Samuel L. Jackson, Usher Raymond, Malik Yoba & More Attend Kenny Leon’s ‘Golf & Gala’ [PHOTOS]

adminMay 21, 2017

Written by | Ray Cornelius

Oh, What a Night!

I had the pleasure of covering Tony Winning director Kenny Leon‘s “Celebrity Golf and Gala” on Saturday evening and I am still floating on cloud nine. The invitation only event was the best one I’ve ever attended and was packed with stars from music, film, television and Broadway. The evening was held at Tony Conway‘s Flourish Atlanta in Buckhead and is one of Leon’s major fundraising events for his annual August Wilson Monologue Competition.

The program offers students from of all races and economic backgrounds access to free theatre education programs. Through the competition, students of all backgrounds have the opportunity to explore African American culture and history along with improving public speaking and reading comprehension skills. Participants in the AWMC are also offered free acting workshops to prepare for the competition and future mentoring opportunities. The program exponentially increases arts in education dollars for participating schools and builds the skills and confidence of the youth in the following participating cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New Haven, Buffalo, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

Vanessa Bell Calloway, Cedric the Entertainer and Morgan Stanley’s Marilyn Booker

A record number of celebrities were in attendance this year including stage, TV and film icon Samuel L. Jackson, pop music superstar Usher Raymond, beloved comedian Cedric the Entertainer; actresses Vanessa Bell Calloway and Crystal Fox; media maven Tavis Smiley; actors Leon, Malik Yoba, Lamman Rucker, T.C. Carson and Flex Alexander.

Other famous faces included “Queen Sugar” stars Timon Kyle Durrett and Omar Dorsey; triple threat performer D. Woods (formerly of Danity Kane); HGTV star Egypt Sherrod; NBA legend Julius “Dr J” Erving; veteran stage and TV actors Glynn Turman and Eugene Lee plus rising actors Maurice Johnson, Michael Beasley and “BET’s The Quad” star E. Roger Mitchell.

The highlight of the evening was a performance of short scenes from August Wilson‘s classic play “The Piano Lesson” that was read by Leon, Jackson, Fox, Turman and Lee. Jackson played Boy Willie in the premiere of of the play in 1987 at Yale Repertory Theater and reprised his role last night much to the surprise of the audience.

It was followed by a riveting performance from Raven Pace, the First Place Finalist of the Atlanta Region of the August Wilson Monologue Competition. Ending the night was special performance from Grammy winning entertainer and actress, Stephanie Mills, who blew everyone away with a jazz rendition of her iconic song, “Home” from the Broadway musical, The Wiz.

Check out all of the photos below: