In the uptown action adventure, Shock Exchange Comes to Harlem, Mr. Baker has recently learned that Harlem is about to be attacked by some of the most devastating travel basketball teams in the US and maybe even Canada. They are plotting to wrest the title of "basketball mecca" from the NYC. They plan to bring weapons such as the "slam dunk" , the "sky hook", the "fade away", and the "killer crossover" . . . killer crossover?. They may even employ strategies such as the "full court press", the "give-and-go" and the "1-3-1 zone". America's Favorite Investment Ballers, brave as they are, have been summoned to defend Harlem against these interlopers.
Last year they came with charming names like Falcons, Rockets, Metrohawks, Gauchos, Skyliners, Almighty Force, The City, Leading Through Sports, Lightning, Cyclones, GOSH, Elite, and Mavericks. The battle will take place not coincidentally at Columbia University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York. For more information contact Ralph Baker at or 917-697-8168.
In the 1970 caper, Cotton Comes to Harlem, a local snake oil saleman, Reverend Deke O'Malley, convinces his Harlem congregation to raise close to $90,000 to fund his bogus "Back to Africa" movement. As his rally comes to an end, the money is seized by armed robbers. Harlem policemen Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed give chase but lose the robbers. Convinced that O'Malley is responsible, they attempt to track him down. Proving there is indeed no honor amongst thieves, O'Malley skips town feeling double-crossed by Calhoun, his partner in crime. However, Calhoun feels O'Malley has double-crossed him. Meanwhile the cash, hidden in a bale of cotton, ends up falling off the getaway truck and is lost. Harlem is eventually turned upside down by the cops, the Reverend, and hijackers and leads to a chase scene that ends up at the Apollo Theatre.
Cotton Comes to Harlem has become a part of local urban lore and its story has survived for over 40 years. For those performers in Shock Exchange Comes Harlem, what will they say about you 40 years from now? Below are links to our event in 2009 and 2008:
