The Flea to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Ntozake Shange's 'FOR COLORED GIRLS...'

On March 13th, The Flea Theater and Project1VOICE are teaming up for a one-night-only event to honor the 40th anniversary of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf.

"For forty years for colored girls... has exposed searing pain and joyful calls, and its characters continue to soar in but i cd only whisper," says Artistic Director Niegel Smith. "I'm thrilled to welcome Ntozake Shange to The Flea to honor her work and to celebrate its enduring impression on audiences and artists like Kristiana Rae Colón."

The evening will commence with excerpts from for colored girls... directed by the acclaimed Seret Scott, who appeared in for colored girls... during its original Broadway run, followed by a special performance of Kristiana Rae Colón's but i cd only whisper. The evening will end in a conversation with Ms. Shange and a panel including a number of original Broadway cast members about the intersection between the two pieces. Tickets are $35 and now on sale to members only.

but i cd only whisper, running now at The Flea, follows Vietnam veteran Beau Willie Brown, as he attempts to return to the family and life he left behind. Inspired by and including extracts from for colored girls..., but i cd only whisper explores the effects of trauma, moving through time and space, fusing the physical and the poetic.

The Flea's production features The Bats: Crystal Arnette (#serials@theflea, Mary Kate Olsen is in Love), Akeem Baisden Folkes, Toussaint Jeanlouis, Kineta Kunutu (#serials@theflea), Brandon Rubin, Matt Stango (#serials@theflea, The Mysteries), with understudies Clea DeCrane, Jack Gilbert, Justin Phillips, and Niegel Smith. The creative team includes Starlet Jacobs (scenic design), Elaine Wong (lighting design), Ari Fulton (costume design), D.R. Baker (sound design), Michelle Cole (choreography), Gerry Rodriguez (fight choreography), Hye Young Chyun (props master), Joseph Barnes (technical direction) Michal V. Mendelson (production manager), and Kaila Hill (stage management).

but i cd only whisper runs through March 19, Thursday-Saturday and Monday at 9PM, and Sunday at 7PM. Tickets are $15-$25-$35 with the lowest priced tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. The production includes violence, graphic language, nudity, and sexual situations. The Flea Theater is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines. Purchase tickets by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org.

BIOS:

NTOZAKE SHANGE (playwright, for colored girls...) is a renowned poet, performance artist, playwright, novelist, children's book author and educator. Shange is best known for her 1970s choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, which ran on Broadway, toured internationally and was nominated for a Tony Award. A movie based on the play came out in 2010. Some of her other works include novels Betsey Brown, Liliane, Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo and Some Cry, Some Sing.

SERET SCOTT (guest director) has directed a dozen productions at the Old Globe Theatre as an Associate Artist. Off-Broadway she premiered Mujeres Y Hombres at New Victory Theatre, and directed Birdie Blue and Zooman and The Sign for Second Stage Theatre, Yohen for Pan Asian Rep. Regional credits: Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre, Ford's Theatre, South Coast Rep, Tribute Productions, Court Theater, Studio Arena, ACT-SF, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, Actor's Theatre- Louisville, Oregon Shakespeare, Denver Theatre Center, PlayMakers Rep, Crossroads, Alliance, Indiana Rep, Alley, Philadelphia Theatre Co, National Black Theatre, New Mexico Rep, Tisch-NYU, Juilliard, among others. She directed workshops for Roundabout Theatre, Pacific Playwright's, O'Neill Theatre Center, NY Stage and Film, Sundance, New Harmony and is a former Director in Residence at New Dramatists. Seret authored Second Line, produced by NJ's Passage Theatre and DC's Atlas Theatre and is a Drama Desk Award winning actress.

KRISTIANA RAE COLÓN (playwright) is a poet, playwright, actor, educator, Cave Canem Fellow, and Executive Director of the #LetUsBreathe Collective. Her play Octagon, winner of Arizona Theater Company's 2014 National Latino Playwriting Award and Polarity Ensemble Theater's Dionysos Festival of New Work, had its world premiere at the Arcola Theater in London in September 2015. Her work was featured in Victory Gardens' 2014 Ignition Festival. In 2013, she toured the UK with her collection of poems promised instruments published by Northwestern University Press. In autumn 2012, she opened her one-woman show Cry Wolf at Teatro Luna in Chicago while her play but i cd only whisper had its world premiere at the Arcola Theater in London. Kristiana is a member of the Goodman Playwrights Unit, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and one half of the brother/sister hip-hop duo April Fools. She appeared on Season 5 of HBO's Def Poetry Jam.

DAVID MONTEAGUDO (director) is a brooklyn-based director and producer. He has developed and produced work with The Flea, The Atlantic, Theater for the New City, and Ma-Yi Theaters amongst others. His project Under the Hood, which melds game theory and theatrical conventions, was featured in the 2014 Come out and Play Festival and will be presented as part of The Best Games Festival in Pittsburgh. He is a founding member of State of Play.

THE BATS are the resident acting company of The Flea Theater. Each year over a thousand actors audition for a place in this unique company. The Bats perform in extended runs of challenging classic and new plays. Major as well as up-and-coming writers vie to have The Bats tackle their work. As performers, these actors are known being fearless not feckless and bring verve and vision to the written word. Stage and Cinema calls The Bats "Always charming and energized," and Ben Brantley calls them "fresh-faced," which is "...good news, especially for New York casting agents."

THE FLEA THEATER, under Artistic Director Niegel Smith and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented over 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include premieres by Trista Baldwin, Steven Banks, Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, Kim Davies, Bathsheba Doran, Will Eno, Karen Finley, Amy Freed, Sean Graney, A.R. Gurney, Laurel Haines, Jennifer Haley, Hamish Linklater, Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio, Itamar Moses, Anne Nelson, Qui Nguyen, Adam Rapp, Jonathan Reynolds, Roger Rosenblatt, Todd Shalom, Julian Sheppard, Tommy Smith, Elizabeth Swados, Ken Urban, Mac Wellman, Beau Willimon, Brian Watkins, and Frank Winters, among others. Highlights include Drama Desk nominated She Kills Monsters, These Seven Sicknesses, Restoration Comedy, The Mysteries and eight World Premieres by A.R. Gurney including the WSJ Best New Play of 2013, Family Furniture.

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