The Gamm to Present THE RANT

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre(The Gamm) stages the New England premiere of The Rant by Andrew Case. Timely and gripping, this taut drama tells the story of the shooting of an unarmed black teenager through the eyes of the boy's grieving mother, a police officer, a journalist, and the investigator assigned to the case. Tyler Dobrowsky (Morality Play, The Big Meal) directs Gamm new-comers Kym Gomes and Nikki Massoud as the mother and investigator respectively; Amos Hamrick (Gbatokai in Festen) as the police officer, and Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella as the journalist.

The Rant runs from November 12 through December 13 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI. Tickets are $41 and $49 (depending on day/time); preview performances (November 13-15) just $30. Call 401-723-4266 or order online at gammtheatre.org.

A series of headline-grabbing deaths in recent years of unarmed black men and women following confrontations with law enforcement has increased debate over the American criminal justice system, making conversation more necessary than ever, Estrella commented.

"Though written in 2008, recent national headlines have made The Rantseem even more relevant," Estrella said. "Of course the sad truth is that structural racism, along with its violent, often tragic consequences, is as old as America itself. It was present at our founding. It sailed with Europeans on the first ships to reach our shores and was necessary to build the American empire. Andrew Case's startling 21st-century tale digs deep to root out the unsettling complexities that lie just beneath the surface of the headlines - that raw, messy human-ness that we try to hide, look away from, outright deny and, when left unchecked, is always waiting to explode."

The Rant is sponsored by DeLuca & Weizenbaum, Ltd. Additional support comes from Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

This production is part of the Pell Humanities Initiative in Rhode Island to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities.Panel discussions and talk-backs exploring the themes of the play are made possible through funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Details at gammtheatre.org.