De Shields & Houdyshell Join Suzan-Lori Parks' VENUS Benefit

Broadway actors Andre DeShields and Jayne Houdyshell will star in a benefit reading of Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks' VENUS this Monday March 5th (7:30pm) at Harlem Stage at the Gatehouse. Sponsored in part by Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the rare performance features a post-show Wine Bar hosted by Cape Classics Fine South African Wines. Proceeds benefit The Venus Project Worldwide.

Andre DeShields is the two-time Tony-nominated star of THE FULL MONTY and other Broadway hits. Jayne Houdyshell- nominated for a Tony Award in 2006 for her role as the meddling mom in Lisa Kron'S WELL - currently plays Madame Morrible in the long-running WICKED. Directed by Cynthia Croot.

Hailed as "The Best Play of the Year" by Time Magazine when it debuted in 1996, Pultizer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks' VENUS tells the real-life story of a young South African woman named Sarah Baartman who was trafficked to London in 1810 and exhibited in a Piccadilly freak show as the legendary "Venus Hottentot". When her appeal begins to wane, she is sold to a lonely French scientist who studies her as a medical curiosity, falls in love, and after her death, gains fame for performing an autopsy of his lover's corpse. He then sells her body parts to a French museum, where they sit on public display for nearly 200 years. VENUS received the 1996 OBIE Award for Best Play.

The Venus Project Worldwide convenes acclaimed artists and humanitarians in cities around the world to create theatre and other works of art that increase compassion (diminish brutality) in individuals and communities. With support from artists including Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, Tim Robbins, Kathleen Chalfant, Joe Morton, Hill Harper, Kathy Najimy, Andre DeShields, and Kasi Lemmons, The Project launched with a 9-week residency in South Africa that brought VENUS to 1,000+ audience members in Johannesburg, raised funds for an AIDS clinic in Capetown, and created 30 jobs for American and South African artists.

The event will also feature the world premiere of original music for solo cello by Nioka Workman and video footage from leading South African filmmaker Zola Maseko's award-winning documentary, "The Return of Sara Baartman". Hospitality Sponsors include N Harlem New York, African Classic Encounters Luxury Travel, Caranda Teas and HarlemStage. Tickets range from $50 - $250 and can be reserved by visiting www.venusgiving.org or calling 646-408-3428. Harlem Stage at the Gatehouse is located at 150 Convent Avenue at 135th Street in New York City.

About SUZAN-LORI PARKS

As an undergraduate at Mount Holyoke College, Suzan-Lori Parks studied with the legendary novelist James Baldwin, who urged her to write for the stage. Parks went on to win two Obie Awards (for Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom in 1990 and VENUS in 1996), a "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation in 2001, and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Topdog/Underdog. Her other plays include The America Play, Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, Devotees in the Garden of Love, f-ing A, and In The Blood. Her first screenplay was for Spike Lee's 1996 film, Girl 6. She also worked with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions on Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Great Debaters, a forthcoming film directed by Denzel Washington. In addition, Parks has written several radio plays and the novel Getting Mother's Body. Her 365 Days/365 Plays premiered at dozens of theatres nationwide in November 2006 for a year-long run.