A LESSON BEFORE DYING.......
...is an Phenomenal play currently running at the Actors Group Theater!!!! I had the pleasure of seeing the show Friday night and I highly recommend you guys check it out....it brought tears to my eyes and I can't tell you the last time that's happened!! My friend and former cast mate Eddie Goines and the wonderful Malik El-Amin star is this wonderfully POWERFUL play!!!! It is definitely worth your $15 dollars AND your Time....GO SEE IT!!!!!
A LESSON BEFORE DYING In rural Louisiana in 1948, Jefferson (a superb Malik B. El-Amin), a semi-literate young black man, accidentally witnesses a shootout that kills a white man. Too confused and scared even to deny his guilt, Jefferson is charged with murder and sentenced to death. The local black community, and one sympathetic white deputy (Shannon McClung), knows he is innocent, but there's no hope of a retrial in the racist legal system. Jefferson's friends can only strive to help the young man to face death with dignity, courage and a sense of his own worth. His stern, loving, matriarchal godmother (Baddja-Lyne) enlists the aid of her preacher (Gregor Manns), and two of Jefferson's former teachers, Grant (Eddie Goines) and Vivian (Syr Law), who also happen to be lovers. Ultimately, it's Grant's doubt rather than the preacher's faith that provides a dollop of salvation and a muted, tragic triumph. The play, skillfully adapted by Romulus Linney from a novel by Ernest J. Gaines, faithfully re-creates the time and place, and director/designer Penny L. Moore brings it to vivid life, assisted by a terrific cast. There is a touch of clumsiness in the staging, due to space limitations, but in every way that counts, it's a wonderful production. Doxie 4 Productions at Actors Group Theatre, 4378 Lankershim Blvd., Universal City; Fri.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Feb. 18. (818) 585-8880. (Neal Weaver)
A LESSON BEFORE DYING In rural Louisiana in 1948, Jefferson (a superb Malik B. El-Amin), a semi-literate young black man, accidentally witnesses a shootout that kills a white man. Too confused and scared even to deny his guilt, Jefferson is charged with murder and sentenced to death. The local black community, and one sympathetic white deputy (Shannon McClung), knows he is innocent, but there's no hope of a retrial in the racist legal system. Jefferson's friends can only strive to help the young man to face death with dignity, courage and a sense of his own worth. His stern, loving, matriarchal godmother (Baddja-Lyne) enlists the aid of her preacher (Gregor Manns), and two of Jefferson's former teachers, Grant (Eddie Goines) and Vivian (Syr Law), who also happen to be lovers. Ultimately, it's Grant's doubt rather than the preacher's faith that provides a dollop of salvation and a muted, tragic triumph. The play, skillfully adapted by Romulus Linney from a novel by Ernest J. Gaines, faithfully re-creates the time and place, and director/designer Penny L. Moore brings it to vivid life, assisted by a terrific cast. There is a touch of clumsiness in the staging, due to space limitations, but in every way that counts, it's a wonderful production. Doxie 4 Productions at Actors Group Theatre, 4378 Lankershim Blvd., Universal City; Fri.-Sun., 8 p.m.; thru Feb. 18. (818) 585-8880. (Neal Weaver)
posted by Jillian at 7:20 PM
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