AAPACT Latest Play, The Amen Corner, is a Three-Act Play That Addresses Themes of the Role of a Church in an African American Family...
and the Effect of a Poverty Born of Racial Prejudice on an African American Community
The Amen Corner cast. Front L2R: Sarah Gracel Anderson (Ida Jackson), Leondra Mitchell (Woman), Yvonne Strachan (Sister Douglas), Jeffery Cason, Jr. (David), Lamar Hodges (Brother Boxer), Toddra Brunson-Solomon (Sister Rice) and Regina Hodges (Sister Boxer). Back L2R: Adrian Bell (Brother Davis), Carolyn Johnson (Sister Moore), Brandiss Seward (Margaret Alexander), Janet "Toni" Mason (Odessa), Hasani Morey (Brother Washington).
Miami-Dade, FL (January 22, 2013) -- The African American Performing Arts Community Theatre (AAPACT) proudly presents its production of The Amen Corner, written by James Baldwin and directed by Teddy Harrell, Jr. The play stars: Brandiss Seward, Janet Toni Mason, Sarah Gracel Anderson, Carolyn Johnson, Regina Hopkins Hodges, Lamar Hodges, Jeffery Cason, Jr., Andre' L. Gainey, Ajia Williams, Yvonne Strachan and Toddra Brunson-Solomon. Featuring: Adrian Bell, Hasani Morey and Leondra Mitchell.
Performances will run from February 20 through March 17, 2013 at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, 6161 NW 22nd Avenue, Miami-Dade, Florida.
For years, Sister Margaret Alexander (Seward) has moved her Harlem congregation with a mixture of personal charisma and ferocious piety. But when Margaret's estranged husband (Gainey), a scapegrace jazz musician, comes home to die, she is in danger of losing both her standing in the church and the son (Cason) she has tried to keep on the godly path. The Amen Corner is a play about faith and family, about the gulf between black men and black women and black fathers and black sons. It is a scalding, uplifting, sorrowful and exultant masterpiece of the modern American theater. The play was produced at Howard University in 1955, and later on Broadway in the mid-1960s.
"A compelling play on faith and the hypocrisy of the church."-- J. Lopez, Goodreeds
SHOW PERFORMANCE TIMES:
Regular evening performances are 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Matinee Performances are Sundays at 3 p.m. Regular Admission is $20.
* Wednesday, February 20 and Thursday, February 21, 2013, AAPACT is offering PREVIEW these Performances at 8 pm. Admission is $10.
* Friday, February 22, 2013 Florida Humanities Council Special Talk Back Nite Performance. Showtime is 8 pm. Admission is $15.
* Saturday, February 23, 2013 Official Opening Performance. Showtime is 8 pm. Admission is $25.
* Sunday, February 24, 2013 Arts Industry/Social Media Friends Performance. Showtime is 3 p.m. Admission is $15.
Remaining Performances are:
MARCH 1 (8pm) $20, MARCH 2 (8pm) $20, MARCH 3 (3pm) $20
MARCH 8 (8pm) $20, MARCH 9 (8pm) $20, MARCH 10 (3pm) $20
MARCH 15 (8pm) $20, MARCH 16 (8pm) $20, MARCH 17 (3pm) $20
Discount Rates for Groups of 10 or More beginning at $15 per person for all shows except the February 23 Official Opening Performance. To RSVP or your seats or purchase tickets call: (305) 456-0287 (Leave A Message); Send an email to: theatre@aapact.com or Visit AAPACT online at: www.aapact.com
About James Baldwin (Playwright)
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was born in Harlem, New York City. He offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and '60s. The eldest of nine children, his stepfather was a minister. At age 14, Baldwin became a preacher at the small Fireside Pentecostal Church in Harlem. In the early 1940s, he transferred his faith from religion to literature. Critics, however, note the impassioned cadences of Black churches are still evident in his writing. Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), his first novel, is a partially autobiographical account of his youth. His essay collections [Notes of a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961), and The Fire Next Time (1963)] were influential in informing a large white audience.
From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France, but often returned to the USA to lecture or teach. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in New York City. His novels include Giovanni's Room (1956), about a white American expatriate who must come to terms with his homosexuality, and Another Country (1962), about racial and gay sexual tensions among New York intellectuals. His inclusion of gay themes resulted in a lot of savage criticism from the Black community. Eldridge Cleaver, of the Black Panthers, stated the Baldwin's writing displayed an "agonizing, total hatred of blacks." Baldwin's play, Blues for Mister Charlie, was produced in 1964. Going to Meet the Man (1965) and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone (1968) provided powerful descriptions of American racism. As an openly gay man, he became increasingly outspoken in condemning discrimination against lesbian and gay people.
About Teddy Harrell, Jr. (Director)
Teddy Harrell, Jr. conceived AAPACT in 1999 and produced its debut production, The Island written by Athol Fugard in 2001. Harrell has produced and directed many of the company's productions including last season's Jelly Belly, Fathers and Other Strangers and Dutchman. As an actor he has been featured in numerous productions in South Florida including AAPACT's The Island, Sizwe Bansi is Dead and Zooman and the Sign.
About the African American Performing Arts Theatre Company
The African American Performing Arts Theatre Company was founded in 1999. The company is composed of local black actors, directors and stage technical professionals who strive to enhance and promote cultural awareness and education through the performing arts to inner city youth and theatergoers in the surrounding Miami-Dade County community. AAPACT is a not-for-profit 501(3) c organization, all contributions are tax deductible.
PRESS CONTACT:
Teddy Harrell, Jr.
African American Performing Arts Community Theatre (AAPACT)
305-456-0287 (office)
786-371-3345 (cell)
theatre@aapact.com
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