Been Rich All My Life
Meet the Silver Belles, the classiest, sassiest Harlem chorus girls ever to grace the stage … then and now. Ranging in age from 84 to 96, the women of this affectionate, be-bopping documentary are still dancing, relishing life and sharing a friendship that makes it all worthwhile. Weaving together their life stories—their glory days as the original 1930s Apollo Theatre Rockettes; working alongside the likes of Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald; USO tours and wartime work as barmaids and ship welders—director Heather Lyn McDonald conveys how deeply their art has kept these funny, passionate, fiercely independent women connected to each other and to the world around them. Newsreels and vintage stills illuminate their tales, creating a vivid picture of the past, while current rehearsals, performances and laughter-and-tears moments form an intimate, lovely portrait of a group of artists gleaming in their golden years.—D. Quinones
Directors: Heather Lyn MacDonald
Producers: Heather Lyn MacDonald
Cinematographers: Heather Lyn MacDonald, Jon Miller
Editors: Heather Lyn MacDonald, BB Jorissen
Official Website: www.tootscrackin.com
Special Screening: Been Rich All My Life
Event: Sunday Mar. 26, 2006
NYWIFT members are invited to the Apollo Theater for a screening of Been Rich All My Life and a special live tribute to Harlem’s legendary chorus dancers. The event will be a tribute to the original Apollo dancers who led the strike that established the American Guild of Variety Artists.
The film features five of the last surviving chorus dancers of Harlem’s golden age. Seventy years later, these 84-96 year-old tap dancing divas are performing again as the “Silver Belles” to standing ovations. Been Rich All My Life is produced and directed by Sundance Award-winning filmmaker Heather Lyn MacDonald (Ballot Measure 9). Mercedes Ellington directs the live tribute program, with original Apollo dancers and special guests.
Sunday Mar 26
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Apollo Theater 253 W. 125th St. (between 7th & 8th Avenues)
NYWIFT members receive 10 percent discount (code: BRAM)
Tickets: $10, $18, $30 plus $2 facility fee
Order tickets from Apollo Theater Box Office,
212-531-5305 or Ticketmaster, 212-307-7171;
ww.ticketmaster.com
- Theatre, Exhibits & Events | Time: 12:31 pm (UTC+8)