African American Repertory Theater Continues 2020 Season With BREATH & IMAGINATION In New Resident Theater Home

African American Repertory Theater (AART) presents the regional premiere of Breath & Imagination, The Story of Roland Hayes, a musical by Daniel Beaty. We are thrilled to announce that the musical will be performed at AART's new resident theater home in downtown Dallas - the Performance Hall at El Centro Community College, 801 Main Street. This is the first of three plays for the remainder of our 2019/2020 season (please see below).

Before Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, there was Roland Hayes, the first world-renowned African American classical vocalist. The son of a former slave, Roland discovered his voice as a young boy singing spirituals in church. This musical, chronicles his amazing journey from a backwater village in Georgia to singing before kings and queens in Europe - his life through words, classical music, movement and spirituals. Breath & Imagination explores one man's determination to be an artist despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

AART's presentation of Breath & Imagination is directed by Regina Washington with musical direction by Scott A. Eckert. Its all-star cast includes Malcolm Beaty as Roland Hayes, Denise Baker as Angel Mo' and Scott A. Eckert as accompanist and all other characters.

Breath & Imagination opens on Friday, February 7th, and runs through Saturday, February 29, 2020, in the Performance Hall on the campus of El Centro Community College in downtown Dallas on 801 Main Street. Shows are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 - $30.

AART Upcoming Productions in 2020

1. In February, Breath & Imagination, a Musical by Daniel Beaty:

   Before Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, there was Roland Hayes, the first world-renowned African American classical vocalist. This musical, chronicles his amazing journey from a backwater village in Georgia to singing before kings and queens in Europe - his life through words, classical music, movement and spirituals.

2. In April, The Bluest Eye Adapted by Lydia R. Diamond:

   AART pays tribute to Toni Morrison on the 50th anniversary of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author's acclaimed debut novel, The Bluest Eye. The play takes us on a journey with Pecola, a young African American girl in 1940's Ohio, who believes everything in her world would be made wonderful if only she had blue eyes. Enthralling, beautifully written and incredibly emotional, The Bluest Eye asks powerful questions concerning racism, beauty and identity with stunning grace and subtlety.

3. On Sunday June 14, spell#7, by Ntozake Shange, a staged reading as part of the national Project1VOICE at the Hall of State in Fair Park:

   Spell #7 is a striking choreopoem by the late American playwright and poet, Ntozake Shange. This play is set in a bar in St Louis frequented by black artists and musicians. In a series of dreamlike vignettes and poetic monologues, they commiserate about the difficulties they face as black artists.

AART is an award winning theater founded in 2007 by Dallas-area actors: stage and screen legend Irma P. Hall, Vince McGill and Regina Washington. AART offers local audiences the experience of theater that explores and deepens insights into what African American lives reveal of human nature and the human spirit.

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