FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
Classical Theater of Harlem To Present
September 10, 2004
Classical
Theater of Harlem (CTH), a professional theatre company in residence at The
Harlem School of the Arts, will continue their sixth season with Melvin Van
Peebles’ Tony-nominated musical AIN’T SUPPOSED TO
DIE A NATURAL DEATH, directed by CTH Artistic Director Alfred
Preisser. Performances at the HSA
Theatre (645 St. Nicholas Avenue) will begin on Wednesday, September 29th
for a Friday October 1st opening, and will continue through Sunday,
October 31st.
A
totally unique fiction form, AIN’T SUPPOSED TO DIE A NATURAL DEATH is a
gutsy, lusty narrative of Black street life that explores every aspect of
ghetto agony. Peopled by junkies, whores, pimps, lesbians, drag queens,
sweating workers, crooked cops, prisoners, lovers, and dreamers, Van Peebles'
play is considered a tradition shattering and trend setting work which spawned
the choreopoem, spoken word, and rap music. AIN’T SUPPOSED TO DIE was a
huge hit on Broadway in its original inception, where it was nominated for
seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The score has been re-visited by Mr. Van Peebles and William “Spaceman”
Patterson, who has worked with Mr. Van Peebles many times in the past and will
serve as music director.
Melvin
Van Peebles is best known as the “godfather of independent film and modem black
cinema,” he has also distinguished himself in an impressive list of other
mediums, including the theater, where his work has garnered nine Tony Award
nominations, seven of them for AIN’T SUPPOSED TO DIE. Most
recently, Mr. Van Peebles was the subject of “Baadasssss!”, a docudrama
(directed by and starring his son, Mario) about the making of his seminal film
“Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song”; the DVD will be out on September 15th. His book Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss
Song : A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto (about the making of “Sweetback”) is
being reissued on September 9th by Thunder’s Mouth Press.
The
cast for AIN’T SUPPOSED TO DIE A NATURAL DEATH includes a number of CTH regulars as well as
notable newcomers. Carmen Barika, Ralph
Carter (who played Michael on the 1970’s television series “Good Times”),
Shamika Cotton, Neil Dawson, Rashad Ernesto Greene, Tracy Jack (Trojan Women),
Ty Jones (Macbeth, OBIE-winner for The Blacks), J. Kyle Manzay
(OBIE-winner for The Blacks), Yusef Miller, Lizan Mitchell (Drama Desk
Nominee for Trojan Women), Simone Moore, Nyambi Nyambi, Ron Simons (The
Blacks, Trojan Women), Glenn Turner, Althea Vyfhius, Kendra Ware, and Robyn
Landiss Walker.
The
Classical Theatre of Harlem is a dynamic and unique theatre company dedicated
to producing the classics for a new, young, and culturally diverse
audience. Since 1999, CTH has presented
numerous classic plays, garnered 5 AUDELCO Awards (41 nominations) for
Excellence in Black Theatre, and won five OBIE Awards, off-Broadway’s most
prestigious honor. This year the
company won a Special Drama Desk Award for their work.
AIN’T
SUPPOSED TO DIE A NATURAL DEATH will begin performances
on Wednesday, September 29th, and will continue through Sunday,
October 31st. Performances
will be Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets will be $19. Tickets may be purchased by calling Smarttix
at (212) 868-4444, or online at www.smarttix.com. Photos will be available for download at www.brettsinger.com/clients/cth2004.html.
Ain’t
Supposed To Die A Natural Death
Book, Music and Lyrics by
Melvin Van Peebles
Directed by Alfred Preisser
HSA Theatre, 645 St.
Nicholas Ave. (near 141st Street)
SCHEDULE: Wednesdays
through Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm
Previews: Wednesday,
September 29th and Thursday, September 30th
Opening Night: Friday,
October 1st at 8pm
Through Sunday, October 31st
TICKETS: $19; Call (212) 868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com
240 West 44th Street phone:
(212)575-0263
New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212)575-2240