-
2 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
In April of 2005, the play “Radio Golf” made its world premiere on the Yale Repstage. Two months later, the author – Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson – wasdiagnosed with an aggressive form of liver cancer. The play rounded out Wilson’s “century cycle,” which depicted Black life in 1900sAmerica. Like “Radio Golf,” most of the plays were set in his hometown ofPittsburgh. It took place in 1997, the last decade before the new millennium. Asfate would have it, “Radio Golf” would also be his last.
-
2 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
Grammy-nominated veteran R&B crooner Will Downing has adopted the recent tradition of closing out his shows with a thoughtfully curated roster of old school jams and grooves as he introduces audiences to his band and background vocalist.
-
2 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn |Ashley Winters |Alvin Reid
Like the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Fountain Park, St. Louis was knocked asunder by a May 16, 2025, tornado that ripped through parts of St. Louis county, city and Metro East. North St. Louis felt the worst brunt of the historic storm, yet like the Dr. King statue, the only one in Missouri, it will rise from the destruction. The deadly tornado claimed five lives, according to Police Chief Robert Tracy.
-
2 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
Sunday’s weather was perfect for a parade. The sunny day with mild temperatures added to the irony. After Annie Malone Children’s and Family Service Center rallied to secure funding so that the legacy would continue for 2025, a terrifying force of nature put a stop to the 115th Annual May Day Parade.
-
3 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
At the corner of Union and Minerva, a tree was upended from the root and intertwined with metal of a concrete streetlight pole so tightly it resembled a rope of licorice. The stunning byproduct of tornadoes that passed through parts of North St. Louis and other parts of the city and county. The wood, metal and concrete pole that rested beneath resembled a giant sculpture. Its final resting place was in front of – and partially on top of – a stately, aged home.
-
3 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
After the successful adaptation of her award-winning play “Intimate Apparel,” Lynn Nottage was eager to collaborate with composer Ricky Ian Gordon on bringing another story to the opera stage. The Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and recent Washington University International Humanities Prize recipient has no shortage of plays that would seamlessly transform into opera. Nor does she lack the creative gifts to craft a new one.
-
4 weeks ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
Next week, The Black Rep will further extend its margin as a leading producer of Black theater. Very few theater companies in the nation – or the world – can boast that they have produced all 10 of the plays from the iconic cycle of plays by Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson. The plays reflect Black life in each decade of the 20th century. When “Radio Golf” opens next week at The Edison Theatre, the Black Rep will have twice completed the feat.
-
1 month ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
The name Linda Lockhart may not be a familiar one beyond the journalism community. But she deserves to be remembered alongside others who maintained a standard and served the field to the point where Black journalism and Black excellence became synonymous in St. Louis. The nature of her work was in the often unsung, typically anonymous yet critical element of print (and later digital) journalism – copy editing. Her keen eye helped others within the field keep their best foot forward.
-
1 month ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
Whenever it is announced that a rap artist is performing with a symphony orchestra – whether its Wu Tang, Nas or St. Louis’ own Nelly – a line from Notorious B.I.G.’s breakthrough hit “Juicy” comes to mind. “Remember Rappin’ Duke, ‘duh-ha, duh-ha,’” the rapper said over the Mtume sample that shares the name with the hip hop track.
-
1 month ago | 
stlamerican.com | Kenya Vaughn
Those fortunate enough to have seen characters grace the stage conceived by theimagination of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage over thepast two decades are well aware of her storytelling ingenuity. What the audienceseated in Edison Theatre learned Wednesday afternoon as she was presented with the Washington University International Humanities Prize is that this gift extends to her own lived experiences.
