Ordained Minister to Play Dual Roles in LINCOLN, Show Runs Through 8/7

Ordained minister, producer, actor, and stand-up comedian are the credentials held by the performer to take the stage at Lincoln Amphitheatre this summer as Frederick Douglass and Moses.

Allen Edge will move to southern Indiana for the summer from Chicago to act in the second season of the 2010 production of LINCOLN: Upon the Altar of Freedom.

Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist, editor, orator, and statesman. Born into slavery, Douglass's slave owner's wife taught him the alphabet. After he escaped from slavery, he joined anti-slavery organizations and was encouraged to become a lecturer. In 1845, he published his well-known autobiography entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. His endorsement greatly impacted the course of Lincoln's 1864 reelection.
The character Moses is a slave in one of the few fictionalized scenes in the play. Lincoln reaches out a kind hand to him while loading supplies on his flat boat. Moses mistrusts him at first, but in the end of the scene, both have a mutual respect for each other.

Edge's acting credits include performances in Pulitzer Prize playwright August Wilson's The Piano Lesson and Two-Trains Running. Wilson wrote both productions with Edge in mind. He also played Samuel in the 2008 film Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns.

"Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns gave me the opportunity to sit across the table from major talents that I have been watching for decades like Margaret Avery, Angela Basset, and Frankie Faison. It was mind blowing," Edge says.

Edge was the 2006 Black Theatre Alliance Awards Nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical his role in Nina Simone: High Priestess.

Edge owns Transitions Edge Productions, Inc. It is a production house that focuses on the communication of Jesus Christ through the performing arts and media.

Edge has performed at comedic venues including Barrel of Laughs, All Jokes Aside, Jokes & Notes in Chicago, and on Comedy Central's Comic Justice.

He is a member of Actors Equity Association (AEA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and America Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and a member of Toastmasters International.

LINCOLN will take the stage for its second season at 1,500-seat Lincoln Amphitheatre on June 18, 2010, and will run nightly with the exception of Mondays until August 7. The non-profit Lincoln Amphitheatre is supported in part by individual and corporate donations. The "Lincoln's Legacy Lives" fundraising campaign is underway to help fund the second season's production of LINCOLN, a two-act play with music by playwright Ken Jones.

For more information about tickets to LINCOLN, call Lincoln Amphitheatre at 812-937-9730 or visit www.LincolnAmphitheatre.com.

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