CTH Presents ARCHBISHOP SUPREME TARTUFFE Running 6/12-7/19 At Clurman Theatre

The Classical Theater of Harlem (CTH) presents the Off-Broadway premiere of Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe by Alfred Preisser & Randy Weiner, directed by CTH Co-Founder & Artistic Director, Alfred Preisser. Performances will begin June 12th and run through July 19th only at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe is an original play with music, inspired by Moliere's great comic classic and informed by the gloriously unorthodox ministries of Reverend Ike, Daddy Grace, and Rasputin. Set within a fabulously theatrical Harlem Renaissance-era "church", the play explores the outrageously creative criminal mind of the title character through a series of songs, dances, sermons and feats of divine inspiration.

Featured in the cast of Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe will be two-time Tony Award nominee André DeShields (most recently seen opposite Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen in Impressionism), Ted Lange (best known for his role as Isaac the bartender on the TV series "The Love Boat"), Kim Brockington ("Guiding Light," Angela's Mixtape), as well as Jennifer Akabue, Gerron Atkinson, Jabari Brisport, Tyrone Davis, Soneelea Nankani, Gina Marie Rivera, Charletta Rozzell, Lawrence Street, Kisa Willis, and Rejinald Woods.

Alfred Preisser, CTH Co-Founder & Artistic Director, has created a wide and distinguished body of work noted for its physicality, originality, and use of music and dance. His production of Melvyn Van Peebles's Aint Supposed To Die a Natural Death garnered seven AUDELCO Awards including Best Director, and his production of King Lear with André De Shields opened the 75th Anniversary season at The Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. He has created critically acclaimed adaptations of Medea, Electra, and Caligula for CTH. Other projects with CTH include Macbeth, which toured Germany in 2004, Hamlet, Day of Absence, Dream on Monkey Mountain, Romeo and Juliet and Black Nativity, which starred André De Shields, at The Duke on 42nd Street Theater. Randy Weiner's writing credits include The Most Interesting Show in the World, a variety extravaganza (16-city US tour sponsored by Heineken); Stairway to Hell, a heavy metal musical featuring Jim Rose Circus, in Edinburgh, Scotland; Fashion 47, a fashion show inspired, runway spectacle; The Rumble for the Ring, a wrestling rock opera; Caligula (with Alfred Preisser), starring Andre De Shields, for CTH; Best of Both Worlds, a gospel retelling of Winter's Tale; Karaoke of Errors, a comedy set in a karaoke bar; Beacher's Madhouse, a rock-and-roll variety show, at The Hard Rock, Las Vegas; Swimming With Watermelons, a World War II love story set to 1940's popular music (Vineyard Theatre); and The Donkey Show, a disco-version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, that continues to run all over the world.

Since being co-founded in 1999 by Alfred Preisser and Christopher McElroen, The Classical Theatre of Harlem has staged 40 productions, which have included numerous works by Shakespeare, Melvin Van Peebles' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death and Jean Genet's seminal political drama, The Blacks: A Clown Show. The Classical Theatre of Harlem is dedicated to producing theatre that truly reflects the diversity of ideas and racial tapestry of New York City. Their long list of awards includes 6 OBIE Awards, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, a Drama Desk Award and the Edwin Booth Award for Artistic Excellence, among many others. Some of their most recent works include a site specific production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot staged outdoors in the Lower Ninth Ward and Gentilly neighborhoods of New Orleans and Chekhov's Three Sisters featuring Roger Guenveur Smith, Reg E. Cathey, Carmen deLavallade, and Earle Hyman.

The Clurman Theatre is located at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues.

 

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