Culture Project (Allan Buchman, Artistic Director) has announced that, on the heels of George Packer's critically acclaimed play Betrayed, it will next produce the World Premiere of Lenelle Moïse's EXPATRIATE, a new play with music about race, friendship, art and fame. The play, directed by Tamilla Woodard, with choreography by Nicco Annan, stars Moïse (as 'Claudie') and Karla Mosley (as 'Alphine'). The show begins performances on July 7, 2008 with an Opening Night set for July 16, 2008.
EXPATRIATE is an engaging exploration of black womanhood, friendship, sexuality and freedom, celebrating characters in the spirit of Nina Simone, Josephine Baker and the Hottentot Venus. With only a JamMan loop machine at their feet, real-life rising stars Lenelle Moïse and
Karla Mosley make intricate, haunting and stirring music as they weave the story of singing group Black Venus's rise to fame.
EXPATRIATE tells the story of Claudie and Alphine, two sophisticated and sexy African-American performing artists and longtime sister-friends. Disillusioned by grief, homophobia and the black glass ceiling, they flee to Europe to heal and realize their starved American dreams. In Paris, they support themselves by singing and dancing on the street and quickly rise to infamy and fortune. But as Claudie and Alphine soon discover, stardom comes at a high price.
As part of a special partnership with The Nuyorican Poets Cafe (236 East 3rd St), a multi-cultural community dedicated to artistic empowerment and creative diversity and home to NYC's freshest artists, Culture Project will welcome Nuyorican Slam Poets before performances of Expatriate on Friday and Saturday nights.
Performances are Monday at 8 p.m., Wednesday – Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets for all preview performances are $25 and are $45 for performances beginning July 16. They are available by calling 212-352-3101 or visiting
www.cultureproject.org. Culture Project is located at 55 Mercer Street (at Broome) in the heart of SoHo.
Culture Project's mission is to bear witness to injustice, to stimulate challenging conversation about the most profound and urgent matters of our time and to convert interest, energy and engagement into a motivational demand for progressive change.
Culture Project has premiered celebrated shows including The Exonerated,
Sarah Jones' Bridge & Tunnel, Guantanamo, AMAJUBA: Like Doves We Rise and Lawrence Wright's My Trip To Al-Qaeda and most recently presented Dan Hoyle's acclaimed solo show Tings Dey Happen. They are currently presenting the critically acclaimed World Premiere of
George Packer's Betrayed, through June 16.
