Kenyetta Lethridge’s INNOCENT FLESH Opens in NY, 3/15

Following a sold out run in Los Angeles, NAACP Award winner Kenyetta Lethridge's critically acclaimed social drama, Innocent Flesh, exposing the stark realities of the sexual exploitation, forced teen prostitution & trafficking of young children all across America, will bow in New York at Actors Temple Theater. The look at girls "in the life" that is dark yet funny begins previews March 1. Opening night is March 15.

Innocent Flesh is a new play that melds together some of Lethridge's own personal experiences as a teacher and research over the years to tell the reality of these four young girls and the hardships they face as underage prostitutes in America. Written in a multi-layered style that uses poetry, dance, and a modern take on the classic Greek Chorus, the play unveils the secrets of how girls from all walks of life can find themselves on the streets, selling their bodies to men.

Innocent Flesh is performed by a cast of four female actors, whose characters end up in "the life." Their stories deal with love, abandonment, rape, abortion, and molestation. Throughout the play, each character's poignant cry for self-worth seems to fill a bottomless void with love. One by one, their hardened façades melt to reveal soft and vulnerable spirits.

Daphne Gabriel, Clara Gabrielle, Jameelah Nuriddin and Angelina Prendergast re-create their critically acclaimed roles in the original Los Angeles production. Written & directed by 2011 NAACP Award winner Kenyetta Lethridge. Producers: MZL LLC: Diana C. Zollicoffer, Michael Mann and Kenyetta Lethridge. Original Music is by Jwyanza Kalonji Hobson & Ken Christianson; Sound Design by Pennix McGee and choreography by Angelina Prendergast.

Previews begin Thursday. March 1.  Performances Thursdays @ 8PM; Saturdays @ 4PM & Sundays @ 4PM, Opening Night Thursday March 15 8PM. Actors Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) New York NY 10036 In greater Times Square you can find the 1,2,3,7, and 9 subway trains, as well as the A, B, C, D, E, N, Q, R, S, V and W lines. Tickets are $36.50 - $59.50, Call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400. tickets@telecharge.com   (Production Images are available from Alchimia) 

 A native Angelino 2011 NAACP Award winner, Kenyetta Lethridge's dedication to educating young people has inspired her career in the Arts.  She has assisted in developing several Arts Education Programs in the Los Angeles area, and has worked directly with students of various grade levels and backgrounds teaching Language Arts, Theatre, Poetry, Speech and Debate, and Creative Writing.  Lethridge has also produced several stage productions in Los Angeles, including For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf, and Company Policy.  Some of her stage credits include the National Tour of Portraits of Courage produced by the Will and Company Theatre, The Greenway Court Theatre's Butterflies of Uganda, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, and The Crucible.  

2011 was Lethridge's big break out year. She won an NAACP Award for her performance in "Transitions", produced by the Robey Theatre Company. Lethridge also appeared in the film Mr. Sophistication and lent her presence to the films Fast Lane and Lover, and she joined the cast of the animated show American Dad.   Lethridge recently assistant directed "AGAPE: 25^th Anniversary", and Truth Be Told: a fundraising event to benefit premiere oncology which was produced by Dottie Archibald (Punchline) and hosted by Bradley Whitford (The West Wing).  Lethridge makes her directorial debut with Innocent Flesh, which is also her first produced stage play

Daphne Gabriel (CANDACE) is trained in the Meisner Technique under the Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio in Santa Monica, Ca.  and has studied Viewpoints under Tanya Kane-Parry (NYU-Tisch), Commedia Dell'Arte under Jon Kellam (The Actors' Gang), and Le Jeu/Clown under Dominique Serrand (The Moving Company). She is a member of The Actors' Gang (Art. Dir, Tim Robbins).

Clara Gabrielle (Danna) studied at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute before attending The Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She has since continued expanding her training with the likes of Catlin Adams of The Acting Lab and The Upright Citizens Brigade. Her recent achievements include the staging of her adapted play, The Skeleton Lady, and two nominations at The Method Fest Film Festival: Honoring the Cinematic Achievements of Actors, for her work in Coons and Guignol. Her latest festival film, The Yellow Ribbon, has just marked its debut with a win at The Directors Guild of America. 

JAMEELAH NURIDDIN (Lisa), a native of Atlanta, Georgia, began acting in films in her early teens, playing opposite such notable actors as Don Cheadle, Cicely Tyson, Dule Hill, and Kimberly Elise.  She has been cast variously on Warner Bros. HBO, CBS, Disney, and FOX.

Angelina Prendergast (LUPITA) grew up on the stage dancing and acting. She has trained with Exeter Little Theatre Company UK, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy LA, Jeff Cohen's Voice for Actors, Boston Ballet, Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet NY, and Cirque School LA. She has also starred in numerous short films, and recently made her television debut in MTV's DISconnected.  

Diana C. Zollicoffer began her career on stage in Washington, DC and New York. She had a recurring role in THE WAR AT HOME a FOX TV series with Michael Rappaport. Currently she is developing two new features "THE MYRTLES" to be directed by Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project) and "MY TYPE OF WOMAN" a romance starring Dennis Haysbert (24, The Unit, Far from Heaven, All State Insurance Spokesperson.) In fact, "MY TYPE OF WOMAN", was her first screenplay; it was written specifically with Haysbert in mind and she proudly got his attention and he optioned it immediately. She produced and directed "AGAPE: 25^th Anniversary"; "Q: The Secret Agent Next Door", "Doogie Bag", "Pizza Man" and "Ides Of Eve". She recently stage directed a special event produced by Dottie Archibald (Punchline) and hosted by Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) In addition to writing and producing Diana also directs music videos for underground LA Bands.  Diana was also one of the pioneer members of The SideWalk Theater Company, in Burbank. Diana has a background in marketing and advertising and also once worked at the United Nations in New York.

Michael Mann has been in the entertainment industry since age 5. Through his late teens he appeared in over 300 live televisions shows, appeared on Broadway and off Broadway and Film.  In 1978 he formed Michael Mann Management, a theatrical management company representing Actors Writers, Directors, and Film companies. During that time, Michael also produced Come Blow Your Horn at the Doolittle Theatre in Los Angeles and Boychick off-Broadway in New York. He is currently Executive Producing his first feature film "Worried Minds" starring Elliott Gould, which begins filming in Los Angeles in 2012. For more information visit:  www.Innocentfleshtheplay.com

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