FREEMAN IN PARIS To Play United Solo Festival In NYC, 11/21

Freeman in Paris, written and performed by Herb Newsome, will have its New York premiere at the United Solo Festival at the Theatre Row on 42nd street on November 21st at 3pm. The play is directed by Michael G. Rosenthal.

Using video projection and live music played on 5 different instruments (Trumpet, Tenor Sax, Piano, Drums and Upright bass) Herb Newsome transforms into multiple characters to tell the story of trumpeter Carter Freeman and his group of bebop era jazz musicians as they search for freedom in America during a time of struggle. Through testimonials and vivid flashbacks (with multiple characters in one scene) we are transplanted back to an era of jazz where the music was vibrant and the country was gearing up for a major change.

Herb Newsome is an actor, writer and director born and raised in Staten Island, NY. He holds a BA in theater from The University at Albany and a MFA in Acting from Penn State University. He has performed in regional theaters across the country in plays such as A Raisin in the Sun, Fences and Take Me Out to name a few. As a writer his first solo effort In Devil's Heaven was seen at the Manhattan Theater Source in NYC, and his hip hop musical Revenge of a King has been produced at theaters in a number of cities including Phoenix, Cincinnati, New York, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, State College (PA), and was featured at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston Salem, N.C. in 2007 and 2009.

Freeman In Paris was originally produced at the New Horizon Theater in Pittsburgh, PA in February 2009, directed by Michael G. Rosenthal. A performance that critics have described as "A one-man marvel", "Positively Amazing", with "August Wilson-like power".

Freeman in Paris
November 21, 2010
Theatre ROW, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 (between 9th and 10th Ave.)
Directions: Take A,C,E,1,2,3,7,9,N,R,Q,W and S trains to 42nd Street Times Square.

For more information about the festival visit www.unitedsolo.org.

Tickets are $20 on sale beginning September 27, 2010 by calling Telecharge (212) 239-6200 and online at http://unitedsolo.org/UnitedSolo/ufest.html.