For immediate release.
May 18, 2007
Contact: Julie McGarvie
Marketing Director
Penumbra Theatre
651-288-6784
Get Ready
Theirs is music to fall in love to
May 18, 2007; St. Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation’s preeminent African American theatre, proudly announces the opening of Get Ready written by Jaye T. Stewart and Joe Plummer on June 7, 2007. Lou Bellamy directs this lyrical comedy/drama with musical direction by Sanford Moore and choreography by Austene Van. The production will run June 7 through July 1, 2007.
Get Ready is a play about the relationship between musicians and the struggle for control over the music they make. Playwrights Stewart and Plummer offer us an intergenerational take on this issue by creating characters that span three generations. The Doves, middle-aged crooners whose heyday was circa 1960, embody the essence of performers like Al Green, Otis Redding, and The Platters. Their dance instructor, Knobby Coles, comes from an earlier generation of great vaudevillian performers such as The Nicholas brothers and Bill “Bo Jangles” Robinson. Knobby’s employee, J.R., is a young man who dreams of getting his break from a music contest much like “American Idol.” Each character in this play is involved in their own personal struggle to find their own voice and to be adequately and fairly compensated for their artistic work.
Two Legendary Theaters Join Forces to Present the Regional Premiere of
Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson
Penumbra Theatre Company Production
Directed by Lou Bellamy
Presented at the Guthrie
May 9, 2007; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: Lou Bellamy and Joe Dowling announced today that the Penumbra Theatre Company production of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean will be presented by the Guthrie in the McGuire Proscenium Stage in April 2008.
“The collaboration between Penumbra and the Guthrie allows us to come together to create something neither of us could do alone,” Artistic Director Lou Bellamy said. “Penumbra has a strong history of developing work around African American themes including the first professional production of Mr. Wilson. Partnering allows our particular experiences and areas of expertise to join forces, offering the community a unique opportunity to experience Wilson’s work at its best.”
“When we first partnered with Lou and Penumbra on Fences in 1997, we learned that such collaboration could be a successful one,” Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling said. “We’re thrilled that the Guthrie can serve as a community resource for other arts organizations, and this type of partnership will serve to strengthen both the Guthrie and Penumbra.”
Tickets for this regional premiere go on sale June 20, 2007 through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.
"Backstage With Bellamy" - An Evening of Celebration
For Immediate Release May 4, 2007
Contacts:
Christopher James
Communications
University of Minnesota Libraries
612-625-9148
Julie McGarvie
Marketing Director
Penumbra Theatre Company
651-288-6784
"BACKSTAGE WITH BELLAMY"
An Evening of Celebration
May 4, 2007; Minneapolis, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company and the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries are pleased to present “Backstage with Bellamy,” an evening of performance and celebration marking Penumbra’s 30 year history and the recent acquisition of Penumbra’s archive by the University Libraries. Free and open to the public, “Backstage with Bellamy” takes place Wednesday, May 16, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. at Willey Hall Auditorium, 225 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, on the University’s West Bank campus.
The evening’s festivities offer a look behind the scenes in the making of award winning theatre. Bellamy will share personal and artistic highlights and memories and Penumbra favorites Benny Cannon, Shawn Hamilton, T. Mychael Rambo, Dennis Spears, and J.D. Steele will perform live as “The Doves,” smooth crooners of soul, from Penumbra’s upcoming show, Get Ready. Sanford Moore will accompany on piano. A special exhibition of materials from Penumbra’s archive will be on display in Elmer L. Andersen Library on the University campus. This exhibit will be up through May 25. A desert reception will follow the performance.
