'Buffalo' Soldiers: Funnyman Cedric The Entertainer will make his Broadway debut in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's 'American Buffalo' at the end of the month, and the Hollywood heavyweight is psyched about hitting the boards with Tony Award nominated comedy actor John Leguizamo and Academy Award nominee Haley Joel Osment in Robert Falls-helmed version of the comedic drama. "I'm really excited to do this because I've had an opportunity to perform on many stages here in New York and to do this, it's big," one of the original 'Kings of Comedy' told BlackVoices.com during an intimate gathering unveiling of the show at B. Smith's in New York City on Sept. 29. "I've done some [plays] in high schools ... but this is the first time, other than stand-up, to perform live, onstage but then also need the response of the others, and I haven't really done it like this before," the television and film comedy star continued. "And then to do it on the highest level, doing it on Broadway in New York City, it's going to be a test." Considered a "classic" by theater purists, 'Buffalo,' follows three small-time crooks who wax philosophically about society while conspiring to steal a rare and valuable coin from a neighborhood collector. Leguizamo, who previously won raves for two Broadway comedy shows ('Sexaholics' and 'Freak') and starred with Cedric The Entertainer in an ill-fated movie adaptation of 'The Honeymooners,' said it's his favorite play – seeing it on The Great White Way when he was a kid when Al Pacino starred in the 1983 version. "It was the greatest piece of theater that I've ever seen," he shared. "There's nothing like this. This has influenced a lot of writers, a lot of directors. Everyone started writing like him." 'American Buffalo' begins performances October 31 at the Belasco Theatre.
Like Water For Hip-Hop: On Oct. 1, Jay-Z was honored at the United Nations Global Leadership Awards Gala for his humanitarian work in Africa. The hip-hop mogul picked up his plaque, saying he was happy that he physically saw the good his work achieved. "Many charities, you close your eyes and cross your fingers and hope that the money gets to the people who really deserve it," the multiple Grammy Award winner told reporters. "But with this, I got to go to Africa, see the water pumps. I got to see the kids turn them on." The former Def Jam Records honcho, noting that more than 2 billion people don't have access to clean water, spent several weeks touring the continent as part of the charity effort.
New Breath Taken: Supermodel-turned-TV-mogul Tyra Banks will have new life breathed into her long-running reality series, 'America's Next Top Model,' now that the Oxygen network has acquired exclusive cable rights. Under the agreement, reruns currently airing on MTV Networks' MTV and VH1 will switch to Oxygen beginning in January. Banks, who won a Daytime Emmy Award last month for her eponymous talk show, is the host, creator and executive producer of 'Top Model.' 'Reuters' reports that Oxygen has yet to announce when and how often the series will air.Real Donkey Business: Believe it or not, 'Shrek the Musical' is coming to Broadway on Dec. 14.
And one week before the ambitious project starts its rehearsals; there are already some major casting changes. Broadway dynamo Chester Gregory (who recently starred in the musical, 'Cry Baby') has been replaced by Daniel Breaker, a Tony nominee for 'Passing Strange' in the role of Donkey. Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy plays Shrek's comical sidekick to the hilt in the popular Dreamworks animated movies. Not sure if it's necessary to cast African Americans in that role – but go figure. Though it was his latest shot at mainstream fame, this may actually be a blessing for the Chicago-bred crooner, who cut his teeth wowing national audiences in 'The Jackie Wilson Story.' See, two years ago, in another ambitious Broadway musical 'Tarzan,' Gregory played a gorilla. So this casting change prevents him from going from being a monkey to being a donkey.Still Ringing: Grammy Award R&B vocalist Regina Belle is still garnering accolades.
Fifteen years after winning the "Best Pop Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal" honor for 'A Whole New World,' the Englewood, New Jersey native picked up the "Song of the Year" trophy at the "14th Annual Gospel Choice Awards" at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The song in question is Belle's rousing rendition of the gospel standard, 'God Is Good,' which was the first single released from her debut gospel project, 'Love Forever Shines' (Pendulum Records). According to Belle's rep Gwendolyn Quinn, the awards recognizes those who have made tremendous strides in bringing the good news of gospel to mainstream America. 
