#fredi walker

[esoteric-aesthetic-lyrics]

Rent - Daphne Rubin-Vega, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, Fredi Walker, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp (Rent)

[dingus0401]

so earlier I was just listening to the Rent obcr as one does. the Tango Maureen begins to play and I look at my phone for the time, yet my eyes are caught by something else. I look under the song title to see the credited singers for the song. I see Fredi Walker (original joanne) and…..Adam Pascal (original Roger). For those of you unaware of the song, the other singer credited should be Anthony Rapp (original Mark) instead of Adam.

so Apple music you need to fix this.

[moowithmidnight]

As someone who loves Idina Menzel a concerning amount and who also wasn’t alive when Rent came out, seeing pictures or videos of her as Maureen makes me freak out-

Take Me Or Leave Me - Idina Menzel and Fredi Walker

RENT - First Broadway Preview (16th April 1996)

[warmpants]

Search party is actually the most insane show I’ve ever watched because why was michelle zauner the guitarist at elliott and marc’s gay wedding

[quangling]

music tag game!

the aim is to put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs + tag 10 people.

thanks @benwvatt for the tag 🖤

communion in my cup - tank and the bangas ft. the ton3s (chill but with some fun percussion. it's a vibe.)

candy store - heathers (i haven't heard this song in so long but godddd that guitar solo intro just still hits)

don't go chasing - erez zobary (brass instruments!!! funky bassline!!! and vocals!!! everything to me)

famous - kayla rae haywood (is only on my playlist because i liked kat/adena from the bold type and this played in one second of their screentime. it's an ok song)

art of letting you go - tori kelly (i really like her voice and this song is a banger!!!!)

shadow - carly rae jepsen (aka one of the few songs from the loveliest time i liked. chorus is a banger)

heart on fire - little simz (have y'all listened to little simz she's imo one of the best rappers ever)

juju- oshun (vibes. chill and mystic-ish, but with strong messaging. )

kay ganda ng ating musika - hajji alejandro (original pilipino music, so dynamic, has an orchestra and choir. fave. reminds me of my grandmothers. i need infinitely more songs that evoke this vibe.)

take me or leave me - idina menzel & fredi walker (the og lesbian musical theater duet. great vocals all around.)

tagging @sibella @rescuethewretched @bellqmione @natashasbitxh @gayglitterghoul

@tonesurvivor no pressure tho ☺️

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Fredi Washington

Fredericka Carolyn "Fredi" Washington (December 23, 1903 – June 28, 1994) was an American stage and film actress, civil rights activist, performer, and writer. Washington was of African American descent. She was one of the first Black Americans to gain recognition for film and stage work in the 1920s and 1930s. Washington was active in the Harlem Renaissance, her best known role being Peola in the 1934 film version of Imitation of Life, where she plays a young light-skinned Black woman who decides to pass as white. Her last film role was in One Mile from Heaven (1937), after which she left Hollywood and returned to New York to work in theatre and civil rights activism.

Fredi Washington was born in 1903 in Savannah, Georgia, to Robert T. Washington, a postal worker, and Harriet "Hattie" Walker Ward, a dancer. Both were of African American and European ancestry. Washington was the second of their five children. Her mother died when Fredi was 11 years old. As the oldest girl in her family, she helped raise her younger siblings, Isabel, Rosebud, and Robert, with the help of their grandmother. After their mother's death, Fredi and her sister Isabel were sent to the St. Elizabeth's Convent School for Colored Girls in Cornwells Heights, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

While still in school in Philadelphia, Washington's family moved north to Harlem, New York. Washington graduated from Julia Richman High School in New York City.

Washington's entertainment career began in 1921 as a chorus girl in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along. She was hired by dancer Josephine Baker as a member of the "Happy Honeysuckles," a cabaret group. Baker became a friend and mentor to her. Washington's collaboration with Baker led to her being discovered by producer Lee Shubert. In 1926, she was recommended for a co-starring role on the Broadway stage with Paul Robeson in the play Black Boy. She quickly became a popular, featured dancer, and toured internationally with her dancing partner, Al Moiret.

Washington turned to acting in the late 1920s. Her first movie role was in Black and Tan (1929), in which she played a Cotton Club dancer who was dying. She acted in a small role in The Emperor Jones (1933) starring Robeson. In 1933, Washington married Lawrence Brown, the trombonist in Duke Ellington's jazz orchestra. That marriage ended in divorce. Washington also played Cab Calloway's love interest in the musical short Cab Calloway's Hi-De-Ho (1934).

Her best-known role was in the 1934 movie Imitation of Life. Washington played a young light-skinned Black woman who chose to pass as white to seek more opportunities in a society restricted by legal and social racial segregation. As Washington had visible European ancestry, the role was considered perfect for her, but it led to her being typecast by filmmakers. Moviegoers sometimes assumed from Washington's appearance—her blue-gray eyes, pale complexion, and light brown hair—that she might have passed in real life. In 1934, she said the role did not reflect her off-screen life, but "If I made Peola seem real enough to merit such statements, I consider such statements compliments and makes me feel I've done my job fairly well." She told reporters in 1949 that she identified as Black "...because I'm honest, firstly, and secondly, you don't have to be white to be good. I've spent most of my life trying to prove to those who think otherwise ... I am a Negro and I am proud of it."[7] Imitation of Life was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, but it did not win. Years later, in 2007, Time magazine ranked it as among "The 25 Most Important Films on Race."

Washington's experiences in the film industry and theater led her to become a civil rights activist. In an effort to help other Black actors and actresses find more opportunities, in 1937 Washington co-founded the Negro Actors Guild of America, with Noble Sissle, W. C. Handy, Paul Robeson, and Ethel Waters. The organization's mission included speaking out against stereotyping and advocating for a wider range of roles. Washington served as the organization's first executive secretary. She was also heavily involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, widely known as the NAACP. While working with the NAACP, Fredi fought for more representation and better treatment of Black actors in Hollywood because she was one of the few Black actors in Hollywood who had some influence with white studio executives. Aside from working with those organizations to fight for the rights of Black actors, Washington also advocated for the federal protection of Black Americans and was a lobbyist for the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which the NAACP supported.

Despite receiving critical acclaim, she was unable to find much work in the Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s; Black actresses were expected to have dark skin, and were usually typecast as maids. Directors were concerned about casting a light-skinned Black actress in a romantic role with a white leading man; the film production code prohibited suggestions of miscegenation. Hollywood directors did not offer her any romantic roles. As one modern critic explained, Fredi Washington was "...too beautiful and not dark enough to play maids, but rather too light to act in all-Black movies..."

Washington was a theater writer, and the entertainment editor for The People's Voice (1942–1948), a newspaper for African Americans founded by Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a Baptist minister and politician in New York City who was married to her sister Isabel Washington Powell. She was outspoken about racism faced by African Americans and worked closely with Walter White, then president of the NAACP, to address pressing issues facing Black people in America.

In 1952, Washington married a Stamford dentist, Hugh Anthony Bell, and moved to Greenwich, Connecticut.

Fredi Washington Bell died, aged 90, on June 28, 1994. She died from pneumonia following a series of strokes at St. Joseph Medical Center in Stamford, Connecticut.

[madisonrooney]

tagged by @blackfairyemoji!

13 songs ive been listening to lately (in no particular order)

tango: maureen - anthony rapp & fredi walker

am i dreaming - metro boomin, a$ap rocky, & roisee

lethal woman - dove cameron

monsters - slaughter beach, dog

winter - bryce bishop

what you own - anthony rapp & adam pascal

vegas - doja cat

dance the night - dua lipa

other boys - marshmello and dove cameron

seamless - sabrina carpenter

30/90 - andrew garfield, joshua henry, and vanessa hudgens

nightmares come to life - cast of hsmtmts

cooties - dove cameron

tried to have a decent amount of variety but i am very much back on my jonathan larson bs (and i am eternally on my dove bs. this we all know)

i tag @browncesario @clawdeen-wolf @candy-pants and @oozmart!

[byneddiedingo]

Joan Carroll and Bill Robinson in One Mile From Heaven (Allan Dwan, 1937)

Cast: Claire Trevor, Sally Blane, Douglas Fowley, Fredi Washington, Bill Robinson, Joan Carroll, Ralf Harolde, John Eldredge, Paul McVey, Ray Walker, Russell Hopton, Chick Chandler, Eddie Anderson, Howard HIckman. Screenplay: Robin Harris, Alfred Golden, Lou Breslow, John Patrick, based on a story by Ben B. Lindsey. Cinematography: Sidney Wagner. Art direction: Bernard Herzbrun. Film editing: Fred Allen. Music: Samuel Kaylin.

In One Mile From Heaven, a reporter happens upon a Black woman who is raising a white child and says that the little girl is her own daughter. The reporter immediately sees it as a hot news item. It's an odd and distasteful premise for a movie, especially if, as in this case, the child is happy, well cared-for, and loves her mother, who's entirely capable of raising her. It's the mere fact of the racial disparity that sets Lucy Warren (Claire Trevor) on the course of exposing the relationship of Flora Jackson (Fredi Washington) and her putative daughter, Sunny (Joan Carroll), leading to the discovery of Sunny's birth mother, the wealthy (and white) Barbara Harrison (Sally Blane). It winds up with what's supposed to be a happy ending. That the movie is played as a sentimental comedy laced with musical numbers supplied by a tap-dancing Black policeman (Bill Robinson) only makes it seem odder. It could, after all, have been an indictment of nosy journalism, or a story of racial injustice, but instead it's a grab-bag of movie tropes, including a press room filled with anything-for-a-scoop reporters straight out of The Front Page (Lewis Milestone, 1931), and a thwarted prison escape that comes out of nowhere and has only a tangential relationship to the main plot. Allan Dwan handles all of this with his usual finesse, but is never quite able to make a coherent film out of it. This was Washington's last film before she retired from acting and devoted her life to civil rights activism. The movie, based on an actual case in Denver, serves as evidence why that activism was needed. 

[thrashntreasure]

Ep53 RENT: the 13,504,320th Minute Anniversary! w/ Fredi Walker-Browne! (Broadway!)

This episode is dedicated to Al Larson, and Betty White. RIP. This week, we're joined by the Original Joanne Jefferson- Ms. Fredi Walker-Browne! In our New Year's celebration, we sit down with Fredi to discuss RENT, its impact, RENT + Race; PLUS we close our eyes and make a Nightwish, with their album 'Century Child' - and find out just how-well Andrew Garfield did as Jonathan Larson in 'Tick, Tick…Boom!'! https://twitter.com/missyfrediot -- http://bigspoonproductions.com/about-fredi/link-tree/

[alicewhitethp]

Hey I don’t know if you like musical theatre or love Rent or if you hate Rent but want to understand it better, but if you relate to any of those things I’ve got a show for you! Greetings from Cyberland is a lovingly critical revisit of Rent comparing the subject matter (AIDS, housing protests, police violence) to subjects relevant today (COVID, racial justice protests, police violence).

I hope you give it a try! It’ll be 12 episodes long, each episode examining part of the show and it’s cultural impact. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (here) or wherever you get your podcasts! (Except Spotify??? I’m working on it.)

[thediaryofatheatrekid]

Casting Goals: Hairspray

“Good Morning Baltimore!”

Madi Juleskusky as Tracy Turnblad

Kevin Chamberlin as Edna Turnblad

Fredi Walker as Motormouth Maybelle

Michelle Visage as Velma Von Tussle

Danny Burstein as Wilbur Turnblad

Kyle Selig as Link Larkin

Madison Alexander as Penny Pingleton

Curtis Holland as Seaweed J. Stubbs

Renée Rapp as Amber Von Tussle

Brent Barrett as Corny Collins (Edna u/s)

Storm Lever as Little Inez

Ellen Harvey as Female Authority Figure (Velma u/s)

Adam Heller as Male Authority Figure (Wilbur u/s)

Jacob Tischler as Brad/Ensemble (Corny u/s)

Reilly Wilmit as Brenda/Ensemble (Penny u/s, Amber u/s)

Darius Barnes as Duane/Ensemble (Seaweed u/s)

Bre Jackson as Dynamite/Ensemble (Motormouth u/s)

Dan’yelle Williamson as Dynamite/Ensemble (Motormouth u/s)

Zurin Villanueva as Dynamite/Ensemble (Inez u/s)

Corey Kline as Fender/Ensemble (Link u/s)

Fernell Hogan as Gilbert/Ensemble

Will Branner as IQ/Ensemble (Link u/s)

Domonique Paton as Lorraine/Ensemble

Tara Tagliaferro as Lou Ann/Ensemble (Velma u/s, Female Authority Figure u/s)

Gabrielle Carrubba as Shelly/Ensemble (Penny u/s)

Tyler Sapp as Sketch/Ensemble (Male Authority Figure u/s)

Jonalyn Saxer as Tammy/Ensemble (Amber u/s)

DeMarius R. Copes as Thad/Ensemble (Seaweed u/s)

Charnette Battey as Swing (Inez u/s)

Dashi’ Mitchell as Swing

Michael Graceffa as Swing (Corny u/s, Male Authority Figure u/s)

Molly Hager as Swing (Tracy u/s, Female Authority Figure u/s)

Sophie Patrice Golden as Standby (Tracy Turnblad)

Daniel Cooney as Standby (Edna Turnblad, Wilbur Turnblad)

Honorable Mentions: Adrienne C. Moore as Motormouth Maybelle Brent Barrett as Edna Turnblad Erik Martenson as Fender/Ensemble (Link u/s) Lillias White as Motormouth Maybelle Mariah Lyttle as Lorraine/Ensemble (Motormouth u/s)

[boho-days]

Rent at the 1996 Tony Awards

[2o2o-kit]

Rent Ships

Recently I have been listening to aren’t and I noticed you can literally ship anybody (Spolier Warning):

Roger + Mimi: Main hetro couple *canon*

Collins + Angel: The couple that deserved better *canon*

Maureen + Joanne: Opposites attract subplot couple *canon*

Mark + Maureen: If/then lovers turned friends *canon*

Mimi + Benny: The ‘really? They were a couple?’ Couple *canon*

Mark + Roger: Bromance 101

Mark + Mimi: Friend of a friend

Mark + Collins: Hey, the show’s almost over and let’s pair up the last two remaining single people

Mark + Angel: The adorkable with the adorable

Mark + Joanne: The Tango

Mark + Benny: Let’s experiment

Roger + Collins: Depressed musican and an anarchistic who lost an ex due to HIV/AIDS, but also have HIV/AIDS. Let’s move to Santa Fe

Roger + Angel: Pessimist meets Optimist but with HIV/AIDS

Roger + Maureen: Wait a minute, this is not Chess in Concert

Roger + Joanne: Depressed meets Sarcastic

Roger + Benny: We had the same lover (not at the same time)

Mimi + Collins: Drugs, marijuana, and Aids

Mimi + Angel: Preformers with life threatening HIV/AIDS

Mimi + Maureen: Female preformers

Mimi + Joanne: The new girls to the group

Collins + Maureen: Hey there could have been something between them

Collins + Joanne: Actually have successful good paying jobs

Collins + Benny: Pretty similar last names Help me

Angel + Maureen: Calls everyone honey

Angel + Joanne: A puppy and a cat as a couple

Angel + Benny: Don’t tell the dog

Maureen + Benny: Actor shipping, well until their divorce

Joanne + Benny: Okay I’m just running out of ideas

Did I miss any?

[rentheadcanons1996]

any cast members of RENT, from any cast you've seen or heard, who you think are seriously under appreciated?

Omg yes. From the OBC: Rodney Hicks, he was an ensemble member, and he does just as much LGBT+ advocacy work as Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz and other bigger names do. Also, let’s not forget Gwen Stewart, who freaking INVENTED that high Seasons of Love note - like, Jonathan didn’t write that in. She sang that note on the spot and it was the HIGHEST IN THE SONG. ALSO. Fredi Walker. Please. She played Joanne just-more appreciation for Fredi Walker I love her. Take Me Or Leave Me was written with her and Idina’s voices in mine.

When I saw RENT with the 20th Anniversary Tour Cast in 2019, Alex Lugo was my Mimi! She was a really good Mimi. And an understudy! Like....DRV is still my favorite Mimi but I feel like Alex was the only one to live up to her. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Renée, but how can anyone compare to Daphne?)

Also literally any non-English cast. Seriously. Go look up videos for Spanish/Korean/German/Russian RENT and you will NOT be disappointed. (Though Russian’s a harder translation to find...also Estonian sadly.)

[rentforever]

When you’re dancing her dance, you don’t stand a chance.

#rent the musical

[fangirlingomgomg]

I love Tango: Maureen as much as the next person but how the hell does dancing around cables while complaining about an ex fix the microphone