Fredi Walker-Browne Directs KING ALIVE!, Opens 9/26 At Riverside Church

Fredi Walker-Browne, who played Joanne in the original Broadway cast of the landmark musical Rent, will direct KING ALIVE! The People and Music of the Movement, featuring Craig Alan Edwards, a one-night-only event on Saturday, September 26, at 8pm at Harlem's historic Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive.

An uplifting evening of music, song, and powerful reflections, inspired by those who marched and sacrificed alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., KING ALIVE! The People and Music of the Movement, opens in Montgomery, Alabama 1955 with the sound of powerful voices lifted in song and determination. Woven into that musical tapestry are the words of those who worked and struggled at the forefront, and along The Edges of the Civil Rights Movement.

The voice and persona of Dr. King are fully on display in this rousing theatrical adventure, but it's the words of the people-the real letters and profound stories that changed lives and transformed our nation-that ultimately touch the heart. Featuring a chorus of gifted Broadway performers, King Alive! The People and Music of the Movement stirs the soul, sending its audience away exhilarated and energized to continue pursuing the dream.

Writer-director Fredi Walker-Browne most recently directed the new musical, Scandalous People, at the Minetta Lane Theatre this past summer. "Director Fredi Walker-Browne has done superlative work...", says NYTheatre.com. Her involvement with King Alive! began several years ago when she was introduced to the concept by Craig Alan Edwards, the show's co-creator.

Mrs. Walker-Browne commented, "Working on King Alive! just seems natural ... and necessary. U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan recently said, ‘We must never forget the progress that Dr. King inspired in civil rights and social justice, and we must recognize how much work is still ahead of us.' and I couldn't have put it better."

ABOUT Fredi Walker-BROWNE
Fredi is an actress, writer and director. As an actress she garnered an Obie and a Fanny for her work in the smash hit musical RENT which won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. After RENT Fredi went on to play RAFIKI in The Lion King. As a director, Fredi's credits include: Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Laurence Holder's When the Chickens Came Home to Roost and Scandalous People, written by her long-time friend and colleague, Myla Churchill. Fredi is the author of KING ALIVE! The People and Music of the Movement.

ABOUT CRAIG Alan Edwards
Craig is a NY actor, writer and producer who performed in Theatre, TV and Film for over 19 years. He began in Boston, doing local and regional Theatre, TV commercials and film projects. After coming the NYC, his ideas about developing a unique view of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for the stage, coalesced into his current play, The Man in Room 306. Craig's performance company, KING ALIVE, spreads Dr. King's words to audiences across the country, and served as the basis for developing KING ALIVE! The People and the Movement.

ABOUT BIG SPOON PRODUCTIONS
Fredi Walker-Browne created Big Spoon Productions in 1994. Big Spoon's mission is to foster communication between the Creative Spirit and commercialization and cement the relationship between the Artists and the Entrepreneur. Fredi has a great passion for Arts Education and is proud to include several of her vocal students in the cast of KING ALIVE and to support the KIDS FOR KING Initiative

Tickets to King Alive! The People and Music of the Movement are $50 (performance only) and $75 (performance with reception afterwards). Tickets may be purchased by phoning 212-330-7599 or by visiting www.bigspoon.net <http://www.bigspoon.net> . Your tax-deductible ticket for KING ALIVE -The People and Music of the Movement, will go to the VAlley Theatre LEAGUE for the New York production of The MAN in Room 306, coming to the 59 East 59th Street Theatre, January 2010

For more information about King Alive! The People and Music of the Movement or Big Spoon Productions visit www.bigspoon.net.