THE GIMMICK Closes at Pegasus Players, 3/28

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Pegasus Players will present the Midwest Premiere of Pulitzer Prize nominee and Obie Award-winning playwright Dael Orlandersmith's The Gimmick. The Gimmick will be performed at Pegasus Players, 1145 W. Wilson Avenue in the O'Rourke Center at Truman College, thru March 28, 2010. 

Starring LaNisa Frederick with direction by Ilesa Duncan, The Gimmick, set in 1968-1970's Harlem, is a journey through the childhood of Alexis; an outsider from a broken family who forges a friendship with fellow outsider Jimmy after discovering their shared excitement for the arts. Alexis' love of literature and Jimmy's passion for painting provide them both with escapes from a life surrounded by abuse, neglect, drugs and prostitution. Their powerful bond elevates them from the ghetto that devastates much of Harlem in their youth and together they weave dreams of becoming artists in Paris. When one falls, the connection that has kept them whole threatens to destroy them both.

"Dael Orlandersmith's use of language is compelling. Through a combination of poetic imagery, unique phrasing and specific pacing, she creates a world that is tangible and authentic," noTed Duncan. "We want to bring the complex beauty of that world to life, allowing audiences a chance to take a journey that is as filled with passion as it is with heartache. No matter what someone's background may be, they'll be able to see a part of themselves in the characters and struggles that Orlandersmith has so meticulously crafted."

Lead actress Frederick will be joined by supporting actors Caren Blackmore and Lecester Reed. The design team for The Gimmick includes Richard and Jacqueline Penrod (set), Diane Fairchild (lighting), Whitney McBride (costumes), Miles Polaski (sound) and Matthew Cummings (props).

The Gimmick was commissioned by McCarter Theatre and premiered on its Second Stage in 1998. In 2006, Orlandersmith won a Lucille Lortel Foundation Playwrights Fellowship. She won an Obie Award for Beauty's Daughter, written and performed at The American Place Theatre. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize Award Finalist and Drama Desk Award Nominee for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play for Yellowman at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2002. She was a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist with The Gimmick in 1999 and won for Yellowman. She first performed her one-woman show Stoop Stories at The Public Theater in 2008 and recently reprised it in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre in 2009 from which it went on to great acclaim at Long Wharf Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop.

LaNisa Frederick (Alexis) has worked in commercials, film, and theater nationally and internationally. She returns to the Pegasus Players stage after her roles in the 22nd Annual Young playwrights Festival. Other theater credits include: Stage Black (Chicago), Doubt (Chicago), No Experience Necessary (Chicago), Letters Home (Chicago), The Exonerated (Chicago), A Street Car Named Desire (Cincinnati), A Winters Tale (London) and Alexander Projekt 1 (London). She is also an artistic associate at MPAACT Chicago. She received her B.A. from Loyola University Chicago and M.A. from University of Essex, England.

Caren Blackmore (Female) Chicago credits include: "I Gotcha" The Story of Joe Tex and the Soul Clan (Black Ensemble Theater; BTAA nomination for Best Featured Actress), Checkmates (eta), The Black History Mystery (Studio One), Blindside (Stockyards Theatre Project), MiLK (MPAACT; Jeff nomination for Actress in a Principal Role/Play), No Place to Be Somebody (The Loop Players) and the 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival (Pegasus Players).

Lecester Reed (Male) will make his Chicago debut with Pegasus Players. Regional credits include Beauty and the Beast at Papermill Theater. Other credits include Joe Turner, In the Blood, The Taming of the Shrew and Fences at McCleod Theatre, where he received a BA in Theater Performance from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

Ilesa Duncan (Director) has worked in Chicago with Victory Gardens, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Rivendell, Estrogen Fest, Writer's Theatre, Arena Stage, and the ALLIANCE THEATRE. Most recent credits include Hope VI (Chicago Dramatists), The Shape of a Girl (Pegasus Players), and A Clockwork Orange (The Theatre School/DePaul). In addition, direction for Pegasus' mainstage includes Jeff nominated tick, tick BOOM as well as Heatwave, Breath, Boom, and Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit. Duncan directed Jeff award-winning productions of Love Child (Theater on the Lake, Chicago Theater Co., and Live Bait Theater), Shakin The Mess Outta Misery and Do Lord Remember Me (Chicago Theater Co.). A member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Lab and Chicago Director's Lab, Duncan is a recipient of a NEA/TCG Directing Fellowship.

Tickets may be purchased by calling 773-878-9761 or online at www.pegasusplayers.org.

About Pegasus Players
For 31 years Pegasus Players has been committed to providing high quality, socially-conscious theatrical programming to the people of Chicago, especially those who have limited access to the arts. Pegasus Players is committed to presenting new and contemporary work that crosses cultural, social, and geographical boundaries and brings communities together by presenting works that provoke conversation. Through programs such as its annual Young Playwrights Festival and international tours of its productions, Pegasus Players has touched the hearts, minds and futures of thousands of people throughout Chicago and around the world. Pegasus Players has received 79 Joseph Jefferson Citations, more than any other theater in its category.

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