Brandon Mellette News

Innumerable American children and teens are exposed to gun violence at home, in school, in their communities and in the media. In 'Subway Story (A Shooting),' playwright/director William Electric Black means to elucidate the pressures that drive the epidemic in young people. The piece is the final installment of his five-play GUNPLAYS Series, which has dramatized the epidemic of gun violence using differing approaches and theatrical styles. Theater for the New City, which has presented the entire series, will mount 'Subway Story (A Shooting),' its final installment, February 22 to March 18 in its Community Theater.

You can't understand a man, the proverb goes, until you've walked a mile in his shoes. But who, among us, has tasted the paranoia, dread and loss from gun violence that is, shockingly, common to urban high schoolers and their families? 'The Death of a Black Man (A Walk By)' by William Electric Black suggests the experience poetically, using using hip hop verse, chanting, songs and poetry. The audience walks through a variety of uniquely-designed theater spaces and environments suggesting the events before and after a shooting in an urban playground. It's like a day lived with urban gun violence, complete with a candle lit memorial service, police investigations, protests and the actual shootings. This is the third in a series of five plays by William Electric Black, collectively called 'GUNPLAYS,' that address inner city violence and guns. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave (East Village), will present the work June 2 to 19, 2016 directed by the author.  The piece was scheduled for June to support Gun Awareness Month.

Alexander Hamilton, meet Benjamin Banneker.

Year 2015 is the sweet 16th year for the MITF. Prolific producer John Chatterton's brainchild, The Midtown International Theatre Festival - presenting powerful plays and musicals from around the world - is steadily marching toward 20 years as one of the best reasons to come to New York in the summer. This year, the diverse Midtown International will present quality live theater PLUS a series of cutting-edge short works, children's theater, dance productions, one-person shows, cabaret, vaudeville & burlesque style entertainment.

'When Black Boys Die,' written and directed by William Electric Black, is a new drama about a teenage girl's journey as she tries to understand the madness of gun violence that has killed her brother and consumed her mother (and so many other mothers who have also lost their sons to inner city violence). It is the second in a series of five plays by William Electric Black, to be collectively called 'GUNPLAYS,' that address inner city violence and guns. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave (East Village), will present the work tonight, March 5 to 22, directed by the author.

'When Black Boys Die,' written and directed by William Electric Black, is a new drama about a teenage girl's journey as she tries to understand the madness of gun violence that has killed her brother and consumed her mother (and so many other mothers who have also lost their sons to inner city violence). It is the second in a series of five plays by William Electric Black, to be collectively called 'GUNPLAYS,' that address inner city violence and guns. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave (East Village), will present the work March 5 to 22, directed by the author.

Emmy Award-winner William Black brings his writing and directing talents to the New York stage with Theater for the New City's American Star!!! the Musical.

Emmy Award-winner William Black brings his writing and directing talents to the New York stage with Theater for the New City's American Star!!! the Musical.