The Robey to Present A HEATED DISCUSSION This September

A staged reading of the new play A Heated Discussion will be streamed via Zoom on Sunday, September 5, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. PDT.

The play reunites the creative duo of award-winning playwright Levy Lee Simon (The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel; For the Love of Freedom: The Haitian Trilogy) and acclaimed director Ben Guillory (who is also Co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of The Robey Theatre Company).

A trio of orishas (entities of the spirit world), dismayed at the state of the world today and the fates of African Americans in particular, conjures up the spirits of famous departed Black personalities (among them Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Maya Angelou, Richard Pryor, Tupac Shakur, Nina Simone, and more).

What follows is A Heated Discussion. Viewpoints, comments, and solutions are as diverse as the individuals comprising this combustible mix of personalities.

What do our famous Black men and women (and the spirit entities) conclude? You'll have to witness A Heated Discussion to find out.

The cast includes Raquel Rosser, Jermaine Alexander, Rosie Lee Hooks, Garret Davis, Cydney Wayne Davis, Julio Hanson, Schantelle Cason, Marcus Clark-Oliver, Kimberly Bailey, Toyin Moses, Lorinda Hawkins Smith, Nia McClinton, Dmetrius Conley-Williams, David Bollar, Kaci Hamilton, Ben Guillory, and Crystal Nix.

Producer: Ben Guillory. Video Production/Associate Producer: Jermaine Alexander. Associate Producer: JC Cadena. Stage Manager: Crystal Nix. Music Director: Randy Ross, PhD. Graphic Design: Jason Mimms.

This is a free event. Please register at http://therobeytheatrecompany.org/our-events. After registration, you will be sent a link to attend the event.

The Robey Theatre Company is a nonprofit developmental theatre organization. Please feel free to make a suggested donation of $10 to support our programming at http://therobeytheatrecompany.org/donate.

The virtual performance on Sunday, September 5, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. is your opportunity to get a first look at an exciting new work by an important Black playwright whose work has received critical and audience plaudits on both coasts.

A Heated Discussion is scheduled for a fully mounted stage production by The Robey Theatre Company in April 2022.