Stone, Weaver, Etc. to Launch 'Power' with Benefit, 10/6

The theatrical adaptation of Speak Truth To Power, presented as part of the IMPACT Festival, will play the Culture Project's mainstage theatre space (45 Bleecker Street) Sundays at 7:00 p.m. and Mondays at 8:00 p.m. beginning Sunday, October 15 through Monday, December 18, 2006. 

Adapted from Kerry Kennedy's book by noted playwright Ariel Dorfman (Death and the Maiden) and directed by Terry Kinney (HBO's "Oz"), "Speak Truth To Power is an unforgettable affirmation of the human spirit that chronicles the struggles of 51 activists, including the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Helen Prejean, and many other lesser known people who have been championing human rights the world over," as the show is described in notes.

A core cast of theater veterans, including Carolyn Baeumler, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Megan Byrne, Stephen Kunken, Aasif Mandvi, Lois Markle, Ellen McLaughlin, Charles Parnell, Keith Randolph Smith, and Danton Stone, will be supplemented by a rotating cast of celebrities, which will be announced shortly.

Speak Truth to Power will be launched in a star-studded benefit performance Friday, October 6 at Chelsea Piers featuring Lorraine Bracco, Giancarlo Esposito, Charles Grodin, Matthew Modine, Robin Wright Penn, Gloria Reuben, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, and Sigourney Weaver. In addition, Ethel Kennedy will present the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Ripple Of Hope Award to President William Jefferson Clinton "for his commitment to a more just and peaceful world."

The play by award-winning playwright Ariel Dorfman premiered in 2000 at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. and has toured to over 20 cities in the United States as well as throughout Greece, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Sydney, Helsinki, Rome, Geneva, Seoul, Florence, and Mantua. Plans for the future include performances in Nashville, Paris, Beirut, and Qatar in addition to the New York City run.

Speak Truth To Power is the global human rights initiative founded by Kerry Kennedy and Nan Richardson, which brings people face-to-face with courageous human rights heroes.  "This multifaceted project presents inspiring stories of 51 women and men from over 40 countries who have stood up to oppression at great personal risk in the non-violent pursuit of human rights including demilitarization, children of war, environmental activism, and religious self-determination."  For more information, please visit www.SpeakTruthToPower.org.

Tickets are priced at $20.00 and $40.00 and are available through Ticketmaster by calling 212-307-4100, by visiting www.ticketmaster.com, or in person at the Culture Project box office (45 Bleecker Street at Lafayette).

Visit www.impactfestival.org for more on the IMPACT Festival.