Pitt's Kuntu Repertory Theatre Continues Season of Rob Penny Plays With Pain in My Heart and Reachings
PITTSBURGH- The University of Pittsburgh's Kuntu Repertory Theatre will present two one-act plays by the late Rob Penny-"Pain in My Heart" and "Reachings"-as Kuntu continues its season of plays by Penny, who was Kuntu's playwright-in-residence for many years and a Pitt associate professor of Africana studies.
The plays will be presented the same evening, April 2 through April 18, with an intermission between the performances, which take place in the Seventh-Floor Auditorium of Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday, with a 1 p.m. matinee on April 11 and an 11 a.m. matinee April 16.
"Pain in My Heart" is a reflective view of a successful Black businesswoman of the 1980s who dreams of her romance with a young man during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Millicent Morrison, played by Kim El, experiences bitterness and conflict about her lingering affection for Abdullah, played by Tyrone Johnson.
"Reachings" explores a jazz musician's experience in the Vietnam War. His search for healing and love provides the conflict as he struggles to replace the trauma of war with the beauty of music. "Reachings" features Lonzo Green in the role of Lee Meredith; Jacquelyn Omotalade as Lee's sister, Jean; and Marcia L. Jones as Lee's girlfriend, Cheryl. Music is provided by Pittsburgh jazz saxophonist Tony Campbell.
In both plays, Penny draws upon the past, as he portrays the fight by Blacks and Whites for justice in a complex world and the struggle to be creative during a war-torn era. Both plays are directed by Mark Clayton Southers, founder and producing artistic director of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company.
Admission is $20 for adults; $14 for Pitt staff and faculty; $13 for senior citizens, students, and children ages 4-18; and $5 for all Pitt students with a valid ID. April 2 and 3 are Dollar Nights for Pitt students. Groups of 10 or more receive a 25 percent discount. For more information, call 412-624-7298 or visit www.kuntu.org.
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3/20/09/tmw
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