Lantern Theater Company Announces One-Week Extension of RED VELVET by Lolita Chakrabarti

Lantern Theater Company announced today that its 2017/18 season opener Red Velvet will extend its run to meet audience demand and will now close on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. The following performances have been added:

Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.

Lolita Chakrabarti's provocative and moving drama about race and theater has played to sold out houses since its first Lantern performance on September 7. Based on the true story of 19th century Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge - who in 1833 became the first African American actor to portray Othello on the London stage - Chakrabarti's debut play skillfully weaves themes from William Shakespeare's Othello, the play-within-a-play, into Red Velvet. In both stories, white men feel threatened by the professional skills of a black man and by his physical interactions with a white woman. Chakrabarti shows how outsiders - Othello and Aldridge - are first valued and then rejected for their innovations and accomplishments, and how individuals who push their societies toward greater justice are often punished for their audacity.

"Ira Aldridge was an extraordinarily influential person whose story has largely been ignored by history," said Lantern Theater Company Artistic Director Charles McMahon. "Embodied by Forrest McClendon's mesmerizing performance, Aldridge's story is both inspiring and infuriating. Inspiring for Aldridge's courage, character, and achievements; infuriating because almost 200 years after the events of the play, the plague of bigotry that infected the world in Aldridge's time remains so today. 'Theater is a political act,' says theater manager Pierre LaPorte in Red Velvet. That is most certainly so when simply telling the truth is a political act."

The production has resonated deeply with Philadelphia audiences and theater critics alike. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Toby Zinman called Red Velvet a "provocative and entertaining drama about race and theater," lauding McClendon's performance as "a virtuosic demonstration of acting styles and accents." Writing for Philadelphia magazine, David Fox agreed: "[McClendon] is not just a good, even great actor - he's a fascinating and continually surprising one. He manages to simultaneously suggest a historical character and a modern one, which underscores Red Velvet's ultimate, crushing point - more than 150 years after Aldridge, our theater is still grappling - often unsuccessfully - with racial politics and casting." Megan Diehl of DC Metro Theater Arts said, "Director Peter DeLaurier wrestles with [the play's] issues athletically, staging the powerful standoffs and quiet venomous implications with equal passion. Tony nominee Forrest McClendon leads a distinctly strong cast..." And in Broad Street Review, Mark Cofta called the production a "historical play, right for today."

The Lantern further explores the world of Red Velvet with Lantern Searchlight, available online at www.lanterntheater.org/searchlight. Penned by Lantern Dramaturg Meghan Winch, published articles for Red Velvet include the evolution of acting styles during the 19th century from highly stylized to the more naturalistic, the abolitionist protests swirling outside the Theatre Royal, and the tradition of African American artists leaving the United States for success in Europe; new content is added throughout the production's run.

Tickets for all added performances of Red Velvet go on sale today and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. Tickets are $34 - $39 for all performances now through Sunday, October 1; prices increase to $38 - $43 for performances beginning Wednesday, October 4. Student tickets are $15 in advance; $10 student rush tickets are available ten minutes before curtain with valid ID. Discounts are also available for theater industry professionals ($10 in advance or at the door), seniors 65 and up, groups of 10 or more, and U.S. military personnel. Lantern Theater Company is located at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Sts. in Center City Philadelphia.

About Lantern Theater Company

Founded in 1994, Lantern Theater Company launched its twenty-fourth season with a record number of subscribers, its largest-ever operating budget at $1.5 million, and a growing community of theater artists engaged in its productions and audience enrichment events. The Lantern's innovative Theater Artist Fair Pay Initiative was recently featured in American Theatre magazine as a leading national success story for increasing artist compensation through a combination of fundraising and higher ticket sales. The Lantern seeks to be a vibrant, contributing member of its community, exposing audiences to great theater, inviting participation in dialogue and discussion, engaging audience members on artistic and social issues, and employing theatrical language and techniques to enrich learning in the classroom. Since the inception of the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, the Lantern has received 96 nominations and 19 awards, including the 2009 Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service Award for its education program, Illumination. Following Red Velvet, the Lantern's 2017/18 season continues with the world premiere of The Craftsman by Philadelphia playwright Bruce Graham, Copenhagen by Michael Frayn, The Tempest by William Shakespeare, and the Philadelphia premiere of Don't Dress for Dinner by Marc Camoletti and adapted by Robin Hawdon. More information is online at www.lanterntheater.org.

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