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<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Contact:
Vivian C. Wilson<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>
Marketing Manager<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>Phone
(216) 795-7070 x 215</span></font></b><b><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE –Thursday – April 10, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><em><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>it's only a play...</span></font></i></em><i><span
style='font-style:italic'><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">It's <st1:PersonName w:st="on">On</st1:PersonName>ly
A Play...</font></i></em><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">IT'S ONLY A PLAY...</font></i></em><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">...or is it?</font></i></em><br>
</span></i><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">Coming soon, a black troupe (all <st1:City
w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City> talent) hits the historical Karamu </font></i></em><i><span
style='font-style:italic'><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">stage for four weeks, performing a ritual
to the beats of Taco, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Murray</st1:City></st1:place>
Head, Justin </font></i></em><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">Timberlake, Leonard Cohen and a bonus song
and dance routine during intermission </font></i></em><br>
<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">JUST FOR YOU! </font></i></em></span></i><br>
<br>
<i><span style='font-style:italic'>THE BLACKS: a clown</span></i> show by Jean
Genet <br>
April 18 - May 11, 2008 (Arena)<br>
Previews April 16th & 17th<o:p></o:p></p>
<h3 style='margin-bottom:13.5pt'><em><b><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'>The Blacks: A Clown Show</span></font></i></b></em><font
size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'> was written in 1958
at the request of a black actor. But Jean Genet, a white, French novelist and
playwright (<em><i><font face="Times New Roman">The Balcony</font></i></em>),
wrote the drama focusing on a troupe of black actors, who come together to
perform a ritual that requires the corpse of a white woman. Originally
written for an all-black cast, <em><i><font face="Times New Roman">The
Blacks</font></i></em> offered a new voice to American theatre. Elevating
the careers for the late Roscoe Lee Browne, James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou,
Louis Gosset Jr., Cicely Tyson, Raymond St. Jasques and Godfrey
Cambridge. It won an Obie for Best Off Broadway play in 1961, becoming one
of the longest running non-musicals (three years) to ever hit the stage.
It still remains just as shocking and relevant today. <o:p></o:p></span></font></h3>
<h3><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:normal'>NOTE: Audience members will be given mask to wear for
this production (provided by ushers). Do not come alone and
dare you come late.<br>
Discretion is advised due to content, language,
and, unexpected audience interaction. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h3>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>French
novelist, playwright and poet Jean Genet was born in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Paris</st1:City></st1:place> to a Parisian prostitute. He was
abandoned at an early age and became a ward of the state. He was falsely
accused of stealing and although innocent, resolved to be a thief. He spent
much of his youth in an institution for juvenile delinquents. For many
years he lived as a thief and male prostitute. He enrolled in the French army,
served in several countries and subsequently became a deserter. After two
years as a fugitive, he was caught, tried for desertion and imprisoned in a
military prison. Several years after being released from the military
prison he was imprisoned again for theft. As a repeat offender he was
liable for life imprisonment. While in prison Genet began writing. His plays
relied heavily on ritual, transformation, illusion and interchangeable
identities. His experiences in prison influenced most of his work. He wrote
about homosexuals, prostitutes, thieves and outcasts of his plays being
trapped in self-destructive circles. French writers and intellectuals
intervened on his behalf and his sentence was reduced to three months after
which he was released from prison. He never returned to prison or a life of
theft. His fiction continued to focus on crime as an act of resistance to
institutional power<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Genet's first dramatic effort was <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Deathwatch, an </span></i>examination of the
oppressed and the oppressor; his next play; <i><span style='font-style:
italic'>The Maids</span></i>, portrayed a ritualistic act of two maids who took
turns acting as "Madame," abusing each other. It was first staged at
a private club in <st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City> because it was
considered too scandalous for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Paris</st1:City></st1:place>
audiences. His play, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>The Balcony </span></i>is
set in a brothel. In <i><span style='font-style:italic'>The Blacks</span></i>,
a troupe of black actors enact before a jury of white-masked blacks the
ritualistic murder of a white of which they have been accused. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;
margin-left:0in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The last of Genet's plays to be produced during his lifetime, <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>The Screens,</span></i> was his comment on the
Algerian revolution. Like all of his works, the plays are sometimes
bewildering, savage, and haunting. In addition to his plays, Genet wrote
several novels and film scripts. He also produced a silent picture, <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>Un Chant D'Amour </span></i>(1949).
Genet died in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Paris</st1:City></st1:place>
on April 15, 1986<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>THE
BLACKS: a clown show</span></font></i> will be performed in Karamu’s
Arena Theatre<o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Performances are Thursday to Saturday at 8:00 pm
and Sundays at 3:00 pm. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Ticket prices are $20.00 for Thursday and Sunday
performances and $25.00 on<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Friday and Saturday. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Preview
Night</span></font></b> <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Performances </span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>7:30 pm - Wednesday, April April 16 &
Thursday, April 17<sup>th</sup> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>There will be two special midnight performances on
Friday, April 25 and Friday, May 2.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>For ticket availability please call Karamu’s box
office at 216-795-7077 or visit online <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>at <a href="http://www.karamu.com/"
title="http://www.karamu.com/">www.karamu.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Karamu House Inc. is generously
funded by <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Cuyahoga</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Residents through
Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City></st1:place>
Foundation and</span></font></b> T<b><font size=2><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-weight:bold'>he George Gund Foundation</span></font></b><b><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><font size=3 face=TimesNewRomanPS-BoldItalicMT><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:TimesNewRomanPS-BoldItalicMT;font-weight:
bold;font-style:italic'>
</span></font></i></b><b><i><font size=2
face=TimesNewRomanPS-BoldItalicMT><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
TimesNewRomanPS-BoldItalicMT;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>###<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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