Pitt's Kuntu Repertory Theatre Kicks Off 2006 Season, Presents In the Midnight Hour Oct. 19 Through Nov. 4

PITTSBURGH-Pitt's Kuntu Repertory Theatre opens its 2006 season with In the Midnight Hour Oct. 19. All performances, which run through Nov. 4, are in the

Seventh-Floor Auditorium of Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

In the Midnight Hour, set in 1962, explores the struggles, dreams, and ambitions of a middle-class Harlem family. The cast features Ben Blakey, Stephanie Akers, Leah Williams, Jamaal "Freedome" Murphy, Marcia L. Jones, Alexis Stinson, Kala Williamson, Oraijah Bey, Valeri Anukem, Nailah "Blu" Lewis, Leslie Howard, and Joseph Edgar.

The play was written by Kathleen Collins, a writer, director, and filmmaker who charted new creative territory on both the stage and screen. Her plays include The Brothers and Remembrances. She wrote and directed her most renowned film, Losing Ground, in 1982. Her other film credits include The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy and Gouldtown: A Mulatto Settlement. Just before she died in 1988 at the age of 46, Collins had finished a novel, play, and film script titled Conversations With Julie. In the Midnight Hour will be directed by Kuntu founder and artistic director and Pitt associate professor of Africana Studies Vernell A. Lillie.

This Kuntu season is being presented in partnership with Pitt's Center for Minority Health, part of the Graduate School of Public Health.

Performances of In the Midnight Hour will be held at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. A matinee is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. For ticket and group sales information, call 412-624-7298 or visit www.kuntu.org.

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10/12/06/tmw