Harlem9 Celebrates Iconic Black Political Speeches On The Heels Of The Democratic National Convention

On the heels of the Democratic National Convention, Harlem9, the producing collective responsible for the OBIE Award-Winning "48Hours in...Harlem", "48Hours in...El Bronx", "48Hours in...Detroit", "48Hours in...Dallas," "48Hours in...Holy Ground", and most recently, "48Hours in...Baton Rouge" is celebrating Black political speeches by iconic Black leaders in their 14th Annual "48Hours in...Harlem" on Sunday, August 25, at 7 and 9:30 p.m.

The "48Hours in..." festivals bring together six playwrights, six directors, and 18 actors. This year's Harlem playwrights were charged to write a new 10-minute play inspired by the speech of a Black political leader. Speeches were from: Stacey Abrams, Shirley Chisolm, Kamala Harris, , and .

A whirlwind 3-days of play creation will culminate with two live performances on Sunday, August 25, 2024 at 7 PM and 9:30 PM. Participating artists' details are below. Tickets are available at www.harlem9.org. Patrons will be able to purchase for $25 in advance online. Tickets will also be available at the door for $30, CASH is preferred at the door only. The performances will take place at Jacques d'Amboise Center for Learning & the Arts at National Dance Institute for Learning & The Arts, located at 217 W. 147th Street, New York, New York.

The six playwrights are Morgan Barnes-Whitehead, Anthony T. Goss (Liberation Theatre Company, Premiere Stages New Play Fest), ( Award, Winner 47th Annual Samuel French OOB, O'Neill Finalist), kay kemp (3rd Annual Obsidian Theatre Festival), (Princess Grace Playwriting Award, O'Neill Finalist, EST/Youngblood), Sophie Tegenu ( Ashton Prize in Playwriting).

The six directors are: Taylor Blackman (National Broadway Tour of Tina, Raising Kanan - Starz), Daniel Boisrond (I AM SOUL Directing Residency Finalist), amani meliyah (Blackboard Plays, Roundabout Directors Group), (Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man, Trouble in Mind ), (Broadway: Ohio State Murders), Abigail Whitney ("The Boys" - Amazon Prime) .

The 17 actors are: , Michael Bahsil-Cook, (NBT - "blood work", Lincoln Center - "Flex"), Xavier ("Paradise Highway" - STARZ), (Broadway,"Aïda", Parade, Once Upon a Mattress), LeRoy S. Graham III, (TV: Blue Bloods - CBS), (Off Broadway: "Constellations" - WILD PROJECT), Anastasia Locke (TV: NORK, Blue Bloods), Tshiwela Maangani (Strange Courtesies - San Jose Stage), Elijah Maston, Michael Nero (Beautiful, The Musical), Abigail C. Onwunali (Broadway: JaJa's African Hair Braiding - MTC), Maleek Rae (TV: Law and Order), Ahmad K. Simmons, , Jehan O. Young ("The Cotillion" - The Movement Theatre Company).

Belynda M'Baye continues as Stage Manager, and is also an Associate Producer. Harlem9 welcomes Bernard Tarver (Liberation Theatre Company) and as Associate Producers. Both served as Associate Producers for "48Hours in...El Bronx" this past February, along with Dolores Pereira.

In 2019, the OBIE Award-Winning collective succeeded in gaining a national audience when they produced "48Hours in...El Bronx" with Pregones / PRTT, "48Hours in...Detroit" with Detroit Public Theatre, "48Hours in...Dallas" with Shades of Brown Theatre, and "48Hours in...Holy Ground" in Winston-Salem at The National Black Theatre Festival in partnership with NC Black Rep. The collective celebrated their 10th Anniversary with a digital festival in 2020 and forged a partnership with Harlem Stage and the Lortel Foundation for Consequences in 2021.

Since 2011, Harlem9 has commissioned Black playwrights to tell their stories in the annual "48Hours in...Harlem" play festival. For over a decade, the producers have continued to highlight and uplift writers, directors, and actors at various points in their careers, including (School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, Nollywood Dreams, Russian Doll), Brandon (The Mayor, God Friended Me), (Ain't Too Proud-The Life and Times of the Temptations, Skeleton Crew), (Weeds), (Madam Secretary, Gotham), (Good Fight, Evil), (The Neighborhood, FAT HAM) and Benja K. Thomas (Bootycandy, FAT HAM).

ABOUT HARLEM9

Harlem9 is a collaborative producing organization composed of a group of Black theater professionals from various backgrounds whose mission is to produce together, exploring the past, present, and future of black culture, celebrating its rich and diverse history of storytelling. Bryan E. Glover, , Eric Lockley, Jonathan McCrory, and Liberation Theatre Company (Sandra A. Daley-Sharif and Barros) are the producers that comprise Harlem9. For more information, please visit www.harlem9.org

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