Washington, D.C. welcomes Marvin Gaye home!

[timmy84]

LINK: www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.gaye23oct23,0,6803080.story?coll=bal-features-headlines

What's going on?
Two decades after his death, Marvin Gaye's musical legacy is being revived by his native Washington as well as on stage and on screen

By Joe Burris


Washington - You can still hear his buttery voice from Georgia Avenue to Georgetown, oozing from car stereos, as his loyal Washington-area fans lean back, close their eyes and holler, "Ohhhhhhh!" at the first chords of "Let's Get It On". Folks who grew up here in the 1950s still remember how he crooned with other doo-wop groups under street lights at nightfall, and how word got around about the teen from the Northeast projects who could draw hundreds of listeners.

But where is the late Marvin Gaye's legacy among D.C.'s monuments, memorials and landmarks?

Folks here have always struggled with where to place him in Washington lore. Though he left the Deanwood community and went on to Motown stardom, then worldwide R&B acclaim, he suffered the same misfortunes as his once closely knit neighborhood, succumbing to the drug culture and other social ills.

Gaye's life ended tragically in 1984 when his father, whose abusive ways led Gaye to pursue music for solace, shot and killed him during a heated argument on the eve of the singer's 45th birthday. Though his legend has grown throughout the world, it's been largely ignored in the city where he grew up, where residents prefer to pay tribute to more elegant homegrown icons such as Duke Ellington and Helen Hayes.

For years, Gaye's neighborhood - one of the oldest continous African-American communities in the country - had been left to rot and ultimately became a trash-strewn, drug-infested wasteland. Even his home, 12 60th St. N.E., was razed against the wishes of community residents who wanted it preserved as a cultural landmark.

But that is changing: Gaye's accomplishments have been welcomed home.

Go to his Northeast community now, and you'll see a 1.6-mile park named after him. Lush green commons and a restored stream have reclaimed an area once known to local residents as "Needle Park" for its attraction to drug dealers. Nearby, the long-dormant Crystal Lounge, where Gaye staged one of his first performances, is being turned into a community center. Its outside has already been redone in a dazzling multi-colored motif.

City officials rededicated Marvin Gaye Park, formerly Watts Branch Park, on April 2, Gaye's birthday. Last Friday, they dedicated a Marvin Gaye amphitheater and children's obstacle course adjacent to the stream. Nearly 1,000 Freddie Mac employees along with DC Habitat for Humanity and Washington Parks and People, the capital area's network of community park partnerships, built the structures that were officially opened last week.

"We kicked off the campaign on Marvin Gaye's birthday in 2001. Since then, we've had 27,000 volunteers from across the city, the region. We've had volunteers from all 50 states and all five major continents", said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks and People. "Music is really key here, not just human music, but we've even planted serviceberries, which are known to attract songbirds."

City and parks officials are working toward a Marvin Gaye festival, to be held on his birthday next year. D.C. Council chair Vincent C. Gray said he hopes the musician's rebirth in the city ushers in a new perspective. "Washington seems to be unique for naming things for national people rather than local people", he said. "This is an opportunity to change that dynamic, to begin naming things after our heros and heroines, which then sends the right message to our young people."

(Continued on next post)

[fantagurl]

timmy84 said:

LINK: www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.gaye23oct23,0,6803080.story?coll=bal-features-headlines

What's going on?
Two decades after his death, Marvin Gaye's musical legacy is being revived by his native Washington as well as on stage and on screen

By Joe Burris


Washington - You can still hear his buttery voice from Georgia Avenue to Georgetown, oozing from car stereos, as his loyal Washington-area fans lean back, close their eyes and holler, "Ohhhhhhh!" at the first chords of "Let's Get It On". Folks who grew up here in the 1950s still remember how he crooned with other doo-wop groups under street lights at nightfall, and how word got around about the teen from the Northeast projects who could draw hundreds of listeners.

But where is the late Marvin Gaye's legacy among D.C.'s monuments, memorials and landmarks?

Folks here have always struggled with where to place him in Washington lore. Though he left the Deanwood community and went on to Motown stardom, then worldwide R&B acclaim, he suffered the same misfortunes as his once closely knit neighborhood, succumbing to the drug culture and other social ills.

Gaye's life ended tragically in 1984 when his father, whose abusive ways led Gaye to pursue music for solace, shot and killed him during a heated argument on the eve of the singer's 45th birthday. Though his legend has grown throughout the world, it's been largely ignored in the city where he grew up, where residents prefer to pay tribute to more elegant homegrown icons such as Duke Ellington and Helen Hayes.

For years, Gaye's neighborhood - one of the oldest continous African-American communities in the country - had been left to rot and ultimately became a trash-strewn, drug-infested wasteland. Even his home, 12 60th St. N.E., was razed against the wishes of community residents who wanted it preserved as a cultural landmark.

But that is changing: Gaye's accomplishments have been welcomed home.

Go to his Northeast community now, and you'll see a 1.6-mile park named after him. Lush green commons and a restored stream have reclaimed an area once known to local residents as "Needle Park" for its attraction to drug dealers. Nearby, the long-dormant Crystal Lounge, where Gaye staged one of his first performances, is being turned into a community center. Its outside has already been redone in a dazzling multi-colored motif.

City officials rededicated Marvin Gaye Park, formerly Watts Branch Park, on April 2, Gaye's birthday. Last Friday, they dedicated a Marvin Gaye amphitheater and children's obstacle course adjacent to the stream. Nearly 1,000 Freddie Mac employees along with DC Habitat for Humanity and Washington Parks and People, the capital area's network of community park partnerships, built the structures that were officially opened last week.

"We kicked off the campaign on Marvin Gaye's birthday in 2001. Since then, we've had 27,000 volunteers from across the city, the region. We've had volunteers from all 50 states and all five major continents", said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks and People. "Music is really key here, not just human music, but we've even planted serviceberries, which are known to attract songbirds."

City and parks officials are working toward a Marvin Gaye festival, to be held on his birthday next year. D.C. Council chair Vincent C. Gray said he hopes the musician's rebirth in the city ushers in a new perspective. "Washington seems to be unique for naming things for national people rather than local people", he said. "This is an opportunity to change that dynamic, to begin naming things after our heros and heroines, which then sends the right message to our young people."

(Continued on next post)

Thanks for sharing the article((Timmy)). It`s good that the citizens honoring Marvin.

[timmy84]

Two motion pictures about Gaye's life are also in the works.

Marvin: The Life Story of Marvin Gaye chronicles the artist's entire life. In pre-production, it's being directed by photographer D. Stevens and will incorporate 24 of Gaye's songs. Grammy-winner Roberta Flack, who graduated from Washington's Howard University, was music supervisor for the project. It is to be filmed in Washington, Detroit and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, an indie film called Sexual Healing, the name of the song that became Gaye's last hit, is in post-production. The film focuses on Gaye's later years as he lived in Europe, rebounded from drug abuse and co-wrote "Sexual Healing", which earned Gaye his first Grammy and which Rolling Stone later ranked among the 500 greatest songs ever. The film was written and directed by Lauren Goodman. Gaye will be portrayed by Jesse L. Martin, who plays Detective Ed Green on the NBC-TV series Law and Order and who was in the theater and movie versions of Rent.

Also in the works is a Gaye documentary being produced by Annapolis resident Chris Haley, nephew of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alex Haley and research administrator for the Maryland State Archives.

"Marvin Gaye had something. He had a passion and energy behind his singing", said Haley, who couldn't resist imitating Gaye's sultry groans from "Let's Get It On".

Gaye's rebirth excites many longtime Washingtonians who thought the capital should embrace Gaye's legacy as other cities have celebrated their own famous artistic brethren.

"In Philadelphia, they've got the O'Jays , Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes", said Robert Frye, radio personality for Washington area station WPFW-FM. "In Detroit, they have the Motown sound. Chicago's got Jerry Butler. In D.C., unless you say Duke Ellington or Marvin Gaye, there is no favorite son.

"D.C. is such a transient town. Many people who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s have disappeared. But Marvin Gaye meant so much to so many folks. He had problems, but that made him a more human kind of guy that people can relate to, rather than someone with a squeaky clean image like Tony Bennett."

(Continued on next post)

[timmy84]

Much of the renewed interest in Gaye has surfaced since the 20th anniversary of his death two years ago. This year also marks the 35th anniversary of Gaye's recording What's Going On, a socially conscious classic rated by the British newspaper Guardian Observer as the greatest album of the 20th century. The album spawned such hits as "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", anthems that spoke to the many issues the nation was dealing with at the time, including the Vietnam War, ecological erosion and urban decay.

"Quite frankly, much of (Gaye's rebirth) has to do with the war; Vietnam was an unpopular war 30 years ago, and now, and I think it's safe to say, we have an unpopular war now", Haley said. "Who was the last person who wrote songs that artistically captured people's sentiments about the war? Marvin Gaye, with 'What's Going On'".

New appreciation for Gaye's work comes at a time when Washington is wrestling with class and racial struggles brought on in part by gentrification and displacement of African-Americans and Latinos.

"Marvin came from very, very humble means, but so did every African-American in this country, except for the later generations who may have been born into middle-class households", said Dennis Chestnut, a Northeast resident who used to watch Gaye perform as a child. "Nobody can make any excuses for Marvin. He had to fight some demons in his life.

"Because of that misfortune, certain people don't want to give him much prominence and credit. But... it should be a point of looking at him overcoming some serious odds. Anybody who was living during the 1950s and 1960s can hang their hat on the fact that he was a native son from right here."

[timmy84]

And for those who have trouble clicking on the link, type the address, it'll bring you right to it. It's in 2 pages.

[timmy84]

fantagurl said:

timmy84 said:

LINK: www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.gaye23oct23,0,6803080.story?coll=bal-features-headlines

What's going on?
Two decades after his death, Marvin Gaye's musical legacy is being revived by his native Washington as well as on stage and on screen

By Joe Burris


Washington - You can still hear his buttery voice from Georgia Avenue to Georgetown, oozing from car stereos, as his loyal Washington-area fans lean back, close their eyes and holler, "Ohhhhhhh!" at the first chords of "Let's Get It On". Folks who grew up here in the 1950s still remember how he crooned with other doo-wop groups under street lights at nightfall, and how word got around about the teen from the Northeast projects who could draw hundreds of listeners.

But where is the late Marvin Gaye's legacy among D.C.'s monuments, memorials and landmarks?

Folks here have always struggled with where to place him in Washington lore. Though he left the Deanwood community and went on to Motown stardom, then worldwide R&B acclaim, he suffered the same misfortunes as his once closely knit neighborhood, succumbing to the drug culture and other social ills.

Gaye's life ended tragically in 1984 when his father, whose abusive ways led Gaye to pursue music for solace, shot and killed him during a heated argument on the eve of the singer's 45th birthday. Though his legend has grown throughout the world, it's been largely ignored in the city where he grew up, where residents prefer to pay tribute to more elegant homegrown icons such as Duke Ellington and Helen Hayes.

For years, Gaye's neighborhood - one of the oldest continous African-American communities in the country - had been left to rot and ultimately became a trash-strewn, drug-infested wasteland. Even his home, 12 60th St. N.E., was razed against the wishes of community residents who wanted it preserved as a cultural landmark.

But that is changing: Gaye's accomplishments have been welcomed home.

Go to his Northeast community now, and you'll see a 1.6-mile park named after him. Lush green commons and a restored stream have reclaimed an area once known to local residents as "Needle Park" for its attraction to drug dealers. Nearby, the long-dormant Crystal Lounge, where Gaye staged one of his first performances, is being turned into a community center. Its outside has already been redone in a dazzling multi-colored motif.

City officials rededicated Marvin Gaye Park, formerly Watts Branch Park, on April 2, Gaye's birthday. Last Friday, they dedicated a Marvin Gaye amphitheater and children's obstacle course adjacent to the stream. Nearly 1,000 Freddie Mac employees along with DC Habitat for Humanity and Washington Parks and People, the capital area's network of community park partnerships, built the structures that were officially opened last week.

"We kicked off the campaign on Marvin Gaye's birthday in 2001. Since then, we've had 27,000 volunteers from across the city, the region. We've had volunteers from all 50 states and all five major continents", said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks and People. "Music is really key here, not just human music, but we've even planted serviceberries, which are known to attract songbirds."

City and parks officials are working toward a Marvin Gaye festival, to be held on his birthday next year. D.C. Council chair Vincent C. Gray said he hopes the musician's rebirth in the city ushers in a new perspective. "Washington seems to be unique for naming things for national people rather than local people", he said. "This is an opportunity to change that dynamic, to begin naming things after our heros and heroines, which then sends the right message to our young people."

(Continued on next post)

Thanks for sharing the article((Timmy)). It`s good that the citizens honoring Marvin.

No problem and yeah it is great. All I wanna know is this:

What took them so long? Oh well, better late than never.

[Diamond Girl]

From the Baltimore Sun

What's going on?
Two decades after his death, Marvin Gaye's musical legacy is being revived by his native Washington as well as on stage and on screen



By Joe Burris
sun reporter

October 23, 2006

WASHINGTON -- You can still hear his buttery voice from Georgia Avenue to Georgetown, oozing from car stereos, as his loyal Washington-area fans lean back, close their eyes and holler, "Ohhhhhhh!" at the first chords of "Let's Get It On." Folks who grew up here in the 1950s still remember how he crooned with other doo-wop groups under street lights at nightfall, and how word got around about the teen from the Northeast projects who could draw hundreds of listeners.

But where is the late Marvin Gaye's legacy among D.C.'s monuments, memorials and landmarks?

Folks here have always struggled with where to place him in Washington lore. Though he left the Deanwood community and went on to Motown stardom, then worldwide R&B acclaim, he suffered the same misfortunes as his once closely knit neighborhood, succumbing to the drug culture and other social ills.

Gaye's life ended tragically in 1984, when his father, whose abusive ways led Gaye to pursue music for solace, shot and killed him during a heated argument on the eve of the singer's 45th birthday. Though his legend has grown throughout the world, it's been largely ignored in the city where he grew up, where residents prefer to pay tribute to more elegant homegrown icons such as Duke Ellington and Helen Hayes.

For years, Gaye's neighborhood - one of the oldest continuous African-American communities in the country - had been left to rot and ultimately became a trash-strewn, drug-infested wasteland. Even his home, 12 60th St. N.E., was razed against the wishes of community residents who wanted it preserved as a cultural landmark.

But that is changing: Gaye's accomplishments have been welcomed home.

Go to his Northeast community now, and you'll see a 1.6-mile park named after him. Lush green commons and a restored stream have reclaimed an area once known to local residents as "Needle Park" for its attraction to drug dealers. Nearby, the long-dormant Crystal Lounge, where Gaye staged one of his first performances, is being turned into a community center. Its outside has already been redone in a dazzling multi-colored motif.

City officials rededicated Marvin Gaye Park, formerly Watts Branch Park, on April 2, Gaye's birthday. Last Friday, they dedicated a Marvin Gaye amphitheater and children's obstacle course adjacent to the stream. Nearly 1,000 Freddie Mac employees along with DC Habitat for Humanity and Washington Parks and People, the capital area's network of community park partnerships, built the structures that were officially opened last week.

"We kicked off this campaign on Marvin Gaye's birthday in 2001. Since then, we've had 27,000 volunteers from across the city, the region. We've had volunteers from all 50 states and all five major continents," said Steve Coleman, executive director of Washington Parks and People. "Music is really key here, not just human music, but we've even planted serviceberries, which are known to attract songbirds."

City and parks officials are working toward a Marvin Gaye music festival, to be held on his birthday next year. D.C. Council chair Vincent C. Gray said he hopes the musician's rebirth in the city ushers in a new perspective. "Washington seems to be unique for naming things for national people rather than local people," he said. "This is an opportunity to change that dynamic, to begin naming things after our heroes and heroines, which then sends the right message to our young people."

Local efforts to honor Gaye come at a time when his life story is being retold on film and stage. This week, Baltimore's Lyric Opera House will showcase The Life Story of Marvin Gaye, a musical about the singer's climb to international stardom.

The play is scheduled to run in Baltimore amid controversy, however. Zoela Gaye, Marvin's sister, who once starred as herself in the production, has pulled out. Friday she said the playwright has been threatened with an injunction and a lawsuit if the play continues to run.

The play was written by Nolbert Brown, an Atlanta-based playwright who drew national acclaim with a similar play about R&B performer Jackie Wilson.

"My attorney has sent Brown's production company a letter saying that I am no longer involved with the play," Zoela Gaye said during a telephone interview from her home in Los Angeles. "I will invalidate it. No dialogue I used with the play can be used. They cannot use my likeness in any of their promotions or advertising. I found out things that were not true, and I had to pull out because of damage to the reputation of my family and myself. They're subject to injunction and a lawsuit if they proceed with the play in Baltimore."

On Wednesday, Brown said that he received permission from Gaye's mother to tell her family's life story. He said the production has been more than 20 years in the making.

Yet after Zoela Gaye's statement on Friday, Brown could not be reached directly for comment. On Saturday, a representative from his SunTan Entertainment said via telephone that neither Brown nor SunTan has anything to do with the Baltimore play, which is being produced by Good Vibes entertainment.

The representative, who declined to give her name, said the Good Vibes performance is an entirely different show from that of SunTan. "Good Vibes is putting on the show despite Nolbert Brown being out of it," she said. "It's not even worth the aggravation for SunTan Entertainment."

Good Vibes could not be reached for comment. Officials at the Lyric Opera House declined comment Friday.

But of the new interest in Marvin Gaye, Zoela Gaye said, "I think it's long overdue." She used to tour with her brother and worked as a dancer and wardrobe coordinator. "Marvin has always been an icon, and it's wonderful for me to know his fans still love him dearly. He was a wonderful person. He had his faults. None of us are perfect. But the good definitely outweighed the bad. I miss him terribly, but I keep him alive in my heart and through his music."

Two motion pictures about Gaye's life are also in the works.

Marvin: The Life Story of Marvin Gaye chronicles the artist's entire life. In pre-production, it's being directed by photographer D. Stevens and will incorporate 24 of Gaye's songs. Grammy-winner Roberta Flack, who graduated from Washington's Howard University, was music supervisor for the project. It is to be filmed in Washington, Detroit and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, an indie film called Sexual Healing, the name of the song that became Gaye's last hit, is in post-production. The film focuses on Gaye's later years as he lived in Europe, rebounded from drug abuse and co-wrote "Sexual Healing," which earned Gaye his first Grammy and which Rolling Stone later ranked among the 500 greatest songs ever. The film was written and directed by Lauren Goodman. Gaye will be portrayed by Jesse L. Martin, who plays Detective Ed Green on the NBC-TV series Law and Order and who was in the theater and movie versions of Rent.

Also in the works is a Gaye documentary being produced by Annapolis resident Chris Haley, nephew of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alex Haley and research administrator for the Maryland State Archives.

"Marvin Gaye had something. He had a passion and an energy behind his singing," said Haley, who couldn't resist imitating Gaye's sultry groans from "Let's Get It On."

Gaye's rebirth excites many longtime Washingtonians who thought the capital should embrace Gaye's legacy as other cities have celebrated their own famous artistic brethren.

"In Philadelphia, they've got the O'Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes," said Robert Frye, radio personality for Washington area station WPFW-FM. "In Detroit, they have the Motown sound. Chicago's got Jerry Butler. In D.C., unless you say Duke Ellington or Marvin Gaye, there is no favorite son.

"D.C. is such a transient town. Many people who grew up here in the 1960s and 1970s have disappeared. But Marvin Gaye meant so much to so many folks. He had problems, but that made him a more human kind of guy that people can relate to, rather than someone with a squeaky clean image like Tony Bennett."

Much of the renewed interest in Gaye has surfaced since the 20th anniversary of his death two years ago. This year also marks the 35th anniversary of Gaye's recording What's Going On, a socially conscious classic rated by the British newspaper Guardian Observer as the greatest album of the 20th century. The album spawned such hits as "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)," anthems that spoke to the many issues the nation was dealing with at the time, including the Vietnam War, ecological erosion and urban decay.

"Quite frankly, much of [Gaye's rebirth] has to do with the war; Vietnam was an unpopular war 30 years ago, and now, and I think it's safe to say, we have an unpopular war now," Haley said. "Who was the last person who wrote songs that artistically captured people's sentiments about the war? Marvin Gaye, with 'What's Going On.'"

New appreciation for Gaye's work comes at a time when Washington is wrestling with class and racial struggles brought on in part by gentrification and displacement of African-Americans and Latinos.

"Marvin came from very, very humble means, but so did every African-American in this country, except for the later generations who may have been born into middle-class households," said Dennis Chestnut, a Northeast resident who used to watch Gaye perform as a child. "Nobody can make any excuses for Marvin. He had to fight some demons in his life.

"Because of that misfortune, certain people don't want to give him much prominence and credit. But ... it should be a point of looking at him overcoming some serious odds. Anybody who was living during the 1950s and 1960s can hang their hat on the fact that he was a native son from right here."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marvin Gaye

Born: Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. on April 2, 1939, in Washington, D.C. Added the "e" to his surname as an adult, similar to that of legendary vocalist Sam Cooke

Died: April 1, 1984

Education: Cardozo High School in Washington

Marriages: To Anna Gordy (sister of Motown president Berry Gordy) in 1961. Divorced 1975. To Janis Hunter in 1977. Divorced 1981.

Children: Marvin III, Nona and Frankie

No. 1 U.S. Pop Singles: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," 1968; "Let's Get It On," 1973; "Got to Give It Up," 1977

Grammy awards: Two for "Sexual Healing," 1982, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance and Best R&B Instrumental

>>>The Life Story of Marvin Gaye Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., 8 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Ticket information: 410-547-SEAT, 202-397-SEAT and through TicketMaster.


Wire services contributed to this article.
[e-mail]
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore Sun

[Diamond Girl]

Great find Quick
Tried to simplify the article for you

Love to see things like this done for the musical legends

[timmy84]

Thanks, Buttercup (Cleo) and yeah, it is very nice what they're doing for the legends that paved the way. It was about time for D.C. to pay homage to Marvin. I'm so ecstatic at what they're doing for him. I'm sure his family appreciates it.

[Emerald City]

This threw me off ...

The play is scheduled to run in Baltimore amid controversy, however. Zeola Gaye, Marvin's sister, who once starred as herself in the production, has pulled out. Friday she said the playwright has been threatened with an injunction and a lawsuit if the play continues to run.

"My attorney has sent Brown's production company a letter saying that I am no longer involved with the play", Zeola Gaye said during a telephone interview from her home in Los Angeles. "I will invalidate it. No dialogue I used with the play can be used. They cannot use my likeness in any of their promotions or advertising. I found out things that were not true, and I had to pull out because of damage to the reputation of my family and myself. They're subject to injunction and a lawsuit if they proceed with the play in Baltimore." ...

why didn't Zeola research and check certain details herself before participating??? Why go through all of that then say you're not happy ... Great to see that Marvin's hometown didn't forget about him though...the park is a good way to commemorate his memory and a festival would be even better

[timmy84]

YES! It is very nice and I'm confused about the Zeola part too. How did she not read into things before agreeing to do it in the first place? I don't get it. Then again, I guess all the Gaye children (don't know about Jeanne) had complexities in their behaviors. Much love to the Gaye family by the way regardless, lol.

[Emerald City]

Frankie did say that Zeola was the one who would do anything for Marvin...and for the longest time she has been claiming she is writing a book (something Jeanne was not surprsied to hear)...complexities or not something fishy is going on...this has been in the works for 20 years and at the last minute untruths are found out... guess I'll have to watch this space

[timmy84]

Yeah, something about the play must have touched Zeola wrong when she "realized" what they were doing. It could also be a family issue, something the Gays didn't take lightly or something. Zeola truly was loyal to her brother tho and that's not a bad thing either.

[timmy84]

Also why do I feel like there was sibling tension between Frankie and Zeola in part of them writing a book on Marvin for? Jeanne Gay seems like the type of person who didn't wanna deal with press for some reason.

[fantagurl]

vintage78 said:

This threw me off ...

The play is scheduled to run in Baltimore amid controversy, however. Zeola Gaye, Marvin's sister, who once starred as herself in the production, has pulled out. Friday she said the playwright has been threatened with an injunction and a lawsuit if the play continues to run.

"My attorney has sent Brown's production company a letter saying that I am no longer involved with the play", Zeola Gaye said during a telephone interview from her home in Los Angeles. "I will invalidate it. No dialogue I used with the play can be used. They cannot use my likeness in any of their promotions or advertising. I found out things that were not true, and I had to pull out because of damage to the reputation of my family and myself. They're subject to injunction and a lawsuit if they proceed with the play in Baltimore." ...

why didn't Zeola research and check certain details herself before participating??? Why go through all of that then say you're not happy ... Great to see that Marvin's hometown didn't forget about him though...the park is a good way to commemorate his memory and a festival would be even better

Yes the play is now running in my home town. A few radio stations are given away tickets. I was going to see the play,but I`m not sure if I want to see Keith Washington portray Marvin. Now after reading this post,I don`t think I want to see it.