PANTHER WOMEN: AN ARMY FOR THE LIBERATION Announced At Cleveland Public Theatre

Cleveland Public Theatre will present Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation, written and directed by CPT's Artistic Associate India Nicole Burton, onstage February 4 through 26 at 7:30pm in CPT's historic Gordon Square Theatre.

According to CPT Executive Artistic Director, Raymond Bobgan, "Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation has a long history of development inside CPT. When India joined staff as a National New Play Network (NNPN) Producer in Residence in 2018, it was an incredibly exciting time and we were already dreaming about this play. A workshop production was slated for Test Flight 2020 and was delayed due to COVID-19. This allowed India to dig deeper into the development process, and CPT produced sold-out houses of two workshop productions: a Zoom performance and an outdoor in-person production as part of CPT's Free Summer Season. After 4 years, we are finally able to share this work with the nation, alongside two incredible partners in Indianapolis and Chicago who are joining us in premiering Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation in the next year."

Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation follows one woman's journey to self-discovery through the stories of three prominent women who were members of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Movement. This high-energy movement piece with poetry, monologues, dance, and song explores the dilemmas, obstacles, and joy of African American Women, chronicling the lifelong pursuit of justice by some of the founding women of the Civil Rights Movement. A choreopoem built upon extensive research and collaboration with a cohort of Black artists, Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation, touches on the core of the human condition and celebrates Black women.

Content Warning: Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation includes explicit language, as well as some words people may find offensive, sexual content or innuendo, and discussion of racism and violence against women.

In partnership with the National New Play Network (NNPN), Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation is produced at Cleveland Public Theatre as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Other partnering theatres are Prop Thtr and Perception Theatre (Chicago), and Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis). For more information, please visit www.nnpn.org.

Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation is supported in part by a "Grants for Arts Projects" award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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