[NEohioPAL]Karamu's 2005/2006 Theatre Season

[Vivian Wilson]

 For Immediate Release
Karamu Performing Arts Theatre 2005/2006 Season
Presents
The 90th Anniversary: Raising The Roof Revivals!

Karamu Performing Arts Theatre celebrates the institution's 90th anniversary
during the 2005/2006 season by reviving works that have successfully graced
the Karamu stage in the past. The 2005/2006 theme Raising The Roof Revivals!
will bring back three unforgettable classics, one annual classic and a
classic never before staged at Karamu.

Karamu Performing Arts Theatre kicks off its 2005/2006 season with some
humor in the Ohio Premier of the female version of The Odd Couple, a Neil
Simon comedy classic with a twist.  Karamu legend Jean Hawkins comes home to
direct this classic for the 90th anniversary. Get ready to stomp, shout and
clap one more time with our annual Langston Hughes Christmas classic,  Black
Nativity. During Black History Month Karamu presents the hilarious The
Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe and then, during the month of March, we
take a serious look at a HIV/AIDS epidemic  within the black community and
the world with Cheryl L. West's Before It Hits Home. Finally, we end the
season with the classical drama adventure Dream on Monkey Mountain.  This
production, written by Nobel Prize winning playwright/poet Derek Walcott,
was produced at Karamu thirty-four years ago and was the last time the late
Karamu alumnus Ron O' Neal (Super Fly) graced the Jelliffe Theatre stage as
both director and one of the leads in the play.

THE ODD COUPLE (Female Version) by Neil Simon (Ohio Premier)
If you can't make it to Broadway this Fall to catch a revival of this comedy
classic, hurry on down to Karamu. Yes, Unger and Madison will be at it again
on our stage-with a twist! Florence Unger and Olive Madison, that is, in
Neil Simon's hilarious contemporary comic classic: the female version of The
Odd Couple. Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Ms.
Madison has invited the girls over for an evening of “Trivial Pursuit”. The
hilarious Conzuela brothers have replaced the Pigeon sisters. Join us to see
what crazy antics these two get involved in.
Oct.  14 - Nov. 6, 2005 (Jelliffe Theatre) Jean Hawkins, Director

"Very funny indeed." N.Y. Post.
"Endearing." USA Today.
BLACK NATIVITY by Langston Hughes (Annual Musical)
This annual Christmas classic by Karamu alumnus Langston Hughes celebrates
it's 20th Anniversary at Karamu this season, and is a must see. Black
Nativity is a theatrical presentation focused on the religious and spiritual
aspects of the Christmas story.  It is performed with electrifying gospel
music, colorful costuming and with stunning dance context. Director Terence
Greene, along with CCDT dancers Michael Medcalf and Natasha Colon as Joseph
and Mary return to perform once again in this annual holiday tradition.
 December 9, 2005 - December 30, 2006, (Jelliffe Theatre) Terence Greene,
Director
(Special Holiday Shows: 12/20, 21, 27 & 28 in addition to regular Thursday &
Friday shows. No Shows on Saturday 24th, Sunday 25th & Saturday  )
 "Hughes created a rich theatrical platform that can be embellished by
innovative directors and performers alike. This engaging show features a
cast that sparkles under the direction of Terence M. Greene.  Add to that
some dazzling modern dance and eye-popping costumes, and you have yourself
one crackling fine production. " Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene

THE COLORED MUSEUM by George C. Wolfe (Comedy Satire)
This is the classic that placed Wolfe, former Artistic Director for the
Public Theatre in New York City, on the map as a playwright.  It was first
produced in 1986 in New Brunswick, New Jersey at Crossroads Theatre. It is
one of the most original and sought out plays in American Theatre. Wolfe
pulls no punches or kicks to the ribs, heart or funnybone as he views Black
history through a satirical microscope; exploring a series of eleven
exhibits such as "Git on Board", "Cookin' With Aunt Ethel", "The Last
Mama-On-The-Couch Play", and the scathing "Soldier with a Secret". This
museum is funky and outrageous.
January 27 - February 19, 2006 (Jelliffe Theatre) Caroline Jackson-Smith,
Director
"There comes a time when a satirical writer, if he's really out for blood,
must stop clowning around and move in for the kill. How do Black American
men and women escape the legacy of suffering that is the baggage of the
past?"  Frank Rich, New York Times

BEFORE IT HITS HOME by Cheryl L. West (Drama)
Winner of the Helen Hayes Award and Susan Smith Blackburn award for best new
play in 1991, this drama examines the two worlds of Wendal Bailey, black
jazz musician whose bisexuality endangers both himself and his loved ones;
his pregnant fiancée, his male lover, his parents, brother,
and 12 year-old son. After finding out he has AIDS, he comes home to regain
his strength and find comfort, but a festive evening celebrating his return
turns into a disaster. Ultimately, the only support and love he finds as he
lies in his death- bed comes from an unexpected source.
Karamu revives West's powerful and moving play, which is one of few dramas
addressing HIV/AIDS, homophobia and the DL "down low" within the black
community. (* DL is a new term that was defined over two years ago in the
black community. A married or involved man who identifies as straight while
having a secret affair with the same sex) Karamu will be joining local
HIV/AIDS service organizations to increase community awareness of one of the
most critical health issues of our times.
March 10 - April 9, 2006 (Arena Theatre) Ray Allmond, Director
(Discretion is advised)
 ".relentlessly observant and ruthlessly forthright.BEFORE IT HITS HOME
shows that there are things about AIDS we haven't grasped yet-as
playwrights, audiences, and people." -NY Magazine.
"BEFORE IT HITS HOME.is not a play about victimization.It is instead an
authentic, at times almost hysterical wake-up call to the black community,
sounded from within." -NY Times.

14th Annual R. Joyce Whitley Arena Festival of New Plays
A two-week festival of stage readings of original works by national and
local playwrights. The Fest is in honor of R. Joyce Whitley who was a major
contributor to Karamu House.
April 10 - April 21, 2006 - Arena/Annie Mae's Theatre

DREAM ON MONKEY MOUNTAIN by Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott
(Drama Adventure)
Last seen on the Karamu stage thirty-four years ago, this timely classic
returns to the Jelliffe theatre. It was first performed on August 12, 1967,
at the Central Library Theatre in Toronto, Canada and made its New York City
debut on March 14, 1971, at St. Mark's Playhouse, with Walcott collecting an
Obie award and touring Europe to boot. After filming the lead in Superfly
the late Karamu alum Ron 'O Neal returned to Cleveland to direct and star as
Corporal Lestrade in this production with another alum, the late classical
actor Clayton Corbin. It premiered at Karamu April 6, 1972. Praised by
critics and scholars as a masterpiece Dream on Monkey Mountain  is a complex
allegory, which, at its heart, concerns racial identity. “Makak”, the
central character of the play, lives alone in the Caribbeans on Monkey
Mountain and has not seen his own reflection in thirty years. He sets out on
a pilgrimage back to Africa to discovers his self worth as a black man, his
spirit and the belief that he was once king with magical powers. It is a
work to behold-weaving together fantasy and reality.
April 28- May 21, 2006 (Jelliffe Theatre) Terrence Spivey, Director,
Co-Choreographer,
Lisa Langford-Dramaturg
(No Performances Sunday, May 14)  (Discretion is advised due to brief
partial nudity in one scene)
"In Walcott's dense, poetic text and in the visual images onstage there is a
brilliantly successful marriage of classical tradition and African
mimetic-dance elements, two strains that are bound as one into the author's
British colonial childhood. And in the myth of Makak, an ultimately
universal figure, there is achieved some resolution of the conflict between
black roots and white culture. This is a superb play.'' -W. I. Scobie of
National Review

 2005/2006 KARAMU YOUTH THEATRE SEASON
All Youth Theatre performances are one acts. The duration of performances
are 45-60 minutes, and are performed on Saturdays and Sundays for a
four-week period. (8 performances total)
GOING TO SCHOOL by Ed Monk
Nick is going off to college for the first time. The only problem is, his
family is taking him. His mother worries he will starve to death, his father
forgot the tuition check, his teenage sister has an attitude, his younger
sister wants to go to her ballet recital, and his grandmother "don't hear so
good no more." It's going to be a fun day.
Suitable for the whole family
Oct. 29 - Nov. 20, 2005 (Arena Theatre) Judy Mazur, Director

GOLDILOCKS ON TRIAL by Ed Monk
Goldilocks is on trial for breaking and entering. Will she be found guilty
and sent to prison, or will the truth come out? It's up to Judge Wallabee
and some very silly jurors to decide after hearing testimony from Goldee,
the bickering Three Bears, and surprise witness Merwin the Big Bad Wolf,
among others. (Suitable for the whole family)
Jan. 7 - Jan. 29, 2006 (Arena Theatre) Richard Morris Jr., Director

BREAKING BARRIERS:  LITTLE ROCK NINE (World Premier) & THE LITTLE BOY WHO
SHOOK UP THE WORLD: THE EMMETT TILL STORY (Revival)
by Nicole C. Kearney Cooper.
The playwright of last year's hit "The Little Boy Who Shook Up The World:
The Emmett Till Story" returns to Karamu with an encore of her first play
and the world premier of her second play. The Little Rock Nine, the second
play in her "movement cycle" of 10 plays, opens February 11th and will
double with "Emmett Till" starting February 18 - February 26.
The second play is told from the perspective of the nine students who
integrated Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September,
1957, amid much violence, hatred and protest. Join these famous "nine"
students, their parents, and their protector Ms. Daisy Bates as they meet
for the first time after they are chosen. As these nine students bond over
the common desire for a better education, they begin to realize the impact
it has on American society.  Hear personal perspectives from Little Rock and
the nation as the drama unfolds for those nine young Black students.
BREAKING BARRIERS: LITTLE ROCK NINE (World Premier)
Feb.11- Feb. March 5, 2006 (Jelliffe Theatre)          Kimberly L. Brown,
Director
Feb. 11-19, 2006        					Saturdays @ 2 pm & Sundays @ 1 pm
Feb. 25 - March 5, 2006
Saturdays @ 2pm & Sundays @ 2pm
THE LITTLE BOY WHO SHOOK UP THE WORLD: THE EMMETT TILL STORY
Feb. 18 - March 5, 2006 (Jelliffe Theatre)
Feb. 18 - 19, 2006
Saturdays @12noon/Sundays @11am.
Feb. 25 - March 5, 2006
Saturdays @ 12noon & Sundays @ 12noon
CHALK: A Poetical by Al Letson
Originally commissioned by Baltimore School of The Arts, award-winning
actor/poet Al Letson's unique work Chalk centers around childhood friends
Angie, Laura, and Lisa and their transition from Elementary to Middle
School. Their friendship begins to unravel as the pressure of trying to be a
part of the in-crowd takes its toll.  This play explores the traumatic, and
often unseen struggle of relational aggression between children.  Angie,
torn between her friend Lisa and the more popular Laura, eventually
abandoned Lisa to become a part of the middle school's social circle.  Life
at Claymoore Middle School is uneventful until the new boy in school falls
for Angie, and a jealous Laura, who has a crush on him, starts to change
everything. Chalk illustrates the cycle of teen aggression through a new
genre of theatre, the Poetical.
Suitable for ages 11 and up
April 22 - May 13, 2006 (Arena Theatre) Desmond Jones, Director

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*Karamu will be given the Theatre Company Longevity Award for contributions
to Black theatre and American theatre at the prestigious National Black
Theatre Festival in Winston- Salem, North Carolina at the Awards Gala on
August 1, 2006. The National Black Theatre Festival runs August 1 - 6, 2005.
This will be Karamu's second achievement award (special award from Black
Theatre Network last summer) within a year and the theatre has appeared in
the American Theatre magazine twice (March & April 2005 issues) this year.
We would like to thank NBTF and American Theatre.
The theatre will also be part of the Cleveland's First Annual "Ingenuity,
Arts and Technology Festival" in September, presenting excerpts form the
2006 Spring production of  Derek Walcott's "Dream on Monkey Mountain" and a
three day stage reading of Gregory Carr's hilarious "A Colored Funeral" at
the much anticipated Cleveland Playhouse FusionFestival in May 2006. We look
forward to another blessed, enrichening, and challenging season.
National Black Theatre Festival <http://www.nbtf.org/>
<http://www.nbtf.org/>
Terrence  Spivey
Artistic Director
Karamu Performing Arts Theatre
2355 East 89 St.
Cleveland, OH 44106
216-795-7070 ext. 242
tsplywrght at aol.com <javascript:parent.ComposeTo('tsplywrght at aol.com');>