Roger Ebert Musical Tribute Begins Tonight at Chicago's Black Ensemble Theater

The Black Ensemble Theater presents a musical inspired by renowned Chicago film critic Roger Ebert as part of its 2015 season.

Written and directed by Jackie Taylor, THE BLACK WHITE PLAY (HONORING THE MEMORY OF ROGER EBERT THROUGH MUSIC) will run tonight, September 19, through November 1, 2015.

Ebert was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. He was also the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975. The writer also published more than 20 books and hosted several film review TV series alongside fellow critics Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper.

Also on board for BE's 2015 season is a world premiere play by Edwin Gardner, titled THE TRIAL OF MOSES FLEETWOOD WALKER, which is centered on Toledo Blue Stockings' Walker, the first African-American major league baseball player.

The Black Ensemble Theater will also present the musical SOUNDS SO SWEET, written and directed by Rueben Echoles, A TRIBUNE TO THE INCOMPARABLE BILL WITHERS by Daryl Brooks, and the final selection of the season -- DYNAMITE DIVAS -- Jackie Taylor's long-running tribute to Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, Beyonce and more.

Black Ensemble Theater (BE), Founded in 1976 by the phenomenal actress, producer, and playwright Jackie Taylor, has grown from a small community arts organization to a vibrant nationally and internationally renowned arts institution. A leader and innovator in the African-American and mainstream arts communities, Black Ensemble Theater is recognized as one of the most diverse theaters in the country, producing excellent musical theater. On November 18, 2011, BE celebrated the Grand Opening of the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, the theater's first permanent home located at 4450 N. Clark Street, in the heart of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.