For Immediate Release
November 7, 2008

Contact: Julie McGarvie, Director of Marketing
651-288-6784 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tickets: Penumbra Theatre Box Office
651-224-3180 or penumbratheatre.org

Black Nativity - Hear Again the Christmas Story!
A holiday gospel tradition

November 7, 2008; St. Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation's preeminent African American theatre, proudly announces the opening of Black Nativity - Hear Again the Christmas Story!, conceived by T. Mychael Rambo and Lou Bellamy, directed by Austene Van, with musical direction by Sanford Moore on Friday, November 28, 2008.

For the fifth year in a row, this spectacular holiday production plays on the Penumbra stage, marking the 21st year of this Christmas tradition. This season, we are taken into the home of recently widowed Grandma Walker, whose family brings the spirit of hope and holiday cheer to her, filling the house with song, dance, and presents.

This powerful gospel journey includes old favorites such as "No Room at the Inn," "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," and several new arrangements by Sanford Moore including "My Way's Cloudy," "Christ is Born," and "Go Tell it on the Mountain." The performance features live music by award-winning musicians, original dance choreographed by the renowned Uri Sands of TU Dance Company, and a stellar gospel choir ensemble that includes members of Moore by Four and the Grammy award-winning Sounds of Blackness.

For Immediate Release
September 10, 2008

Contact: Julie McGarvie, Marketing Director
651-288-6784 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tickets: Penumbra Theatre Box Office
651-224-3180 or penumbratheatre.org

EXTENDED RUN - Now through October 19, 2008!
Fences by August Wilson
Directed by Lou Bellamy

September 10, 2008; St. Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation's preeminent African American theatre, announces the addition of 28 performances of Fences due to popular demand. The extension runs through Sunday, October 19, 2008.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Fences is the story of Troy Maxon who by all rights should have been an American baseball legend. When his rapid rise through the Negro leagues hit the ceiling of racial prejudice, Troy was forced to let go of his dream for major league success. Now his son has won the attention of college football recruiters - an opportunity to achieve the dream his father could not. Can Troy quiet his own demons enough to support his son or will he strike out once more? Set in 1957, Fences is the heartbreaking story of a man and his last chance at bat.

Starring: Ansa Akyea (Cory), James Craven (Gabriel), Marion McClinton (Jim Bono), Elayn J. Taylor (Rose), Kevin D. West (Lyons), James A. Williams (Troy Maxon), and Marianna McGee and Mahogany Ellis (sharing the role of Raynell).

For immediate release.

Media Contact: Julie McGarvie
651-288-6784 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tickets: Penumbra Theatre Box Office
651-224-3180 or penumbratheatre.org

Fences by August Wilson
Presented by The Cargill Foundation

August 13, 2008; St. Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation's preeminent African American theatre, proudly announces the opening of Fences written by August Wilson, directed by Lou Bellamy, August 21, 2008. The production will run August 21 - September 21, 2008.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Fences, is the story of Troy Maxon who by all rights should have been an American baseball legend. When his rapid rise through the Negro leagues hit the ceiling of racial prejudice, Troy was forced to let go of his dream for major league success. Now his son has won the attention of college football recruiters – an opportunity to achieve the dream his father could not. Can Troy quiet his own demons enough to support his son or will he strike out once more?  Set in 1957, Fences is the heartbreaking story of a man and his last chance at bat.

Starring: James T. Alfred (Cory), James Craven (Gabriel), Marion McClinton (Jim Bono), Elayn J. Taylor (Rose) Kevin D. West (Lyons), James A. Williams (Troy Maxon), and Marianna McGee and Mahogany Ellis (sharing the role of Raynell).

For immediate release.

Contact: Julie McGarvie, Director of Marketing
651-288-6784 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Word(s) PLAY!
New Play Series at Penumbra
Funded in part by the Jerome Foundation

May 22, 2008; St. Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation's preeminent African American theatre, proudly announced today the launch of Word(s) PLAY!, an annual forum designed to develop new plays by African American playwrights. Word(s) PLAY! will introduce three new plays to the Twin Cities May 30 - June 1, 2008.

This three day event will offer a staged reading of each play followed by an open talk back with the playwright, artists, audience and dramaturge Sydne Mahone, Professor of Theatre, University of Iowa. This year the lineup includes an adaptation by Keli Garrett of Charles Johnson's Faith and the Good Thing, Etymology of Bird, a contemporary play by Zakiyyah Alexander, and The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry, a historical play by Marcus Gardley.

Word(s) PLAY!

The plays will be read by a company of professional actors that includes: Ansa Akyea, Terry Bellamy, Jamecia Bennett, James Craven, Santino Craven, Adam Harris, Rex Isom Jr., Celeste Jones, Iman Milner, Greta Oglesby, Thomasina Petrus, Renardo Pringle, Ron Schultz, Ashford Thomas, Corey Walton, Harry Waters Jr., Ahanti Young, and Austene Van.

Reservations can be made through the Penumbra Theatre Box Office: 651-224-3180. The event is free and open to the public.

Download the full press release.

For immediate release.

Contact:
Julie McGarvie, Penumbra Theatre
651-288-6784 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

2008 - 2009 Season Annoucement

May 7, 2008; Saint Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation's preeminent African American theatre, proudly announced its 2008-2009 Season.

• Fences by August Wilson, directed by Lou Bellamy
  August 21 through September 21, 2008
  
  
• Black Nativity—Hear Again the Christmas Story!
  Co-Conceived by T. Mychael Rambo & Lou Bellamy, directed by Austene Van
  November 28 through December 28, 2008
  
  
• The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, directed by Lou Bellamy
  February 19 through March 15, 2009
  
  
• Radio Golf by August Wilson, directed by Lou Bellamy
  May 7 through June 7, 2009

Tickets on sale March 12, 2008 through the Penumbra Theatre Box Office at 651-224-3180 or at www.penumbratheatre.org.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Lou Bellamy
  A Penumbra Theatre production presented at the Guthrie Theater
  March 13 through April 11, 2009
  
  

Founder and Artistic Director Lou Bellamy stated, "The plays selected this season emphasize legacy. Each of these playwrights deftly illustrates that the ethical fabric binding a culture together is made from the lessons learned by those who came before. As we examine the African American interpretations of this experience, we find a story relevant to many Americans - the choice between your dream and your family, the choice between wealth and integrity, the choice between your future and your past."