Ole time sinting indeed

Miss Lou would have been proud. For it was hilarious from start to finish, with splendid backdrops, lively music/dancing, colorful costumes and most importantly, professional acting.

The cast

I say Miss Lou would have been proud as not only were her lyrics, proverbs, and poems all integral parts of the production, but also it was produced by the organization in Florida established to not only keep the culture she held so dear relevant, but also to raise funds to sponsor scholarships to Broward College and the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica.

This outstanding pantomime “Ole Time Sinting Come Back Again’ was written by the late Easton Lee and Norma Darby (former director of Jamaica Folk Review) and first staged in Miramar Florida in 2011.

Consul General Oliver Mair salutes Norma Darby

This latest staging was at the 1000-seat Lauderhill Performing Arts Center in Florida and was a sold-out affair on the first night, Saturday, September 30, 2023. It closes on Sunday, October 1st.

Behind this production, is the dynamic cultural organization, the Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council. It is chaired by the talented Jamaican, Colin Smith who also chairs the musical chorale, the Jamaica Folk Review, most of whose members were the actors in this production. 

Smith is also the founder and leader of Tallawah Mento Band which provided the music for the pantomime. He also directed this production.

Miss Lou was a child of the pantomime, having acted in the first one staged in Jamaica in 1941 and writing, producing, and acting in many others during her active life.

This latest production of 'Ol Time Sinting Come Back Again’ was entertaining from start to finish and elicited audience participation and laughter throughout.

I hope it will be taken on the road throughout the USA, for Jamaicans everywhere deserve to see this production.

I had been a regular pantomime attendee in Jamaica for many decades. Then they became boring to the point where I literally fell asleep in the last one I attended decades ago!

Then Covid came and brought it to an end locally.

Hopefully, this pantomime will be taken to Jamaica too so the younger generation will learn, and good pantomimes will once again become part of Kingston’s entertainment scene.

The late, great Louise Bennett aka Miss Lou

Miss Lou and the younger generation deserve no less. 

Snippets

Politicians giving themselves huge, unwarranted salary increases,  did not escape these two!😊

N.D.T.C.

The NDTC performance was superb, and in fact they seem to have soared to new heights. 

The costumes were attractive and super-creative, the choreography magnificent, the music well-chosen and the energy contagious.

For the benefit of those not up to date on Jamaican culture, the NDTC (National Dance Theatre Company) is a real Jamaican institution, having been formed in 1962, the same year we became an independent nation.

 It was founded by the late Professor Rex Nettleford and late renowned dancer Eddy Thomas, and their excellence has earned them international acclaim over the past six decades.

South-Miami-Dade Cultural Center

Congratulations to the Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council which brought them back to Florida after the terrible hiatus caused by the awful covid. This was part of the Council’s fund-raising thrust to provide scholarships to the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts, which plays a critical role in preserving and disseminating Jamaican culture. 

Joan, Camille and Carol, drove an hour and half one way, to attend the performance

This performance was so highly anticipated, that the tickets for the performance in nearby Miramar, were sold out with the blink of an eye. So, my friends and I had to travel almost an hour and a half down to South Miami-Dade Cultural Center in Cutler Bay, to take it in.

But the performance was more than worth the long trip.

       

Rita in wheel chair. At extreme right, Colin Smith, President of Louise Bennett-Coverly Heritage Council and beside him, Donisha.

A welcome surprise too was the honoring of the Marley matriarch, Rita. She was accompanied by her accomplished granddaughter Donisha Prendergast, who is an actress, model, dancer and poet. 

She expressed her thanks to the Louise Bennett-Coverley Council on behalf of the Marley family.