BLACK HISTORY MONTH.

DANNY GLOVER, RUBY DEE, LYNN WHITFIELD, GLYNN TURMAN, ELLA JOYCE, AMIRI BARAKA AND MORE STARS TO SHINE WHEN NATIONAL BLACK TOURING CURCUIT PRESENTS:
“BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAY FESTIVAL,” FEBRUARY 8 - MARCH 2, 2008
In celebration of Black History Month 2008, Woodie King, Jr’s National Black Touring Circuit presents: “Black History Month Play Festival,” featuring four outstanding historical plays over four consecutive weekends.

It begins with an all star reading of the late, great Ossie Davis's “THE PEOPLE OF CLARENDON COUNTY,” on Friday, February 8 (7:30 PM), Saturday, February 9 (7:30 PM), and Sunday, February 10 (3:00 PM), at Harlem’s historic Schomburg Library (515 Lenox Avenue - at 135th Street).

The stellar cast features Mary Alice, Danny Glover, Reuben Santiago Hudson, Roscoe Orman, Barbara Ann Teer, Glynn Turman and Lynn Whitfield. Hosted by living stage and screen legend Ruby Dee, it will benefit the Ossie Davis Endowment.

The engrossing play had its original reading in 1954 at local 1199 with Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and her late beloved husband Ossie Davis. “THE PEOPLE OF CLARENDON COUNTY” puts focus on a little remembered incident in Clarendon County, South Carolina, when the Board of Education operated on a separate but equal law that its people protested all the way to the Supreme Court. Ironically Davis wrote the play two years before the historic BROWN vs THE BOARD OF EDUCATION Supreme Court case.

Black History Month Play Festival’s second week sparkles with, “A ROSE AMONG THORNS (ROSA PARKS),” written by and starring award winning actress Ella Joyce. Presented in association with Castillo Theatre, hosted by Lenora B. Fulani, and playing at The Harlem School of the Arts (645 St. Nicholas Ave - at 141Street), it runs Friday, February 15 (7:30 PM), Saturday, February 16 (7:30 PM), and Sunday, February 17 (3:00 PM). “A ROSE AMONG THORNS),” directed by Dan Martin, is a critically acclaimed play showing what it must have been like to spend an evening with the, "mother of the civil right movement," Rosa Parks.
Gifted playwright Matt Robinson’s “CONFESSIONS OF STEPIN FETCHIT,” in association with Voza Rivers and The New Heritage Theatre Group, launches week three of the Black History Play Festival at National Black Theatre (2031 Fifth Avenue - between 125th & 126th). Its performances are Friday, February 22 (7:30 PM) and Saturday, February 23 (3:00 PM & 7:30 PM). Starring Roscoe Orman, it delivers insight into why, with so much talent, Stepin Fetchit made Hollywood believe he was the slow-witted, stereotypical person he played on screen, a dilemma that haunts Blacks in Hollywood to this day. Matt Robinson crafted an incredible stage piece for “Sesame Street” star Roscoe Orman’s uncanny portrayal of Hollywood's very first Black Star.

The Black History Month Play Festival climaxes on another high note also at National Black Theatre (Dr Barbara Ann Teer, Artistic Director & Founder). Presented in association with Black Spectrum Theatre (Carl Clay, Executive Director), it is playwright Philip Hayes Dean’s riveting play “PAUL ROBESON,” directed by the incomparable Shauneille Perry, hosted by living legend Amiri Baraka, stage managed by B. Jai Pierce Astwood, starring Kevin Maynor (AUDELCO award winner for the same role in New Federal Theatre’s acclaimed 2006 production), and Cary Gant.

“PAUL ROBESON” is an award winning play that was originally presented on Broadway in the 1977/78 seasons, starring James Earl Jones. In this prime 2008 production, Maynor’s brilliant operatic bass captures the profound resonance of Robeson's great voice. Performances are Friday, February 29 (7:30 PM), Saturday, March 1 (7:30 PM), and Sunday, March 2 (3:00 PM).

National Black Touring Circuit’s “Black History Month Play Festival” is a theatrical experience everyone will appreciate, enjoy and remember.
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GENERAL ADMISSION: $20 / Credit Card Orders: 212-279-4200 or ticketcentral.org
For more information: 212.353.1176 / www.NewFederalTheatre.org