A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

PRESENTED BY MISS JESSIE'S: Tessa Thompson ON OSCARS - A DailyCommune/LIFE OF RILEY SPECIAL!! Was great to re-acquaint with Tessa to whom Anika Noni Rose​ introduced me the opening night of Tyler Perry's’s For Colored Girls​. Knowing I’d be interviewing her, LIFE OF RILEY partner, CEO and Co-Founder of Miss Jessie's​, Miko Branch, sent over a VIP bag for Tessa to enjoy – including FULL-SIZED PRODUCT and her book Miss Jessie's: Creating a Successful Business from Scratch-Naturally (Amistad; Hardcover; $24.99). Tessa told me she LOVES MISS JESSIE’S: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.l.riley/videos/10153491349763737/?l=3404659370660713019! AND IN TURN, she shared her thoughts on Diversity in Hollywood; the Oscar Black-out; and the upcoming NAACP Image Awards​ for which she is a nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture - Creed. Check it out: The 47th NAACP IMAGE AWARDS LIVE! FRIDAY FEB 5TH on TV ONE Red Carpet 8/7C Image Awards 9/8C. AND BEFORE WE TUNE INTO THAT, look for more information from Tessa and the rest of her cast members in SMART PEOPLE at Second Stage Theatre​! All my LIFE OF RILEY fam knows when I can pour some THEATER tea for you, I do: https://youtu.be/LrdnbMgJn9s. MOREOVER, you ALL know that I am Mr. Kenny Leon’s #1 fan – from my days as a Man of Morehouse who got the chance to work under his expertise in his alma mater Clark Atlanta University’s Coronation for which he was Visiting Guest Alum Director in 1992 to the years of enjoying Atlanta’s Alliance and True Colors Productions under his helm (and promoting them accordingly as I started my career at Fox 5’s “Good Day Atlanta”) to these last twenty years that I’ve been in New York City and a front row to his many Broadway offerings – including his Tony-award-winning turn as Director of the most recent Raisin in the Sun Revival and the tour de force that was The Wiz LIVE! for which I got to interview this NBC event’s Dorothy, Shanice Williams for recurring client NBCBLK: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/shanice-williams-tonights-wiz-live-debut-n471616! My primary question for her? “What was it like to work with Kenny Leon?” AND LIFE OF RILEY and DAILY COMMUNE just got a NEW INVITATION to ask that same question of SMART PEOPLE playwright Lydia R. Diamond (whose last Broadway collaboration with Kenny Leon, “Stick Fly”, would provide me opportunities to do talk-backs on its Broadway stage: https://youtu.be/LrdnbMgJn9s). Same question for the impressive SMART PEOPLE cast – known for their work across all formats: starting with Tessa and continuing on with her fellow cast-mates Mahershala Ali (“House of Cards”); Joshua Jackson; and Anne Son. WELL, SMART PEOPLE’s OFFICIAL OPENING is February 11, 2016…and set on the eve of Obama’s first election, it captures the sentiments of a nation through the complex and not always harmonious lens of a group of four Harvard intellectuals. Though you may cry, you will also have many moments of LAUGHTER! INCLUDING PREVIEWS, it runs January 26 through March 6th. I’M THINKING FROM OUR MEET AND GREET…AND WHAT WE’RE TOLD THE NARRATIVE ENTAILS, THAT THIS IS A MUST-SEE! Who will join me and catch a performance?? CALL IN FOR TICKETS at 212.246.4422 or hit up www.2ST.com  for TICKETS and MORE INFORMATION. COME ON, SMART PEOPLE! As always, THANKS to each and everyone of you for tuning into LIFE OF RILEY. SPECIAL SHOUT OUT to: Fox Entertainment Reporter Simone Boyce, a fellow journalist whose work I’ve been admiring since she hit the airwaves. Great to meet her and invite her out to our return to Billie’s Black for Billie’s Black presents All Star Karaoke with Patrick L. Riley in the SPRING 2016 (Dates TBD). AWESOME LUNCH-TIME MOMENT! #missjessies #allstarkaraoke #billiesblack #Oscarssowhite #BlackOscars #Oscars #Academy #iammissjessies #titibranch #SELMA #shondaland #shondarimes #naacp #imageawards #diversity #smartpeople #tessathompson