'The Two Lives of Napoleon Beazley' Begins Feb.21 at Flamboyan Theater

Incumbo Theater proudly announces the New York premiere of John Fleming's The Two Lives of Napoleon Beazley, beginning performances February 21, at the Flamboyan Theater (107 Suffolk Street), for a limited engagement through March 16.  The theater will host a performance and talk back with the playwright on March 8 benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Alexandra Farkas will direct this New York premiere production of The Two Lives of Napoleon Beazley.  "This award-winning play tells the true story of a 17-year-old African American honor roll student who in the midst of a carjacking murdered the father of a prominent federal judge. As Napoleon sits on Texas's death row, attorney Henry Boyd seeks answers as to how and why Napoleon got there and whether or not he can save his life," describe press notes.

The production employs courtroom transcripts, legal documents, media accounts as well as personal interviews, adhering to the facts of the case, exploring both the legal issues as well as a compelling human story.  As a popular, high school athlete and honors student, Napoleon was an unlikely candidate to end up a juvenile on death row.  This new play offers a searing examination of race, redemption, personal identity, and the inner workings of the American legal system.  In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's 2005 ruling regarding the death penalty for juveniles, and the December 13, 2007 abolition of the death penalty in New Jersey (the first state in the nation to do this) this story strikes a resonant chord in contemporary society.

Performances of The Two Lives of Napoleon Beazley begin February 21 and will be Thursday though Saturday evenings at 8PM and Sunday evenings at 7PM at the Flamboyan Theater at the Clemente Soto Vélez Center (107 Suffolk Street, between Rivington and Delancey Streets).

Tickets are $18 for general public and $15 for students/seniors (w/ID). To purchase tickets, visit www.smarttix.com or call 212/868-4444.  For more information visit www.incumbo.org

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