Orlando Shakespeare Offers Pay-What-You-Will Performance of RACE, Today

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF continues its efforts to make theater affordable and accessible to every member of the community by offering its inaugural Pay-What-You-Will performance in conjunction with David Mamet's Race on Friday, November 2 at 8 p.m.

Race has sparked heated debate within the theater community, online boards, and press about gender and racial equality in the workplace and beyond. Inspired by this debate, Orlando Shakes is excited to widen the community conversation and introduce new theatergoers to this controversial and captivating piece by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Mamet. Pay-What-You-Will tickets are available on the day of the performance at the Orlando Shakes Box Office window only (812 East Rollins Street) starting at 12 p.m. and will be distributed on a first come basis. Tickets are limited to two per person. No refunds or exchanges.

Race begins as a crime mystery, as two high-profile lawyers-Henry (Keith Hamilton Cobb) who is black, and Jack (Richard B. Watson) who is white-are called to defend a wealthy white client Charles (Jim Ireland) who is charged with the rape of an African American woman. The client admits that he was intimate with his accuser but vehemently denies the charges of rape, insisting that the sex was consensual and that he and the woman were in love. As the two lawyers mull over the potential pitfalls in accepting the case, they enlist the help of their new associate, Susan (Stella Heath), a black woman in her 20s. In the lawyers' struggle to find the truth, their own prejudices are exposed, and they quickly discover that present-day racial and gender politics are as complex as the case in front of them.
Race continues through November 11, 2012 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street, Orlando, FL). Tickets for remaining performances, priced at $16-$40, are on sale now at (407) 447-1700, online at http://orlandoshakes.org, and in person at the Box Office located inside the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 East Rollins Street in Orlando's Loch Haven Cultural Park.

Race is made possible by CliftonLarsonAllen. Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF is supported by United Arts of Central Florida with funds from the United Arts campaign and by State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council.