A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

        BROADWAY GIVEAWAY!!!

HI FOLKS! THANKS to ALL OF YOU who SO ENTHUSIASTICALLY put your names in to be considered for a FREE PAIR of TICKETS to see the Broadway production of ROMEO AND JULIET (www.RomeoAndJulietBroadway.com) -  – featuring Orlando Bloom and two-time Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad (STICK FLY, THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL). CONGRATS to THE ABIAHS (Jermiah & MaameYaa Abiah) whose names were drawn to receive a FREE DATE for two on Broadway with the revival of Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET.  

Well, I promised another giveaway to a Broadway show! PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO SEE the forthcoming Broadway production of A TIME TO KILL (www.ATimeToKillOnBroadway.com).

BUT MORE ON THAT AFTER THIS LATEST, SUPER-SIZED EDITION OF “…THE LIFE OF RILEY…” (LOTS GOING ON!):

MY LIFE AFTER DEBUT

SET YOUR DVR, FOLKS! I am EXCITED that K2 Pictures (http://www.k2pictures.com/) invited me to weigh in (as pop culture analyst) on about a half-dozen pop culture subjects for TV ONE’s “LIFE AFTER” (http://www.tvone.tv/shows/life_after.html) i.e. Clifton Davis, Jimmie Walker, LeVar Burton, Maia Campbell, and Shereé Whitfield. I am THRILLED to be featured in the upcoming season with other “LIFE AFTER” regulars – including friends Clay Cane; Flo Anthony; and SouLeO. Here’s the season’s fantastic line-up of Life After: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Life-After/266689690047:

September 11 at 8pm - Sheryl Lee Ralph and also September 11 at 8:30pm - Clifton Davis

September 18 at 8pm - Shirley Murdock

September 25 at 8pm -  Jimmie Walker

October 2 at 8pm - Adina Howard

October 9 at 8pm - LeVar Burton

October 16 at 8pm - Maia Campbell

October 23 at 8pm - Shereé Whitfield

Please tune into this season of Life After and let me know your thoughts!

TWITTER: @patarack @tvonetv

Speaking of TV ONE, MY COUSIN Kea Middleton is cranking up her acting career in The Rickey Smiley Show! A STAR IS BORN! Did you miss Friday's episode of The Rickey Smiley Show? Watch it online now! http://bit.ly/14nIUfr Great job, cuz! I LOVE YOU!!! #therickeysmileyshow

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL

My MOTOWN THE MUSICAL Opening Night Video is still getting lots of mileage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK1yncqPlOQ. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I’m currently awaiting word on if I’ll be hosting another video that chronicles the NYC-based auditions for MOTOWN THE MUSICAL’s touring company. Now's your chance to see if you have what it takes to join the cast of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL! Auditions will run in New York and Chicago in September. Learn more at http://www.motownthemusical.com/#audition-page Stay tuned for casting announcements and hopefully an upcoming video starring me.

CRAZY, SEXY LIFE.

I say little about my long-standing association with OWN and HARPO – my longest-standing client to-date (since 1998). But this new era of social media has allowed me a shout out or two to that tier of my work-load. With that, I want to shout out my girlfriend Chenoa Maxwell! Her new show #CRAZYSEXYLIFE on #OWNTV is blasting off on the air of my recurring client. BIG CONGRATS! http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/own-orders-new-docu-series-crazysexylife-starring-chenoa-maxwell-kiyah-wright-others SHOULD BE CRAZY. SEXY. And what a LIFE? Proud of you and the ladies! And now LIFE OF RILEY knows where we were the other month? LOL! GO OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2013/6/9/magic-2-do.html #own #crazysexylife #oprah

SUMMER FUN WRAP-UP

As our LIFE sometimes inter-twines with the FABULOSITY of Miss Chenoa Maxwell, I figured this a good place to digest the last couple of weeks --- FILLED WITH SUMMER FUN:

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISOUL! Great to CELEBRATE the BIG 4-0 of my Morehouse brother and friend ISOUL HARRIS (Editor-in-Chief of UPTOWN MAGAZINE)! Great fun, food, and festivities at Bagatelle in NYC’s meat-packing district! @bagatelleNYC HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, SIR! AM SO PROUD OF YOU! #blackdontcrack
2. OLD FRIENDS: Got to reconnect with another NABJ BFF Brian Henderson recently while he was in town from DC for business. He met up with Ant and me at our friend Bobby Roache's Union Square pad, once the digs of Andy Warhol. And he got in Motown: The Musical! Our girlfriend Patrice got to her BOUNTIFUL on when last she was in town. Ant and I also took her out on the town. And our girlfriend Carla has been visiting us in NYC for years: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2007/9/19/waiting-in-the-wings-dreaming-along-the-way.html. And of course, we always spend time together during the winter holidays: http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2013/1/3/georgia-holiday-diary-2012-hny.html.  This time in NYC, she brought Cousin Kim (out of Chicago). Derrick joined us too. And we all had a blast! As usual, FUN FUN FUN! They went to MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL and TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL on Broadway! We enjoyed a nice meal at VNYL! We did some karaoke at DUETS’s. Come Sunday, we enjoyed a festive brunch at YOTEL followed by more karaoke - at RADIO STAR this time! HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND, EVERYBODY!

3. MC LYTE & PAUL WHARTON: “Real Housewives of DC”s Paul Wharton invited Ant and me to his NYC pad, the Mercedes House, for a gathering of friends – old and new – including MC Lyte, my Sidra, and a pad full of fun folks – enjoying each other and the final days of summer: good food; the best wine and champagne; and Paul’s Janet Jackson “Rhythm Nation” (video to boot) and my Diana’s “The Boss” from Caesar’s Palace (circa 1979 a la You Tube)! #justawednesdayinnyc

SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS

1.  MARGOT B

HBO’s hit show “Boardwalk Empire” is introducing a new character this season: Maitland (played by Margot Bingham)… and you can tune your ears to Daughter Maitland’s voice here – an exclusive preview from the Boardwalk Empire Vol. 2 Soundtrack: http://itsh.bo/1cacYAo To the music connoisseurs out there, you will know this amazing talent as my friend Miles Anthony Williams' client MARGOT B! But the actress inside that same multi-talented diva is Margot Bingham – actress and, again, now-“Boardwalk Empire”s "Daughter Maitland". This season! #hbo #boardwalkempire #margotb #margotbingham CONGRATS, MILES!

1.  RICK BLALOCK

Shout out to my friend (for years): Mr. Rick Blalock! His latest book “THE GOP CIVIL WAR: Inside the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party” is now available on Amazon.com. It is an e-book about the ongoing infighting in the Republican Party and its impact on all of us. He wrote the book with his Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers Eric Ham and Carl Walton. If you are on Twitter, please send them a tweet right now, with a question about America, and the future, and the upcoming presidential election. Tweet to #THEGOPCIVILWAR. PLEASE BUY THE BOOK BY CLICKING THIS LINK, and help Rick and his team become #1 on Amazon's bestseller list for political books! It's only $3.99! CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE YouTube VIDEO ABOUT THE BOOK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s93pJ8K4fpQ. Follow @theGOPcivilwar today, and tell your friends and colleagues to do the same. For more info go to www.thegopcivilwar.com. CONGRATS RICK!

1.  4 LITTLE GIRLS – PROJECT 1 VOICE

I write here all the time about the good work of PROJECT 1 VOICE (www.project1voice.org) – Founded by my friend Erich McMillan who invited me last year to be a part of the staged reading AMEN CORNER (by James Baldwin): http://thelifeofriley.squarespace.com/rilys-blog/2012/7/30/young-solo-savannah-voice.html.

Well, the movement continues: September 15th, 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the Four Little Girl's Church bombing, 16th Street Baptist Church! Directed by Phylicia Rashad, and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C..****Tickets will be distributed  at 5 p.m. on September 15 for the 6 p.m. performance.  http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=XNFOU

The Deadly Church Bombing Was the Turning Point in The Civil Rights Movement! FOR MORE INFORMATION on the many ways you can be a part – even from your mobile device, click on PROJECT 1 VOICE (www.project1voice.org).                   

BASKETBALL WIFE – CHARLES REESEShout out to my Morehouse brother Charles Reese and the cast of "BASKETBALL WIFE" – a TV SHOW that is the offspring of a web series. The promotional materials, according to Creator, Emmy-award-winning producer Michael Ajakwe, Jr., state: “A lot of people in the industry don't take web series as serious as they should. My new tv sitcom was adapted from my online sitcom that I wrote-directed-produced in 2009 called ..."Who..." that you can watch full 5-7 minute episodes on www.Ajakwetv.com for as little as $1. Without the web comedy series, there is no tv comedy series. So if you have a web series, you are sitting on gold if you can envision it working in anther medium as I did with mine”. Here is the trailer for "Who...": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ1RPQn00tw.

BROADWAY GIVEWAY!!! 

WITH THAT NEWS COMES NOW ONE PAIR OF COMP TICKETS FOR THE “…LIFE OF RILEY…” READER WHO WANTS TO SEE the forthcoming Broadway production of A TIME TO KILL (www.ATimeToKillOnBroadway.com).

Tony® Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes’ stage adaptation of the John Grisham bestselling novel holds the distinction of being the first-ever John Grisham property adapted to the stage. The production, directed by Ethan McSweeny, features Sebastian Arcelus, Chike Johnson, Patrick Page, Tony Award® winner Tonya Pinkins, Emmy Award® winner Tom Skerritt, Fred Dalton Thompson, John Douglas Thompson, and Ashley Williams.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS:

1. SEND AN EMAIL TO: patarack@hotmail.com NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12^TH at MIDNIGHT.
2. On FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13^TH (no later than NOON), I’ll choose – RANDOMLY – a name from that batch of emails and will – in turn – send the WINNER a ticket voucher for you to select a performance date that works for you.
3. You will EMAIL that form to the box office which will confirm and hold tickets for you at will call. EASY, RIGHT?
4. Let me hear from you at patarack@hotmail.com. GOOD LUCK… and SEE YOU AT THE THEATER!

A TIME TO KILL begins performances September 28 at The John Golden Theatre.

As always, FOLKS: THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!