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To: tsplywrght@aol.com<BR>Subject: The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Tupac Shakur lives on at Karamu Theatre in premiere of new play by Michael Oatman<BR>Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 17:40:23 -0400<BR>From: tsplywrght@aol.com<BR><BR>
<H1><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Tupac Shakur lives on at Karamu Theatre in premiere of new play by Michael Oatman</FONT></H1>
<H3>by <A href="mailto:tbrown@plaind.com">Tony Brown/Plain Dealer Theater Critic</A>
<DIV>Thursday May 28, 2009, 1:31 PM</DIV></H3>
<DIV class="EC_photo-center EC_large"><IMG src="http://blog.cleveland.com/onstage_impact/2009/05/large_tupac-shakur.jpg"><SPAN class=EC_byline><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT>Paramount Pictures</SPAN><SPAN class=caption><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT>Thirteen years after his death, Tupac Shakur is one of the best-selling hip-hop <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT>artists of all time.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR><BR></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>CLEVELAND, Ohio -- <A href="http://www.2paclegacy.com/">Tupac Shakur </A>-- the rapper whose life was pocked with <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>violence and police run-ins and whose music was remarkable for its political <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>stances and its personal revelations -- died in 1996. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>But there has been no end to the study of his complex life and speculation about his<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT><A href="http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/tupac.htm">spectacular death</A>. He was shot to death in a drive-by shooting at a Las Vegas <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>intersection in what many suspect was a battle in a larger East Coast-West Coast <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>hip-hop war with New York's <A href="http://biggiesmalls.net/">Biggie Smalls </A>(aka the Notorious B.I.G.).<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>In addition to documentary films and academic theses vaunting his intellectual <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>and social impact, Shakur inspired "Love Poems," a 1997 collection by poet <A href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/173"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/173"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Nikki Giovanni</A>.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Cleveland audiences can get in on this continuing dialogue thanks<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </FONT>to "Before I Die: <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>The War Against Tupac Shakur," a new play by<A href="http://www.karamuhouse.org/"> Karamu Theatre </A>playwright-in-<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>residence Michael Oatman. It begins previews Wednesday at Karamu. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Here are excerpts from a recent conversation with Oatman, 35, a Cleveland native <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>who holds a master's degree from the <A href="http://www.ysu.edu/neomfa/">Northeast Ohio graduate creative writing <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.ysu.edu/neomfa/"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>consortium </A>of Kent State, Youngstown State and Cleveland State universities <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>and the University of Akron. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><STRONG>Q.</STRONG> A lot has been written about Shakur. What's your angle?<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><BR><EM><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><STRONG>A.</STRONG> The play is set during the last three days of Tupac's life, in a penthouse suite in <BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Vegas. I didn't want to tell a full bio, but to take what I call a "keyhole" approach, <BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">looking through a small lens but seeing the bigger picture. Biggie Smalls appears <BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">in a long scene. Tupac had been desperately trying to get Biggie to come to the</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">hotel to bury the hatchet.</FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV><A name=more></A>
<DIV class="EC_photo-right EC_medium"><IMG src="http://blog.cleveland.com/onstage_impact/2009/05/medium_Oatman002.jpg"><SPAN class=EC_byline><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR> </FONT>William Rieter</SPAN><SPAN class=caption><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT>Karamu playwright-in-residence Michael <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT>Oatman, in the Jelliffe Theatre at <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT>Karamu.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR><BR></FONT>
<DIV><STRONG>Before I Die: The War Against Tupac Shakur</STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>When:</STRONG> Previews at 7:30 p.m. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Wednesday, June 3, and Thursday, June <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>4. Opens at 8 p.m. Friday, June 5. Runs <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>through Sunday, June 14. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT><BR><STRONG>Where:</STRONG> Karamu Theatre, 2355 East 89th St., Cleveland. <BR><STRONG>Tickets:</STRONG> $8-$20. Call 216-795-7070 or go click <A href="http://www.karamuhouse.org/">here</A>. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT><BR></DIV></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><EM><STRONG>Q.</STRONG> What makes Shakur such a fascinating character?<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><BR><EM><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>A.</STRONG> If Tupac didn't exist, Shakespeare would have written him. He's so complex. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>He could be despicable and honorable in the same two minutes. And he was <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>the first gangsta rapper to talk about pain and not just about killing people. He <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>had self-doubt. Tupac was not afraid to show weakness onstage. Most rappers <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>are in the super-macho, super-sexy mode. Tupac showed you vulnerability, then <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>self-confidence. You see him sowing the seeds of his own destruction. It's <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>classically tragic. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><STRONG>Q. </STRONG>That's two characters. Others?<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><BR><EM><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>A.</STRONG> Six altogether. Suge Knight, the owner of Death Row Records, Tupac's label, <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>who was with him when he was shot, is a malevolent character, a menacing father <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>figure. And there's a groupie-lawyer, Charlene; an underling, Rome; and a promoter, <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Stoval. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><STRONG>Q.</STRONG> Sounds like a fictional account based on true events.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><BR><EM><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>A.</STRONG> Any story worth telling is worth lying about. Tupac, Biggie and Suge are real people. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>Tupac was in a hotel in Vegas. But I imagine what went on. The other three are made <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>up. But Charlene is the kind of woman he was attracted to. When he wanted to settle <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>down and get to know someone, he tended to like strong females, like Charlene. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><STRONG>Q. </STRONG>What else do you have going on?<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><BR><EM><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>A.</STRONG> I'm working on a play for the youth program at Karamu. And I'm working on another <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>play about Tupac called "Drowning the Flame," about the complicated relationship<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>between Tupac, Jada Pinkett and Will Smith. It premieres June 19 at <A href="http://www.cainpark.com/theater.asp">Cain Park</A>. And <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>I'm going to direct a play, about strong women, at the <A href="http://www.ingenuitycleveland.com/">Ingenuity Festival</A>, July 10-12. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><STRONG>Q. </STRONG>Playwright-in-residence at Karamu sounds like a busy gig . . .<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><EM><BR></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>A.</STRONG> It's great. I've had an office here since October 2007. And it's an open-ended thing. <FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT>I'll be here until they boot me out.<FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>http://www.cleveland.com/onstage/index.ssf/2009/05/tupac_shakur_lives_on_at_karam.html#more
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