VIRGINIA BEACH—The souls of black men were up on that stage . . parading around, letting it all hang out, leaving nothing unsaid or uncovered. The audience understood and I understood as the revelation concerning black men appeared in our minds like a vision from God. It all seems so simple now.. all black men want is a chance to prove themselves to black women. . . or is it that simple? The problems between black men and women have been studied. scrutinized, talked about and written about. The black man is the most talked about animal in the country today; he is also on the list of endangered species. With all this depressing news descending upon the black community, the founders of Maceba Affairs production company have taken a positive step to correct the problem. These young men decided in 1982 to change the image of the black male. . . the species on that ever popular hit list. One of the major projects Of this company was the pproduction of The Diary of Black Men written by Houston playwright Thomas Meloncon. Even after his long-term involvement with the production, musical director and composer D. Louis Morgan said recently, “This is still very exciting to me.” Morgan added that the primary focus of the Maceba Affairs is to bring the black male role model back into a positive light. “The author of The Diary of Black Men saw a deterioration in The black male-female relations in our community. It was something he felt the need for.” He adds that the original concept for the play was written in the early 70’s. “The play gives both points of view. It asks questions and gives answers. . . it brings about a solution for the whole problem. It’s a well-balanced work.” The music was composed to work with each scene says its composer. “The feel of each scene may range from cool to intense to happy to sad. Music supports the play with different moods as the plays goes along.” Morgan wrote, composed and arranged all the music for The Diary, except one piece, How Do You Love A Black Woman. Thomas Meloncon wrote the lyrics for this show-stopper and ClarenceWhitmore, director of the production, composed the melody. Morgan says his music was written expressly for the play. He reviewed the script and started the process of writing. “The overture was the first song written for the play. I just recently finished everything in 1986,” he confesses laughing under his breath. The main compositions were completed in 1979 but he has been rearranging things up until last year. If you missed The Diary of Black Men, you may be able to catch it this year on the east coast. The company is traveling this side of the country in 1987. That’s good news. The cast consists of seven male actors and one female. They are: Frank Anderson, The Intellectual: Byron Jacquet, The Hardworking Man: Clarence Whitmore, The Militant: Guy Martin, The Pimp: Lee Stansbury, The Player: Alex Morris, The Muslim: and Lorenette Haynes, The Woman. Ms. Haynes’ role is that of a silent partner as she characterizes different women in different situations. The woman is an intense role that used body language to create mood changes. The men turned in equally strong performances, exemplifying depth, emotion, sincerity and a genuine concern for the plight that we all share. “This play has changed marriages and attitudes,” boasted Morgan. From the resounding applause and facial expressions it sure changed the attitude of that audience in Virginia Beach. The Diary of Black Men is well-written, seductively scored, hilarious on occasion and possesses meaningful dialogue examining the real issues between black men and women. Thomas Meloncon (playwright) was not afraid to delve into the psyches of black men. The language is real, street-talk with no holes barred. These men talk about sex, babies, working black women, marriage, etc. The Diary, also offers black women a rare opportunity to look at themselves through the eyes of a black man. The playwright exhibits terrific insight into existing problems between black men and women. He also offers us some positive solutions to remedy them. Thank you, Maceba Affairs for this lofty production. Thank you, for taking on the task of changing the image of black men and blacks in general. Consider coming back this way soon.
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