Zora Neale Hurston News

New Georges (Susan Bernfield, Artistic Director; Sarah Cameron Sunde, Associate Director), the OBIE Award-winning downtown theater company founded in 1992, and Hip-Hop Theater Festival will present the premiere of OBIE Winning Actress/Pulitzer-nominated playwright Eisa Davis' 'ANGELA'S MIXTAPE,' directed by Liesl Tommy. Ms. Davis who was recently seen on Broadway in last season's award-winning musical Passing Strange will portray herself and Linda Powell, last seen on Broadway in the Tony-nominated revival On Golden Pond, will portray her aunt, professor and activist Angela Davis. 'ANGELA'S MIXTAPE' will be performed at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street (between Spring and Broome Streets). Previews begin Monday, April 6, and the official Opening Night will be Thursday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. Performances will run through May 2.

Named one of Time magazines ?100 Innovators for the Next New Wave,? playwright Suzan-Lori Parks will speak at Vassar College on Monday, April 6. The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 6pm in the second floor of the Students? Building. A question-and-answer session will follow the hour-long lecture.

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

25 to Life Productions, LLC will present 'FOR FLOW,' AN ALMOST-BECKETT HIP-HOP MUSICAL PLAY, a hip-hop Vladimir-and-Estragon play, at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (at East Tenth Street), Manhattan, from November 6 to 23.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced today that it received a substantial three-year grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch the first Public Theater Master Writer Chair position.

25 to Life Productions, LLC will present 'FOR FLOW,' AN ALMOST-BECKETT HIP-HOP MUSICAL PLAY, a hip-hop Vladimir-and-Estragon play, at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (at East Tenth Street), Manhattan, from November 6 to 23.

T' Keyah Crystal Keymah (That's So Raven, Cosby, In Living Color) and Ella Joyce ( TV's Roc and Guest appearances on Seinfeld, My Wife and Kids) will perform in the 1st Annual Aurora Jacksonville Black Arts Festival.

Some of South Florida's finest actors including Loureleen Snedecker, Patti Gardner, John Van Dalen and Justin Sims will bring the written word to life, when West Palm Beach's only resident professional theatre, Palm Beach Dramaworks, presents scenes from Kim Edward's book 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter,'as part of the county-wide 'Read Together Palm Beach County: One Book One Community' program on May 15th (5:30PM) at the Harriet Himmel Theater at City Place. This one-time-only performance will feature scenes adapted and staged for the program by Mark Lynch with J. Barry Lewis as dramaturge.

National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) will hold its Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit on Monday, April 14 at New York's Cipriani's Pegasus (30 Rockefeller Plaza).

The resilience of the human spirit links the trio of tales with music featured in Tony Award-winning playwright and director George C. Wolfe's stage production Spunk, playing at Northwestern University in February. The show's characters persevere by their wit, willpower, tenacity and love.

Transforming such a momentous story into a staged musical, as bookwriter Marsha Norman has done with The Color Purple, could not have been an easy task. What has ended up on stage more closely resembles a Disney spin on history, rather than a gritty realization of historical abuse. Yet, it strikes a soulful chord with a gospel and jazz aged sensibility, giving the musical an otherwise absent poignant heartbeat.

Gabriel Majors is proud to present Red House Records recording artist and NYC bluesman, Guy Davis, in a special benefit concert for Kids Against Cancer. The benefit will be held Saturday, November 10 at Icosahedron Gallerie in Tribeca (27 North Moore Street, between Hudson and Varick Streets). The artists reception begins at 6:30 PM; concert begins 7:30 PM. Suggested Donation: $20. The concert will feature special guest hosts and performers Michael Butler and Jeff Samet of The Brooklyn Guitars.

In the conclusion of BWW's series on groundbreaking women in theater, Rashad sounds off on many subjects...but not her history-making Tony triumph last season.