By Emma F. Caro
Described by Time as “a writer whose work transcends category” and by The Boston Globe as a “cunning storyteller concerned with the more profound mysteries of American lives," best-selling author Walter Mosley is one of the most prolific writers today. His hip and inventive first-ever play, The Fall of Heaven, will receive its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park as part of the 50th Anniversary Season.
Executive Director Albert Pyle at the Mercantile Library thinks that Walter Mosley is one of the most widely read crime writers because he's carved out his own corner of the genre. “I think it's very significant that the Playhouse is considered to be a very good place to try out a new work. It reflects well on both audience and management,” said Pyle.
According to Pyle, “I will be very pleased to see this production at the Playhouse because it will call attention to Mosley's crime fiction and because Mosley's not limiting himself to novels. Novelists should be able to write plays without much fuss and essayists should be able to write screenplays.”
Walter Mosley has written more than 25 critically acclaimed books that have been translated into 21 languages, including Devil in a Blue Dress, which was made into a feature film starring Denzel Washington. He is the author of the bestselling Easy Rawlins series of mysteries and has received numerous awards and honors for his work including the O. Henry Award, a Grammy and the “Risktaker Award” from the Sundance Institute. Mosley has also been recognized for the way he addresses race in his writing, winning the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.
Though he may be best known for his mystery novels (and his status as one of Bill Clinton’s favorite writers), Walter Mosley has achieved success in the literary worlds of science fiction and non-fiction and has been published in The New Yorker, GQ and Esquire. His latest book, The Long Fall, has received widespread acclaim.
Based on his novel The Tempest Tales, The Fall of Heaven is about Tempest Landry, a street-wise young man living in Harlem, who accidentally gets shot and unexpectedly finds himself at the Pearly Gates. When Saint Peter orders him to hell, the quick-witted Tempest refuses to go, believing he was justified in his actions saying he did them for his family, friends and love.
Due to the fact that no one has ever questioned Saint Peter’s judgment before, a technical loophole forces Heaven to send Tempest back to Earth with an angel named Joshua to keep him out of trouble. However, now the fate of the afterworld lies in Tempest’s hands: if he refuses to see the error of his ways, Heaven will collapse thereby allowing hell and its keeper to reign supreme.
According to Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern, “Walter loves theatre and wanted to do a play for years and transformed The Tempest Tales, a novel of his, into a play. The subject matter, the material, the characters and the language are all absolutely unique to Walter. So for me to have our audiences be the first to see this celebrated author now writing on stage was really quite significant.”
Stern thinks that the audiences seeing the production will be in for a roller coaster ride of a totally different kind of play than ever before. “They’re in for a totally unique story. I think they’re going to in love with some of these characters. Tempest and Angel are just really two terrific roles and they’ll love Bronwyn, the love interest for both men. In addition, from the cast to director Marion McClinton and Set Designer David Gallo and all these people coming together – that’s an opportunity to create really great theatre,” he said
The Fall of Heaven takes an intriguing look at good versus evil and what it means to be human.