Oliver Samuels, the King of Caribbean comedy and veteran actor, on the same stage with Shadow, the renowned calypso and soca icon! Young fans are asking what kind of show is this. It is the Musical Comedy Spectacular starring Oliver Samuels, Audrey Reid, Shadow and Grenada’s Super P with special appearance by the Contemporary Dance Theater Company. The musical comedy is scheduled in Boston, MA on October 16, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, October 17 at 8pm and York Performing Arts Center, York College, Queens on Sunday, October 18 at 5pm.
“Oliver Samuels and Shadow performing together is nothing new,” says producer Nick Cox. “Two unforgettable and exciting shows were in July of 1990 and 1991 when Oliver and his sidekick Volier “Maffi” Johnson had sold out .performances with Shadow, Black Stalin and Singing Francine.”
Ever since, many Oliver fans as well as calypso fans have been requesting a return of those shows; the upcoming spectacular in Boston, Brooklyn and Queens on October 16th-18th is in response to their demand.
“Some Oliver Samuels fans are accustomed seeing him in plays but they don’t realize that Oliver is multitalented, he became famous by doing skits and he gets on stage with entertainers from other islands. The October event is the talk of New York,” says Jean Kelly White who did many skits with Oliver in the 1990s.
Samuels and Audrey Reid, the actress in the famous movie “Dancehall Queen,” are doing a series of skits. They have been doing skits for many years in Canada, Jamaica and England but never found time to perform together in New York. The time has arrived.
Audrey Reid has been performing in London all summer and Oliver in Canada and Eastern Caribbean. Anticipation is high for their rendezvous’ in Boston, Brooklyn and Queens, October 16th-18th and Oliver leaves the next day for a six-week tour of the UK.
On the musical part of the spectacular, fans are excited about Shadow who recently gave a dynamic performance in London. It is Shadow’s first performance in New York this year. Shadow, the former Soca Monarch, National Calypso Monarch and Road March winner, has won all titles in calypso and shared the stage with Michael Jackson when the Jackson Five performed in Trinidad and & Tobago. He has appeared in Caribbean movies and one of his hits, “Everybody is Somebody” was part of the soundtrack in the motion picture “Lean on Me” starring Morgan Freeman.
Opening the spectacular for Oliver, Audrey Reid and Shadow are the Contemporary Dance Theatre Company who are doing some Bob Marley’s classics in dance and Grenada’s Super P who recently released a new CD.
Here is a bit of good news and a bit of bad news for Oliver Samuels’ fans. The good news is that fans are having the opportunity to see Oliver’s last performance in New York before he takes a long, long break. The bad news is Oliver is not doing the annual play in 2010, the production that New York fans are accustomed seeing each May and June.
Since Oliver Samuels and Shadow (Winston Bailey) birthday are on the same day in October, a joint birthday bash is scheduled at Tropical Paradise Ballroom, Utica Ave. immediately after the Brooklyn College performance ends at 11pm. To attend the birthday bash one must have a ticket stub from the Brooklyn College or Boston show or show their tickets for the York College performance. Fans of both superstars can bring birthday cakes.
Tickets are available at VP Records in Queens, Tony Ryan Records in Bronx and Brooklyn College Box Office.
