Margo Jefferson Set for If Truth Be Known Talkback, 6/15

Blue Heron Theatre is currently presenting the world premiere of Judi Komaki's If Truth Be Known, directed by Christine Simpson.  The play, a sensitive drama that speaks to issues of race, gender, and class will host Komaki and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Margo Jefferson in a post-performance talk-back following the regular performance on Friday, June 15 at 8:00 p.m.  If Truth Be Known is playing at The ArcLight, 152 West 71st Street (between B'way and Columbus) through June 24.

"As an astute observer of popular culture, Margo Jefferson is keenly aware of the fact that "traditional mainstream theater…consists of playwrights, producers and directors who are largely white, male, middle class and free of physical disabilities" ('Will Theater In Los Angeles Fade to White?' New York Times, August 7, 2005) and that If Truth Be Known — written and directed by two American women of Asian descent — stands out as a relative rarity.  Furthermore, in her incisive book On Michael Jackson, Jefferson notes '...it all starts with looks.'  Given the underlying theme of this play, she will address not only the pernicious impact of class and race but appearance in general," as described in press materials.

Margo Jefferson wrote for The New York Times from 1993 to 2006 and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1995.  Her reviews and essays have also appeared in The Nation, Vogue, Grant Street, The Village Voice, Dance Ink, American Theatre, and Harper's Magazine.  Author Judi Komaki, a professor of psychology, recently retired from Baruch College of City University of New York, is a specialist in issues of discrimination in the workplace.  In addition to If Truth Be Known, she has written two one-act plays, Between a Rock and a Hard Place and Her Hair that have been produced in New York.

The complete remaining schedule for If Truth Be Known through June 24 will be:  Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm with Sunday matinees at 3:00 pm.  There will be one additional performance: Saturday, June 23 at 3:00 pm.  Tickets: $20.00.  Students and seniors:  $15.00.  TDF vouchers accepted.  Tickets for all performances are available at 212-868-4444 (or online at www.smarttix.com).

Photo by Jim Baldassare - James Patrick Earley (as Phillip) and Lydia Gaston (as Max)