ROBESON opens at the Blue Heron Arts Center in May

In the mid 1930s, one of the most famous black entertainers in the world was Paul Robeson, who won raves for his performance of Othello in London as well as on Broadway in Showboat; not to mention his European concert tours. But behind the entertainment was a man enraged at the prejudices suffered by his race in America which, in his eyes, was far behind other civilized countries in the treatment of people of color. Miriam Jensen Hendrix's dramatic play ROBESON explores the passion and anger behind this man and how the changing times and his own single-mindedness ultimately conspired against him - to the point where he's been largely forgotten by today's world. Directed by Keith Oncale, ROBESON will begin performances at the Blue Heron Arts Center at

In 1936, after many years of living abroad, Robeson returns home to the States to work on the film version of Showboat. However, he is just as eager to talk about his time overseas where, in his opinion, Negroes enjoyed much more freedoms than they did in the United States. A major object of his admiration is The Soviet Union, which he feels is the societal model that the U.S. should emulate. Robeson freely gives these opinions to the press, despite pleas from his wife and friends to tone down the rhetoric. As time goes on, the rise of the Cold War between the United States and the USSR ultimately turns the American people against him. Things weren't helped by Robeson's own political incorrectness of the time (he was a notorious womanizer). Eventually, Robeson finds himself called before the House Un-American Activities Committee - setting the stage for a dramatic showdown.

The production stars Ezra Knight* as Paul Robeson. Knight's most recent New York stage appearance was in Coriolanus with Theatre for a New Audience. Other theatre work includes Cymbeline (Drama Desk Nomination), Julius Caesar, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet. The rest of the ROBESON cast includes Roy Bacon*, Annmarie Benedict*, Tom Cappadona, Korey Jackson*, Abena Koomson*, Bruce Kronenberg*, Robert Lydiard*, John Marino*, Vince Phillip*, Tyrone Robinson* and Ronald Wyche*. This production is an Equity Showcase

ROBESON marks playwright Miriam Jensen Hendrix's third New York premiere. Her work The Should, the study of a South American politician in conflict with the Catholic Church, opened in May, 2002 at the Phil Bosakowski Theatre. In October 2004, her comedy When Aunt Daphne Went Nude played for a limited engagement at the Mint Theater, where it was reviewed by nytheatre.com as "table-turning, mind-bending, most unusual", and by TheaterMania.com as taking "Coward and company to task . . . like the clueless society prudes whom they ridiculed."  A native of Chicago, Ms. Hendrix is the author of fifteen plays, as well as several novels and screenplays.

Director Keith Oncale worked with Firedrake Productions on their world premiere of Ring Lardner Jr. and Dalton Trumbo's The Fisherman of Beaudrais in 2003. The Founding Artistic Director of Actors Stock Company NYC, he most recently helmed their Off-Broadway premiere of When Aunt Daphne Went Nude. He directed the company's Mind the Gap last summer for the Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York and at Culture Park in Massachusetts. Other ASC/NYC credits include The Shroud, Breathing Room, Noodling, Heaven, Circus of Infinite Attractions, 10:10, Cozi sa Wala, The Black and White, Victoria Station and A Slight Ache. He also directed The Faith Healer, In the Parlance (OOBR Award) the premiere of Playboy Stories: A Fine Son, The Tempest Project and Elvirad.

ACTORS STOCK COMPANY NYC continues to fulfill its mission by encouraging new work and viable opportunities for actors. Most recently, ASC NYC presented Mind the Gap at the Brooklyn Working Artists Coalition in November of last year and The Roar of Waterfalls, a Meditation on the Psalms, a performance piece featuring poets, dancers, singers and musicians at the West End Theatre. They also presented the Off-Broadway run of Miriam Jensen Hendrix's The Shroud. As part of the Six Figures Artists of Tomorrow Series, ASC NYC produced two plays by Vicki Caroline Cheatwood; Cowgirl Chronicles, in September 2002 and 10:10 in October 2001. In the spring of 2001 ASC NYC presented Pinter Pieces: The Black & White, Victoria Station and A Slight Ache to sold-out audiences at the Producers Club. In August of 2000, ASC NYC presented its inaugural production, COZI SA WALA: MAGIC WORDS as part of the New York International Fringe Festival.

ROBESON will be performed from April 14th - May 1st at the Blue Heron Arts Center, located at

ROBESON shines a light on an often-overlooked figure in the struggle for civil rights. A man who, despite all his trials, never forgot who he was or where he came from and never lost his dignity.