Signature's 'First Breeze of Summer' Begins Previews Tomorrow, 8/5

 THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, the first production of Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) 2008-2009 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), will begin previews tomorrow, August 5th. THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, by Leslie Lee and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, officially opens on Thursday, August 21st and continues through September 28th at the Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues).

The cast includes Harvy Blanks (Tabletop), Yaya DaCosta (Honeydripper), Sandra Daley (Defying Gravity), Crystal Anne Dickinson (Tyler Perry's "House of Payne"), Brandon Dirden (Prelude to a Kiss), Jason Dirden (Two Trains Running), Quincy Dunn-Baker (Romeo and Juliet), Marva Hicks (Caroline, or Change), John Earl Jelks (Radio Golf), Tuck Milligan (Book of Days), Gilbert Owuor (The Brothers Size), Brenda Pressley (Dreamgirls), and Keith Randolph Smith (Come Back, Little Sheba) and Tony® and Emmy® Award winner Leslie Uggams.

Tickets are available via signaturetheatre.org or via phone (212) 244-PLAY (7529) and in person at the Signature Theatre Box Office (555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues). As part of The Signature Ticket Initiative, all tickets for THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER are $20.

The production features set design by Michael Carnahan; costume design by Karen Perry; lighting design by Marcus Doshi ; sound design by David Margolin Lawson; arrangements and music direction by Bill Sims, Jr. and casting by Telsey + Company. Winnie Y. Lok is production stage manager.

The original production of THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, directed by NEC founder Douglas Turner Ward, received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play during its 1975 run at Broadway's Palace Theatre.  The show takes place over the course of one sweltering weekend in June, as the struggles of three generations of the Edwards family collide.  Gremmar (Leslie Uggams), the family matriarch, looks back on her past and considers its legacy for her children and grandchildren as they confront the choices that will define their futures.  Leslie Lee's Obie Award-winning play is a timeless portrait of family bonds and coming of age.

Signature Theatre is proud to be presenting the works of the historic NEC. The company has an extensive theatre training program and in its 40 year history has produced more than two hundred new plays. The NEC's distinguished alumni include writers such as Stephen Carter, Lonne Elder, Charles Fuller, Leslie Lee and Samm-Art Williams, and actors Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Esther Rolle and Denzel Washington.

Signature's 2008-2009 season will be an examination of a body of work from the historic Negro Ensemble Company's collective of writers, whose contributions have helped shape America's theatrical heritage.  Ruben Santiago-Hudson will serve as Associate Artist for the season, which will also include Samm-Art Williams' HOME, Charles Fuller's ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, and a staged reading of Douglas Turner Ward's DAY OF ABSENCE.

Through The Signature Ticket Initiative, which seeks to make great theatre accessible to the broadest possible audience, all regularly-priced single tickets ($65) are underwritten and are available for $20 every performance for the entire season, during a show's initial run.  The Signature Ticket Initiative continues through Signature's 20th Anniversary Season (2010-2011).

The Signature Ticket Initiative is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc.  Generous support for The Signature Ticket Initiative is provided by Margot Adams, in memory of Mason Adams.

Support for the Negro Ensemble Company Season is provided by American Express.

2008-2009 Signature subscriptions are currently on sale. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit signaturetheatre.org or call (212) 244-PLAY (7529).

THE 2008-2009 SIGNATURE THEATRE COMPANY SEASON

The First Breeze of Summer
by Leslie Lee
Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
August 5-September 28, 2008

The struggles of three generations of the Edwards family collide over the course of one sweltering weekend in June. Gremmar (Leslie Uggams), the family matriarch, looks back on her past and considers its legacy for her children and grandchildren as they confront the choices that will define their futures. Leslie Lee's Obie Award-winning play is a timeless portrait of family bonds and coming of age.

 
Home
by Samm-Art Williams
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
November 11, 2008-January 4, 2009

Leaving behind his family's farm in North Carolina, Cephus Miles seeks refuge and prosperity in the North. Three actors portray more than twenty-five characters over the course of Cephus's epic journey from adolescence to adulthood, spanning the 1950's through the Vietnam War and Civil Rights eras. Samm-Art Williams' critically acclaimed work is a wonderfully theatrical tale of one man's struggle to stay true to himself amidst a rapidly changing and turbulent America.

 
Zooman and the Sign
by Charles Fuller
Directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson
March 3-April 26, 2009

 A random act of violence leaves Reuben Tate and his family questioning their friends and neighbors, but their once caring community has been scared into helpless silence.  As young Zooman terrorizes the neighborhood from the shadows, Reuben makes a dangerous appeal which may tear their world apart.  This powerful drama by Charles Fuller, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Soldier's Play, depicts the devastating aftermath of violence on a family and an entire community.     

Day of Absence
Staged Reading
Written and Directed by Douglas Turner Ward

Signature returns to the roots of the Negro Ensemble Company with a special staged reading of Douglas Turner Ward's Day of Absence, the seminal 1965 play that inspired the founding of the NEC.

 SIGNATURE THEATRE COMPANY'S NEC READING SERIES
Signature continues to honor and celebrate the Negro Ensemble Company with special presentations of three more plays from the historic NEC repertoire. Curated by NEC Founding Artistic Director, Douglas Turner Ward, Signature Associate Artist, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Signature Theatre Company staff, these plays will be read on stage at the Peter Norton Space on Monday evenings throughout the season. Join us for these rarely performed works and gain greater insight into the history of this vital and ground-breaking company.