   |
CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK PRESENTS PULITZER PRIZE-NOMINATED DRAMA YELLOWMAN, FEBRUARY 11-MARCH 12 (CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park continues its Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre Season with Dael Orlandersmith’s provocative drama Yellowman, a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. The show begins previews on February 11 and continues through March 12. Yellowman is a study of contrasts — between light and dark, rich and poor, love and hate, free will and destiny — played out on country roads and city streets. Alma, a dark-skinned black woman, and Eugene, a light-skinned black man, have been friends since childhood in their small South Carolina town. But as their friendship turns to love, the difference in their complexions raises insurmountable obstacles. A play that is at once heartwarming and harrowing, Yellowman is in part a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, an edgy exploration of racial stereotypes, prejudice and their effects on us all. The New York Times described the play as “a landmark in theatre history … enthralling … mind-altering.” Playwright Dael Orlandersmith has received an OBIE Award and Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award, a Drama Desk Award nomination and was a finalist for both the Susan Smith Blackburn Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her other works include Beauty's Daughter, Monster and The Gimmick, and her plays have been produced at theatres including McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf Theatre and The New York Theatre Workshop, among others. Also an actress, her film and television credits include Hal Hartley’s Amateur, an episode of Spin City and the new film Get Well Soon with Courtney Cox. Ms. Orlandersmith currently is finishing her first novel, a new play commissioned by The Wilma Theater and the screenplay version of Yellowman at Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Two actors, both of whom are making their Playhouse debuts, portray multiple characters in Yellowman. Tamela Aldridge is Alma. Her New York credits include Same Train, The Collard Green: Contributions by Cornbread Divas, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Trojan Women and Medea. A graduate of Howard University and the William Esper Studio, Ms. Aldridge also has appeared regionally at theatres including Luna Stage and Crossroads Theatre Company. Spencer Scott Barros portrays Eugene. He appeared in the Broadway production of The Tempest (directed by George C. Wolfe) and in regional productions of The Venus De Milo is Armed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Death and the King's Horsemen at Syracuse Stage and Ti Jean Blues at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Yellowman is directed by Harold Scott, who last directed the Playhouse’s 2002 production of Blues for an Alabama Sky. From 1972 to 1974, Mr. Scott served as the Playhouse's artistic director, the first African American to head a major regional theatre in the United States. He was a member of the first acting company of The Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, creating roles in the original New York productions of Edward Albee's The Death of Bessie Smith, Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy, Lorraine Hansberry's Les Blancs and Jean Genet's Deathwatch. On Broadway, Mr. Scott directed Morgan Freeman in The Mighty Gents, Elizabeth Ashley in Suddenly Last Summer and Avery Brooks in Paul Robeson. For 20 years, he was the head of the professional MFA directing program at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts and currently is the professor emeritus of theater arts at Rutgers. Other members of the production team include Hugh Landwehr (set designer), Gordon DeVinney (costume designer) and Clifton Taylor (lighting designer). The production stage manager is Jenifer Morrow. Tickets to Yellowman are on sale now. Prices range from $41.50-$50.50, depending on day and seat location. All tickets are $34.50 for the preview performances at 5 p.m. Saturday, February 11; 7 p.m. Sunday, February 12; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 14; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 15. The official opening night is Thursday, February 16 at 8 p.m. Any unreserved tickets are half-price every day when purchased between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the day of the show (for performances Tuesday through Saturday) and from 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available. For tickets to Yellowman or for more information, call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 or toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800/582-3208. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility. For single tickets purchased by telephone through the Playhouse box office there is a $3 convenience fee per call. Tickets also can be purchased on the Playhouse web site at www.cincyplay.com. Artists fly to and from Cincinnati on Delta Connection Comair, the Playhouse’s official airline. The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to the Fine Arts Fund. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati. |
|
Meet the Artists 2 p.m. Sunday, February 19 Dining Options Karlo's Bistro at the Playhouse offers full-service dining prior to most evening performances. Dinners include salad, entrée and dessert. Reservations are required by noon on the day of the show. The price is $21, which does not include gratuity. Karlo's Casual Fare offers busy theatre patrons an alternative light, quick bite prior to the show. Options include salads, sandwiches, soups, pasta and desserts. No reservations are required. Sponsors Production Sponsor: Design Sponsor: Fine Arts Fund Partner: The 2005-2006 Shelterhouse Theatre Series is presented by The Shelterhouse Season Design Sponsor is ### |
