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While surfing the web today, I came across the news that Tyler Perry was canceling a leg of his upcoming “Madea Gets A Job” tour because of the powerful impact of pesky bootleggers. In a long letter on his website, Perry broke down specific reasons, saying that while he had set ticket prices for the stage play at as low as $25 so that most people could afford to come, bootleggers were selling tickets for his show to unsuspecting fans for double the price, and even pretending they were Perry, scheduling alleged “meet-and-greet” opportunities after the shows for about $125. (“DON’T FALL FOR THIS!! That’s not me.”) He went on to vent his frustration with the leeches of the world to his fans:

“This is so frustrating! Why are people so evil? Why can’t people just get legitimate jobs and stop trying to do the wrong thing all the time? If they put the same amount of energy into doing the right thing as they do in doing the wrong thing they could make it. It’s so sad.”

“To all of you who have bought tickets and made plans to be there I am so sorry. I really am but my hands are tied.”

“This was the last live Madea tour and I’m super sorry that you won’t get to see it live. All refunds should be given back to you.”

As frustrated as Perry seemed to be, his fans were just as heated, if not more. Many got on the website and told stories about their children missing out on their first Madea stage play, and the struggles they had to go through to get tickets. Because this stage tour was set to be Perry’s last for a while, as he continues to balance a career that involves acting, directing, producing and screenwriting, people were understandably upset:

“OH NO……This was going to be my 10 year old’s first Madea play. She LOVES Madea, I will have to wait until the last minute to break this news. I just hate that greed messes things up for everyone else. Stay true to yourself Tyler. Hopefully Madea can do a one hour special on tv oneday.”

“Although I am crushed I think I can manage to still support him and his projects in the future.”

“I really was so excited to see the play.Madea always uplifts my spirits. My family is going through some trying situations.I needed to laugh from crying,…”

Reading the responses, and hearing about the number of people who were going to travel to see Perry dress up and act a fool as Madea one last time live, at first, I thought they were being a little over the top. But then, I remembered the last time I saw a Tyler Perry stage play (on DVD of course, not live), and the first time, and in a way, I could understand–those plays are hilarious!

It was maybe 2001 when I saw my first Tyler Perry stage play, and I was watching “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” at the recommendation of my hairdresser. Always the skeptic/hater (you should know this by now), I went into it expecting the corniest thing to ever appear on a television, but was pleasantly surprised when I was rolling with laughter at the rachetness of gun toting, weed smoking Madea, and adding my own extra dialogue to the play when the female characters would fall for the okie-doke from their men. From the minute Madea stepped out with her random attempts at praying, with her gray wig, horrid house dress and penchant for pronouncing things like diabetic as diabetical, I thought she (aka, he) was hilarious. The character also seemed to be very deep, dropping knowledge when folks needed it most, even if she (once again, he) was a mess 90 percent of the time. The singing in the plays, depending on who was crooning the gospel tracks, and what they were singing about, was a nice addition, and they were actually all-around fun and positive plays.

Before Tyler Perry went mainstream, becoming the first black man to own his own studio, he was a very popular playwright in the black community. People came in droves to see his plays, you couldn’t pass a bootlegger who didn’t have one of his DVDs and slowly but surely black folk were starting to adopt Madea’s vernacular. (Hell-er!) Then he hit the big screen with his first feature film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Coming out the mixed reviews, the film featured some decent actors, including Kimberly Elise, Steve Harris and the legendary Cicely Tyson. Maybe you’re more familiar than a little bit with this film, but we bet you don’t know the secrets behind this film. Check them out.

thelavalizard.com

Remember Tiffany Evans, the “little” girl with the big voice from Star Search and a couple of the “Madea” movies (she was Tyler Perry’s choir-singing daughter in Diary of a Mad Black Woman)? Well, she’s not so little anymore and she’s been up to a lot over the last couple of years – some of which may surprise you.

In an interview with Essence.com, Tiffany talked about her new music – an EP titled Take 1 – which she says finally shows off her talents as not only a singer but a songwriter.  As she says:

“My fans have never heard any music written by me. I thought it was important to do so this time around. I also thought it was important for me to experience life and go through things to write about them from a true place. I wanted this project to be organic. I had to take myself down a notch and go through love and write about it.“

And experiencing life is exactly what Tiffany has been doing. In a pretty shocking announcement, she revealed that at 19, she’s also expecting her first child with her husband of TWO YEARS!  This came as a bit of a surprise because although there had been rumors that Tiffany might have been married over the last six months, she never said a word confirming or denying it.  Tiffany is married to a man named Lorenzo, one of Ciara’s backup dancers, and apparently they’ve been going strong for a few years now.  Tiffany said she’s just been waiting on the right time to announce it.

She certainly has a lot going on for such a young woman, but that might not be a bad thing. We wish her the best!

What were you doing at 17 years old? Could you imagine getting married that young? 

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