has already made it big, but is looking for ways to try and push the movement to the forefront of his music - as he grapples with trying to make it up not just the Black charts, but the Pop charts as well.
A quick read that I would love to see performed and offers a quick snippet of these four men's lives at a point in American history when arts, culture, politics, and the movement seemed inseparable. Or, perhaps they always are, and are only glorified in retrospect. Either way, greatly enjoyed.
I no longer remember why or how I found the Hampton House (researching civil rights related markers in Miami, I think?), but in doing so I came across photos of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X talking over the bar. I kept digging to find more, and ended up finding this play. A work of fiction, but based in history, Powers chronicles a single evening at the Hampton, after Ali, then Clay, has just won the heavy weight title.
Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown (who I previously had not heard of), come together in a meeting organized by Malcolm. Clay has just won the title and is talking to Malcolm about converting to Islam. Simultaneously, Malcolm is struggling with his place in the Nation of Islam, both wanting to practice Islam, but also having troubles with the NOI's leadership. Jim Brown is cognizant that his body is used as a tool to generate ticket sales for sports fans, but also that his power and pride are his and only his. And, Sam Cooke has already made it big, but is looking for ways to try and push the movement to the forefront of his music - as he grapples with trying to make it up not just the Black charts, but the Pop charts as well.
A quick read that I would love to see performed and offers a quick snippet of these four men's lives at a point in American history when arts, culture, politics, and the movement seemed inseparable. Or, perhaps they always are, and are only glorified in retrospect. Either way, greatly enjoyed.