Photo Flash: Karimah's ACCEPT 'EXCEPT' LGBT NY Begins Tonight at the New Federal Theatre

Woodie King Jr's New Federal Theatre kicks off its 45th season with Karima's Accept "Except" LGBT NY, which will begin performances tonight, October 23rd and continue through November 23rd with opening night set for November 6th. Tony Award winner George Faison directs a cast that features Tuluv Maria Price and Tyree Young. The design team includes Chris Cumberbatch (scenic design), Ali Turns (costume design), Thurston Reyes (lighting design), and Ralph Gentry (sound/visual design). Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

ACCEPT "EXCEPT" LGBT NY is about the struggle for justice in America from slavery to modern day Gay Rights. It tells the story of two twenty-year olds brought together after being chased by angry mobs: a male from the plantation era (18th Century) and a female from the penitentiary era (21st Century). In December of 1865, the 13th Amendment transferred ownership of slaves and involuntary servants from private owners to government entities - from plantations to penitentiaries. The Accept "Except" series: Male, Female, LGBT and others, explores this one exception of the 13th Amendment.

"The initial impetus for the Accept "Except" series was to not just show the parallels between slavery and incarceration, not just to encourage youth to choose freedom over slavery, and, not just to present it all to make it relevant today, but it was also to highlight the humaneness of the characters. Each story is different, just as each segment of the population may find themselves in the 'system' for different reasons; each population segment was historically treated different. Further, the laws today, and the laws of yesterday are different according to state. Therefore, Accept "Except" LGBT NY has a different story than Accept "Except" LGBT Philly; the experiences of the characters in Accept "Except" Male Nashville are not the same as the characters' experiences in Accept "Except" Male Detroit. There were approximately 400,000 slaves in the US in 1860, and as of 2011 there were estimated to be 6,977,700 adult citizens under correctional supervision (probation, parole, jail, or prison). Each of these individuals had/has a different story to tell. Accept "Except" is a vehicle for the telling," said Karimah.

Performances will be Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 2 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM. Tickets will be $25 and can be ordered through www.castillo.org or by phone at 212/941-5800. For more information, visit www.newfederaltheatre.com or call NFT at 212-353-1176.

Photo Credit: Gerry Goodstein