Cocoa Brown Will Get Real in Atlantic City on May 26
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
ATLANTIC CITY — Just call her the unsinkable Cocoa Brown.
Much like the famed socialite Molly Brown, who survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, Cocoa Brown proved herself to be just as resilient after her home burned down earlier this year, taking on her current gigs and motherhood in stride.
Brown, the veteran of comedy stand-up, movies and television, will perform at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City on Sunday, May 26, Memorial Day weekend, at 6:30 p.m. And yes, she will ”go there.”
“Atlantic City is about to get the pure and adulterated truth of what I have been through for the past few years, having lost my home to a fire,” Brown told Front Runner New Jersey.com. “Humor is what has gotten me through that. And when you can make jokes in the face of tragedy, you’re a special kind of crazy. I just want to share my crazy with everybody.”
It was no laughing matter in February, when a fire started inside Brown’s home in Fayetteville, Ga., forcing her and her son to abandon the structure. The blaze was so intense, even firefighters had to back away as the home was totally engulfed.
The veteran entertainer, though, found out how loved she was. Media mogul Tyler Perry, who worked as a lead actress on numerous projects, offered $400,000 to rebuild Brown’s home. Help also came from stars like media mogul Byron Allen, and fellow comedians Marlon Wayans and Tiffany Haddish. Her GoFundMe page topped more than 1,200 individual donors.
“I didn’t know I was loved this much,” Brown said, half-jokingly. “To be honest, I had no idea I was seen and loved that I have been during this whole situation. I’m still thanking people, and actually, I haven’t stopped because people still want to help. I’ve been really humbled.
“I’m glad my son (Phoenix) sees that you reap what you sow. Even with people who didn’t know me — or just worked with me once or twice — I had such a positive way with them that they felt compelled to help.”
Brown credits Phoenix with saving her life, for being able to roll with the punches of her career and being her rock through the upheaval of the fire.
“I love being a mother,” Brown said. “Anybody that grew up with me or knew me in my 20s knew I always talked about being a mother. I love having this little boy, even though he’s looking me dead in my eyes now [when I stand]. He’s been my strength and I’m really blessed to have such a great kid. He saved my life because he made Mama grow up.”
Brown is a dynamic performer, honed by years of standup. From “Showtime at the Apollo” to BET’s “Comic View,” Brown carved out her own niche and style that has won her fans for decades.
She appeared in the critically acclaimed “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” big-budget movies like Mark Wahlberg’s “Ted 2,” and TV series “Never Have I Ever,” “9-1-1” and Tyler Perry’s “For Better or Worse.”
“People can see I’m a versatile actress,” Brown said. “I can go from comedies like ‘Ted 2,’ to Tyler Perry, to shows like ‘The People v. O .J. Simpson: American Crime Story.’ Wherever you put Cocoa Brown, in whatever capacity, people are seeing that I have range and versatility and I’m going to deliver. I can do characters like I do on 9-1-1 and flip it and play Principal Grubbs on ‘Never Have I Ever,’ who I based on my mother because she was an educator.”
In Atlantic City, it will be about the funny and only the funny, Brown promises. She said while her life had taken some head-turning curves, it has allowed her to look at the world from all different kinds of angles — and find the humor in it all.
It should make for a memorable show when the unsinkable Cocoa Brown takes the stage in Atlantic City Memorial Day Weekend.
For tickets and additional information to the show, click EventBrite Here.
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