HOUSTON, March 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ensemble Theatre gears up for the fourth performance of its 35th Anniversary Season in the barbershop comedy, Cuttin Up, by Charles Randolph Wrightwith Opening Night and Media reception, Thursday, March 22, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
"I'm excited to be directing this engaging storytelling," says Eileen J. Morris, Ensemble Theatre Artistic Director. "This will be the second play we've done by Charles Randolph Wright."
During its 2007-2008 Season, The Ensemble Theatre performed Wright's production of Blue to sold-out houses.
Cuttin' Up brings comedy to an exploration of the African American barbershop trimmed with a series of thought-provoking and funny anecdotes, along with memories and music packed into a living oral history covering 60 years. Andre, a second generation barber decides he's had enough of the "one horse town" he grew up in and hits the road for greener pastures. His journey begins when he works for Howard, a long-time barber and shop owner who sees the shop as a communal ground of life and living.
Featured cast members include: winner of the 2011 Ensemble Theatre George Hawkins Award and stage and film veteran, Wayne DeHart; stage and television actor Troy Hogan who most recently held a recurring role on 'Friday Night Lights' as principal, Levi Burnwell ; Henry Edwards, Detria Ward, Jason Carmichael, and Robert Marshall last seen in the season kick-off, Lotto: Experience the Dream; Broderick "Brod J" Jones whose work this season includes Lotto: Experience the Dream and The Ballad of Emmett Till; and Houston based poet Joseph Palmore, who last performed in Jitney, Lotto: Experience the Dream, and his most recent title role as Emmett Till in The Ballad of Emmett Till.
Previews: March 17, 18, and 21 Show Runs: March 22 – April 15, 2012
Performance Days and Times: Thursdays: 7:30 p.m; Fridays: 8:00 p.m; Saturdays: 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m; and Sundays: 3:00 p.m.
****Opening Night and Media Reception is Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. ***
Tickets Available Online: www.EnsembleHouston.com For Information Call: 713-520-0055
The Ensemble Theatre's 2011-2012 Season is sponsored in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and Texas Commission on the Arts. United Airlines is the exclusive airline sponsor for The Ensemble Theatre. This production is in collaboration with the Houston Museum of African American Culture, and generously sponsored by CenterPoint Energy.
The Ensemble Theatre was founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins to preserve African American artistic expression and to enlighten, entertain, and enrich a diverse community. Thirty-five years later, the theatre has evolved from a touring company operating from the trunk of Mr. Hawkins' car to being one of Houston's finest historical cultural institutions. The Ensemble is one of a few professional theatres in the region dedicated to the production of works portraying the African American experience. The oldest and largest professional African American theatre in the Southwest, it holds the distinction of being one of the nation's largest African American theatres owning and operating its facility and producing in-house. Board President Emeritus Audrey Lawson led the capital campaign for The Ensemble's $4.5 million building renovations that concluded in 1997. The Ensemble Theatre has fulfilled and surpassed the vision of its founder and continues to expand and create innovative programs to bring African American theatre to a myriad of audiences.