Eugene Lee Brings EAST TEXAS HOT LINKS To Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company

Outgoing Artistic Director Kenny Leon and Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company are thrilled to present Eugene Lee's East Texas Hot Links from July 16 to August 11, 2019. A few years after this play was originally produced in the early nineties, the nation was shocked by the brutal lynching of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, TX, a small East Texas town. The play itself is set in 1955, but the story continues to resonate as playwright Lee explores how we, as humans, feed off of each other as links in the food chain.

Roy Moore, Columbus, XL Dancer, Adolph, Delmus, and Boochie represent several generations of Black men who regularly gather at Charlesetta's Top O' the Hill Cafe in the piney woods of East Texas-one of the only public places where Black locals can gather for comfort, conversation, and companionship. This hot summer night of storytelling and fellowship soon takes on ominous overtones as rumors of Klan activity begin to bubble up. Things quickly come to a head, and the community must come together to save itself from outside evils, as well as from those within. Both a riveting mystery and a compelling character study reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, East Texas Hot Links is a dramatic exploration of human nature.

East Texas Hot Links garnered a Pulitzer nomination and was winner of the '94 Off Broadway AUDELCO Award for best new play for New York's Public Theatre production. Lee, who penned East Texas Hot Links, will also direct True Colors' production of the play. Nikki Toombs, True Colors' Director of Education, serves as the assistant director for this production.

"This is a moving play about being Black in America," remarked Kenny Leon. "It gives True Colors an opportunity to highlight the work of an African American male artist, whose work, like many other African Americans, is rarely presented on stage. True Colors is committed to presenting African American classics and producing this Pulitzer Prize finalist does just that."

True Colors is proud to support the local arts community with an all-Atlanta cast which features several True Colors' alumni, as well as some new to the True Colors' stage. Wigasi Brant is "Columbus Frye", Gerard Catus (Proof) is "Adolph", Markelle Gay (Holler if Ya Hear Me) is "Delmus Green", Anthony Goolsby is "Roy Moore", Maiesha McQueen (Chasin' 'Dem Blues) is "Charlesetta Simpkins", Cedric Pendleton is "Buckshot", Eugene H. Russell IV (King Hedley II) is "Boochie Reed", and Travis Turner is "XL Dancer".

East Texas Hot Links will be in preview performances July 16 - 18 at 7:30 PM; Opening Night is Friday, July 19, 2019 at 7:30 PM. The show will run through August 11, 2019. Performances during the run are Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Saturday - Sunday at 2:30 PM. There will be 11:00 AM matinees on Wednesday, July 31; and Wednesday, August 7. All performances will be presented at Fulton County's Southwest Arts Center, located at 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA 30331.

Tickets and Season Subscriptions are available by contacting Tickets West at 1.888.479.6300 or www.ticketswest.com, or through the True Colors' website at www.truecolorstheatre.org

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