CALL MR. ROBESON Comes To DC Arts Center 11/19-29

"Before Barack Obama there was Martin Luther King, and before King, there was Paul Robeson..." Thus starts one review of Call Mr. Robeson at an international Fringe Festival in Brighton, UK, at which the play picked up two major awards. Call Mr. Robeson is being performed at the DC Arts Center, 2438 18th Street NW, Washington D.C. 20009 between November 19 and 29.

The review continues:
"The forerunner of ... the [new] American president was at the same time one of the most famous singers in the world and the champion of the civil rights movement. Tayo Aluko's portrayal of Robeson is spot on. In about an hour you learn everything about Robeson, but this is no dry history lesson, rather a thrilling, moving and marvelously entertaining musical drama. Aluko's singing of Robeson songs like Ol' Man River and Steal Away is totally soulful and convincing, just like this show!" ***** Bill Smith, Latest 7 Magazine, (Brighton, UK) June 2008

Written and performed by British Nigerian actor/singer, Tayo Aluko, Call Mr. Robeson is a roller coaster journey through Robeson's remarkable and eventful life, and highlights how his radical activism caused him to be disowned and disremembered, even by the leaders and descendants of the civil rights movement. It features some of his famous songs and speeches, including a dramatic rendition of Ol' Man River and a spectacularly defiant testimony in front of the Senate House Un-American Activities Committee.

Aluko, who is based in Liverpool, England, is almost ashamed to admit that he was 33 years old when he first found out about Paul Robeson, who was born in Princeton, NJ in 1898, and died in Philadelphia in January 1976. He was amazed to realize, after reading Robeson's biography, that a black man could have been one of the most famous and gifted human beings on the planet in the 1940s, and he hadn't heard of him! He says, "I decided that Robeson's story needed to be told, not just because it was so remarkable, but because it is so inspiring. I am thrilled by the reception the story has received in the UK, America and Africa."

Accompanying Mr. Aluko on piano will be Baltimore pianist, conductor, composer arranger and music teacher, Maceo R. Kemp, currently Musician Director for the 8 AM Ensemble Plymouth UC and Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church of Deanwood in Washington, DC.

Call Mr Robeson: Winner, Angel Award for Artistic Excellence.
Nominee, Best Show.
Tayo Aluko: Winner, Best Male Performer.
Brighton Fringe Festival , May 2008.

Listings Information:

What: Call Mr. Robeson. A Life With Songs

When: Thurs Nov 19th, 7.30pm; Fri Nov 20th, 7.30pm; Sat Nov 21st, 7.30pm; Sun Nov 22nd, 7.30pm
Fri Nov 27th, 7.30pm; Sat Nov 28th, 7.30pm; Sun Nov 29th, 3.00pm; Sun Nov 29th, 7.30pm

Where: DC Arts Center, 2438 18th Street NW

Tickets: online at www.brownpapertickets.com or at 1-800-838-3006
$20 ($15 for DCAC members)

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