Diana Ross Live in Central Park
| Live in Central Park | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video by Diana Ross | ||||
| Released | May 15, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | July 21 and 22, 1983 at Central Park (on the Great Lawn) in New York, United States | |||
| Label | Shout! Factory | |||
| Diana Ross chronology | ||||
|
||||
Live in Central Park is a DVD by Diana Ross released in 2012.
On July 21, 1983, Diana Ross' concert at The Great Lawn of New York City's Central Park, attended by 800,000 fans, was cut short by a massive lightening storm. The concert was staged as a benefit to raise funds for a children's park, later known as the Diana Ross Playground, located inside the park at West 81st Street and Central Park West. The concerts were aired worldwide on the Showtime cable network, and directed by Steve Binder, who produced Ross' 1981 ABC network television special, as well as Elvis Presley's 1968 comeback special. Ross produced the concert. The concert was choreographed by Michael Peters, perhaps most famous for choreographing the video for Michael Jackson's 1982 smash hit, Beat It. The stage was designed by Tony Walton, who had the designed the scenery for Ross' 1978 film, The Wiz. The orchestra was conducted by longtime Ross collaborator, Joe Guercio.
Ross performed gratis, the only expected revenue was to be derived from the sales of the concert's memorabilia. However, the storm destroyed all of the stands and materials. Ross's entrance involved Jamaica(Queens), New York's Bernice Johnson Dancers performing a West African-inspired dance in grass skirts, as images of Ross in full tribal makeup (designed by makeup artist Rene de Chamizo) were displayed upon the stage's 34-feet-wide-by-24-feet-high video screens. She appeared among the dancers in a rainbow-colored fringed Issey Miyake coat that she let slip seductively from her svelte figure, revealing a tight-fitting, beaded orange bodysuit, that she later covered with a matching chiffon robe, which blew dramatically in the wind, providing some of the concert's most iconic footage. 25 minutes into her performance, dark clouds began to gather over the audience, and a downpour ensued. In defiance of the gathering storm, Ross remarked, "It took me a lifetime to get here, and I’m not going anywhere." That evening's performance lasted 45 minutes before the storm's increasing severity, and pleas from various New York City officials and event producers, convinced Ross to leave the stage. Before exiting the stage, Ross implored the audience to leave safely and quietly. She then hinted at a possible second performance, to take place the following evening, July 22. News reports noted sporadic incidents of muggings of concertgoers on their way out of the park. That evening, 2.26 inches of rain fell, two-thirds of that month’s total precipitation. Winds of nearly 50 mph were reported, and electrical power was disrupted for nearly 40,000 homes throughout the NYC metropolitan area during the storm.
...
Wikipedia