PITT'S KUNTU REPERTORY THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2001-2002 SEASON

July 20, 2001

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh's internationally known Kuntu Repertory Theatre has announced its 2001-2002 season, which presents an array of mystery dramas of interest to families, history buffs, musicians, and fans of "who-done-its."

"Why would Kuntu do a season of mysteries? Because on one level, theatergoers enjoy the thrill of suspense, of tension, of resolving a crime, or of experiencing scary incidents," said Vernell Lillie, Kuntu founder and artistic director. "In addition, these lovers of 'scary and tension filled theater' are not always aware of the excellent work that has been done by African American playwrights and novelists in this literary genre."

The 2001-2002 season offers a four-play subscription series, but there are six plays in all, with the final two productions each presenting two plays in repertory. The schedule includes:

Murderer on the Hill District (October 18 through November 3, 2001)

Written by Rob Penny, this crime drama features Sergeant Kumako Victorious, an African American of Maroon lineage, who must prove whether a minister murdered his lovely young wife's lover.

Whispers Want to Holler (January 24 through February 9, 2002)

Written by Marta Effinger and featuring original music by jazz saxophonist Billy Harper, this dramatic musical is about a black woman on the verge of "succumbing to urban renewal." Several unexpected guests visit and cast spells over her home. She hears calls so mysteriously and sensually divine, "whispers want to holler." Suddenly her basement is filled with the sounds of children's laughter, women's wails, and men's testimonies. Simultaneously engulfed by the rhythmic stories of the past and the present, and already coping with personal tragedy, she doesn't know if she is losing her mind – or finding salvation.

Killing Me Softly and Sun Rising on the Hill District (March 21 through April 6, 2002)

Two plays will run in repertory. Killing Me Softy, by Gloria Browne, is set in a black law firm in mid-America. The forceful attorney John Power, Sr., is murdered, and his lover, jazz singer Veronique Stone, is the prime suspect. His son, mayoral candidate John Power, Jr., is missing. Handyman Jestuh Jackson hated the elder Power's elitist ways and threatened to kill him. The church going secretary Dixie Cross longed for Power's attention. Newcomer attorney Rita Davis is thrown into the arms of her old lover, the deadly ambitious Detective Armstrong, and into a murder investigation where she, too, becomes a suspect.

Sun Rising on the Hill District, written by Rob Penny tells of a young, female cyberologist who is in a new city without her two six- and seven-year-old children because she is on the run and in hiding for fear of her life from her abusive husband.

The Conjure Man Dies and Sherlock Holmes and the Hands of Othello (May 23 through June 8, 2002)

These two plays also will run in repertory. The Conjure Man Dies, by Rudolph Fisher, tells of the well-known and mysterious "psychic" and former African king,

N. Frimbo, who is found dead one night in his chair at the conjure table. Detective Perry Dart of the Harlem police force and Dr. John Archer, his friend, investigate what appears to be a murder. Archer had been the physician summoned by Frimbo's clients when one of them found he was speaking to a dead man. The plot becomes more complex when Frimbo's corpse disappears and returns as Fri