Black Repertory Group Inc — Attraction in Berkeley

I went to see the WIZ on Saturday, 12-9-17, the matinee show, with my grown grandson who has performed in the WIZ many times, (lead characters). This was the WORST production of the WIZ that we have ever seen!!! I've seen the WIZ from Broadway to San Jose and many stops in between and we were TERRIBLY disappointed!!! So much that we left after "NO BAD NEWS" and her microphone was not on!!!! It was PAINFUL!!!! We were sitting in the second row from the stage and couldn't hear nothing above a whisper. We knew where the show was headed when it first came on and Aunt 'Em started singing, all over the place!!!! We are a big supporter of Theatre Arts. But I appreciate seeing a show that will keep my interest and produce a quality show. The participants in the show had no stage presence! The costumes were horrible and so was the so called choreography, No projection of their voices, especially Dorothy, really, what was that!!!! When the mic doesn't work, you should still be able to hear the voices bouncing off the back of the walls!! (if you've had the proper training). There were more than just technical difficulties with this show! Please invest in better equipment, better tech hands, especially Mics, they sounded like they were in a bathroom! And for those seeing the WIZ for the first time, please don't be discouraged this was not how it was suppose to be!!!!!!! I could go on and on, but I'll stop here! Not sorry for such a BAD review, because it was just that BAD!! Someone by the name of Ismael (not sure of the spelling) stood up and said this was better than the Diana Ross and Michael Jackson WiZ, he must have been watching a very different show than the one I was attending! Refunds should have been given to everyone! The popcorn and champagne was...

I too attended the Ruffs Endz concert and was highly disappointed with the organizer of this event. The event did not advertise that there would be several acts prior to the Ruffs Endz performance which was scheduled to to take place at 8 pm instead they performed at 9:30. Additionally the venue was not prepared for the event on time. The Bartender did not arrive on time nor did the liquor. While the alcohol was high grade there were only two mixers offered(coke and cranberry juice) which were not appropriate mixers for many of the liquors available. The drinks were served in a paper coffee cup, tacky. Now back to the show. The MC spoke about the black legends who had graced the stage and the history of the venue , it’s prominence in the black movement but this concert was the opposite! We had VIP tickets which meant we sat in the first 3 rows of the venue and received one drink ticket. When the show finally started a videographer blocked our view and proceeded to film the first act in front of our seats! We asked her to move but she did not. The female rapper and her back up dancers also arrived late and were not a good addition to the show. Next more stalling by the MC who I did not mind but where is Ruffs Endz? Then a young male rapper with his crew hits the stage again why? A young lady then sits in the front row and gets up in her cutout black dress and bends up and wiggles her butt at us and then at the rapper, yelling praises! We later learn she is a friend of the promoter.While Ruffs Ends’ performance is great the concert itself is classless and poorly organized. I too tried to leave and asked for my money back but was encourage to stay. I...

This last week in I along with 7 friends attend ed the Ruffin concert. The show was late starting. With VIP ticket were were promised 1 beverage. The bartender was late arriving. She has a limited selection of alcohol. She only has cramberry juice. She served the cocktails in a paper coffee cup. The show began with a young woman rapper that had three twerks borderline strippers. It was disgraceful. The foul language was offensive to our group who paid to see an old school R.B duet Ruffin. Next was a rapper the music was loud. The lyrics were laced with offensive foul language. I forgot to mention the MC. She kept reminding the audience of the greats that that graced this historocal stage. They probably were disappointed from their graves. She kept telling the audience she was over 50. We could see that. Then some lady in a red dress sang a song. It was not what we paid for. So the. MC read the audience a poem she wrote about Ruffin. She was truly stalling. Ruffin had not arrived it was about 9:30pm when they took the stage. Most of the mature audience had enough and had left before they arrived. There was no more than 25 people to begin with. We should have been given a refund when we asked. I was truly disappointed in the poor planning and choice of mixing rap with RB. I had the impression that the acts were called last minute. Get it together or close the doors. You are in my opinion making the great on...