'Emergency' Extended Until June 1st At Geffen Playhouse

Playwright, performer and activist Daniel Beaty has been creating a community-wide buzz with his acclaimed one-man show Emergency that has enabled the Geffen Playhouse to produce a special week-long extension aimed primarily at Title I public schools (three additional performances will also be added for the general public).  The production will now close at 2pm on Sunday, June 1.

Since the opening of Emergency, teachers and administrators have been contacting the theater, ultimately creating a waitlist of more than 5,000 students.  After seeing the strength of the production firsthand, community members and organizations – including Annenberg Foundation, LA County Supervisor Yvonne Burke, Creative Artists Agency, Fred Hayman Family Foundation, HBO, Los Angeles City Councilman Don Knabe, Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, Cynthia Stafford, LA County Supervisor Zev Yarovslavsky and Bud Yorkin – have donated funds enabling more than1500 students to attend special performances of Emergency at absolutely no cost to them.   In addition to providing tickets, the Geffen Playhouse provides transportation to and from the theater as well as comprehensive teacher workshops the week before the students attend the theater.

Emergency artfully blends comedy, music, slam poetry and social consciousness as Beaty fluently transforms into more than 40 characters throughout the course of the show, each reacting to a single awe-inspiring event: a slave ship has risen out of the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty.   The juxtaposition of these two politically charged symbols sends New Yorkers into a whirlwind of emotion, exploration and ultimately, inspiration, as Beaty embodies his characters – a Republican business executive, a park-dwelling vagabond, a distinguished college professor, a "slavologist," a precocious child – with authenticity, passion and humor.

"The ultimate message of Emergency is that we have to come together as a society in order to create a better world, and perhaps no one understands the urgency of this message better than young people," said writer/performer Daniel Beaty.  "This work tends to speak to students in a vibrant way that I hope will encourage them to actively work to bring communities together."

EXTENSION SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, May 27         10:30 AM         SPECIAL STUDENT MATINEE

Wednesday, May 28    10:30 AM         SPECIAL STUDENT MATINEE

Thursday, May 29        4:30 PM           SPECIAL STUDENT MATINEE

Friday, May 30             8:00 PM           Tickets on sale now

Saturday, May 31        8:30 PM           SOLD OUT

Sunday, June 1            2:00 PM           Tickets on sale now (closing performance)

Actor, singer, writer, and composer Daniel Beaty has worked throughout the US, Europe, and Africa performing in all media; from television to solo concerts to theatrical productions to opera including performances at The White House, The Kennedy Center in tribute to Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, and The Apollo. In the fall of 2006, Daniel completed a highly acclaimed sold out extended run of his one man play Emergency off-Broadway at The Public Theater. Awards include the 2007 Obie Award for Outstanding Writing and Performance, 2007 Scotsman Fringe First Award, 2007 Lamplighter Award, 2006 Culture Award, 2006 Everyday Freedom Hero Award. Daniel is also the 2004 Grand Slam Champion at the world famous Nuyorican Poet's Café and The Fox Networks National Redemption Slam Champion. Daniel's writings and compositions have been performed at The Public Theater, Brooklyn Academy Of Music (BAM), New York Theater Workshop, La Mama, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Yale University, The NAACP National Convention, The SCLC National Convention, and various other venues. His show Emergency has been reviewed as a "brilliant, spellbinding performance" by the Amsterdam News and "a dazzling 90 minutes, full of memorable moments; intense, hilarious" by the New York Times.  He has been awarded the 2007-08 AETNA American Voices Playwright-in-Residence position at Hartford Stage.

Charles Randolph-Wright (Director)

Charles Randolph-Wright recently wrote and directed the film MAMA, I WANT TO SING (based on the legendary stage musical and starring Lynn Whitfield, Ciara, Patti LaBelle, Hill Harper, Juanita Bynum, Ben Vereen and Billy Zane).  For the theatre in Los Angeles, Charles wrote BLUE (starring Phylicia Rashad, Diahann Carroll, and Clifton Davis) and CUTTIN' UP (based upon the best selling book by Craig Marberry) both at the Pasadena Playhouse. His directing credits include THE DIVA IS DISMISSED (starring Jenifer Lewis) at the Hudson, HOMEWORK (starring Kim Coles), AGENCY, and THE TRAGIC AND HORRIBLE LIFE OF THE SINGING NUN (at the Coast Playhouse), CABARET VERBOTEN (Mark Taper Forum), and the national tour of GUYS AND DOLLS.  Other theatre credits include productions at Arena Stage, the Roundabout Theatre, Lincoln Center, Williamstown, New York Shakespeare Festival, New York Theater Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, Carnegie Hall, ALLIANCE THEATRE, ACT, and Broadway. His new play THE NIGHT IS A CHILD most recently premiered at Milwaukee Rep. Charles is an honor graduate of Duke University where he was an A.B. Duke Scholar and a pre-med student. He studied with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and the Alvin Ailey School in New York City. Charles is an associate artist at Arena Stage and the American Conservatory Theater, serves on the Board of Directors of the Roundabout Theatre, the artistic board at Duke University, and is a founding member of the Wright Family Foundation of South Carolina. Charles established the workshop series "Different Voices" at the Roundabout and "Create Carolina", a new arts festival at Winthrop University in South Carolina.

 TICKET INFO

Tickets ($35 to $79) are on sale now at the Geffen Playhouse box office, online at GeffenPlayhouse.com, via credit card phone order at 310.208.5454, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.365.3500.

Student rush tickets are available one hour prior to curtain for $15.

 
ABOUT THE Geffen Playhouse

Awarded the Preservation Award by the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Award of Excellence from the Society of American Registered Architects, and the Architectural Award of Excellence by the Los Angeles Business Council for its acclaimed 2005, $19 million renovation, the Geffen Playhouse begins its 12th season in 2007/2008, enjoying its stature as a leading West Coast theater company and the crown jewel of Los Angeles theater. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its eclectic mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who donated one of the largest gifts ever made to an already-constructed theater, the company is headed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert (Gil) Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney and Managing Director Stephen Eich, and has produced eight world premieres, four Tony, four Pulitzer, and seven Obie-award winning shows in its 12 season history. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, please visit geffenplayhouse.com.
 

Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles (Westwood), CA 90024
310.208.5454
www.geffenplayhouse.com

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