LITTLE ROCK to Receive New York Premiere at the Sheen Center

Today the New York premiere of Little Rock was announced, written and directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj. Performances are set to begin Wednesday, May 30, 2018 for a limited run through September 8, 2018 at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street). Opening Night is set for Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 7:00PM. Cast and creative team will be announced shortly.

Little Rock tells the riveting true story of the Little Rock Nine, the first black students to attend their city's formerly segregated central high school three years after the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ruled separating students based on race was unconstitutional. What began as their quest for a better education soon became a national crisis, igniting the passions of a divided country and sparking a historic fight for justice in the Jim Crow south. On the cusp of the Civil Rights movement, a changing world watched as these nine children from Arkansas battled for their rights, armed with only a book and pencil. At once harrowing and hopeful, Little Rock brings urgently to life The Nine's untold personal stories of challenge and resilience, conjuring memories of America not so long ago. From writer and director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, this deeply moving play honors the bravery of these young heroes and asks audiences: Would you have had the courage?

"What do you believe? What do you stand for? Which side are you on? These three questions sit at the very heart of Little Rock," stated playwright Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj. "Little Rock bears witness to the triumphant crusade and quest of The Little Rock Nine and the citizens who helped move our nation towards becoming a more perfect union. Out of their bravery and the tenacity, my play shines a light on the optimistic portrait of a town and a people that were challenged and changed by one of our country's most tumultuous events."

Little Rock received a developmental production as part of the 2011 New Works Festival at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California. It went on to receive a production in 2014 at Passage Theatre in Trenton, NJ where it won the 2015 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

"History books can never fully account for what happened to The Little Rock Nine during the 1957-1958 school year," shared Harvey Butler, producer. "After 60 years since 'The Crisis,' in Little Rock, the unrequited heroism of those nine teenagers is deserving of both illumination and examination on center stage. I want to honor these American heroes and spark a movement to challenge the nation to return to the pursuit of academic excellence for all of its citizens. If we do this, we can say we did our part in helping make this divided nation become one -- with liberty and justice for all."

Little Rock will play the following performance schedule: Tuesdays - Thursdays at 7:30PM, Fridays at 8:00PM, Saturdays at 3:00PM & 8:00PM, and Sundays at 3:00PM & 7:00PM. Please note: There are special added performances on Monday, June 4, and Monday, July 2 at 7:30PM. There will be no performances on Saturday, June 2 (afternoon), Thursday, June 7, and Wednesday, July 4.

Tickets for Little Rock, NOW ON SALE are priced from $39 - $99, with Premium Seats priced at $119 - $125, and Student Tickets at $25, plus $2 facility fee & $6 convenience fee per ticket. Tickets may be purchased online at www.littlerockplay.com or at the Sheen Center Box Office (18 Bleecker Street, Monday - Friday 11:00AM - 5:00PM, and one hour prior to every performance), or by calling the Box Office at (212) 925-2812. All Group sales orders must be submitted directly through The Sheen Center Box Office. No paper orders will be accepted for Little Rock; only orders placed via email through boxoffice@sheencenter.org will be considered. For additional information, please visit the website at www.littlerockplay.com.

Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj (Playwright/Director) is an Indo-Afro-Caribbean American artist, educator and activist. As a playwright, Maharaj has authored several plays, including Little Rock (2015 Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play, TCG/NEA New Generations Grant); Daisy, inspired by the life and legacy of Daisy Lee Bates; and Hansberry/Baldwin (Semi-Finalist for the Eugene O'Neil Playwright Festival). Other commissioned work includes: Diss Diss and Dis Dat, a new hip hop musical inspired by the music of the Funkie Natives; Grey and Twenty-Five; Black Footnotes (Sloan Grant/Ensemble Studio Theater) and Children of the Dream. Co-written and co-conceived work: Sweet Lorraine; The Ballad of Trayvon Martin; Mother Emanuel, An American Musical Play (winner of the 2016 NY Fringe Overall Excellence Award for Musical); History of the Word; Exposures. Selected NYC Directing/Choreography credits: The Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Lark Play Development Center, New Federal Theatre, Rebel Theater, Making Books Sing. Selected Regional Directing/Choreography: Yale University/Yale Dramatic Association, Passage Theatre (Little Rock), TheatreWorks (Little Rock), Signature Stage, Syracuse Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, St. Louis Black Rep, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Prince Musical Theatre, Theatre of the Stars, The Goodman Theatre and Portland Stage Company. Maharaj has held artistic residencies with New Freedom Theatre, ALLIANCE THEATRE, Kennedy Center, Crossroads Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, as well as Amas Musical Theatre and Nuyorican Poets Café in NYC. He is the former Artistic Director of New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia. Recipient of the Woodie King Jr. Award for Outstanding Direction, four Vivian Robinson AUDELCO awards for his direction and choreography, and the S.A.L.T. Award for Director of the year. Maharaj is an alumnus of Lincoln Center Directors Lab and TCG Young Leaders of Color in the American Theater. www.RajendraMaharaj.com.

Harvey Butler (Producer) is an independent commercial theater producer. In his debut lead producer role, Little Rock's ten-year journey to the commercial stage has afforded him an opportunity to creatively combine business and finance skills honed over 25 years in the corporate sector with a passion for the arts. While taking a career break, he founded Rebel Theatrical Management, LLC and committed to developing the important story and messaging found in Little Rock for a commercial audience. He attended the Commercial Theater Institute (CTI) 14-week program, earning a certificate in 2010 and holds an MBA in Finance, Corporate Accounting, and Entrepreneurship from the University of Rochester's Simon School of Business. Harvey is a Trustee for McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, serving on its Finance Committee and Marketing Working Group.

Rebel Theatrical Management, LLC (Producer) is a New York City commercial theater Production Company specializing in productions that combust art and history -- transforming the stage into a lightning-rod for social change.

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture www.sheencenter.org is a New York City arts center located in NoHo that presents a vibrant mix of theater, film, music, and talk events. An initiative of the Archdiocese of New York, The Sheen Center serves all New Yorkers by presenting performances and artists that reflect the true, the good, and the beautiful. Named for the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, best remembered as an inspirational author, radio host and two-time Emmy Award winning television personality, The Sheen Center reflects his modern-day approach to contemporary topics. The Sheen Center is a state-of-the-art theater complex that includes the 270-seat Loreto Theater, equipped with five-camera high-definition TV and live-stream capability and a multi-track recording studio; the 80-seat Black Box Theater; four rehearsal studios; and an art gallery.

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