Recently Closed: THAT SERIOUS HE-MAN BALL Opens the Ensemble Season
Posted by: Thespuson 2004/9/8 5:39:00 2410 reads
THAT SERIOUS HE-MAN BALLOpens Thursday, September 23, 2004 7:30 p.m.
(Previews: September 18-22 )
Runs:September 23 - October 17, 2004
The Ensemble Theatre opens its 28th season with the playwright, Alonzo D. Lamont, Jr.’s play That Serious He-Man Ball. Opening night is Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. at The Ensemble Theatre. When it premiered almost 20 years ago, LaMont’s play generated widespread interest and excitement in theatre centers around the country, including a successful production of the play at The Ensemble in 1992. LaMont was...
Read Chron. Review!
...one of the first in a new generation of writers to advance portrayals of African American professionals from the domestic setting and into the fast paced settings of today’s contemporary world.
The updated version of the earlier play, like the original, tosses male friendships into the court of public opinion – the basketball court! At times funny, probing, and always poignant, the play scores three points for its portrayal of the games men play on the court and with each other. In the play, three friends, one very employed, one barely employed, and one un-employed---meet for a game of hoops and shooting the breeze.
Marsha Jackson-Randolph directs the cast of “He-Manâ€; Davi Jay a 22-year veteran of The Ensemble stage reprises the role of Twin, a financial analyst. Broderick Jones, portraying Sky, an employment counselor, is a native Houstonian, and accomplished actor and director who attended Madison High School, Sam Houston State University and Prairie View University. Steven J. Scott, in his third season with The Ensemble, takes the stage as the character Jello, the loquacious writer.
Jackson-Randolph observes, “This play reveals where the men women love are vulnerable and the values men prize in other men – loyalty and trust. It’s a play about men, but it’s for anyone who has ever dared to see themselves through the eyes of their friends. Now that’s a three point play—funny, unabashedly honest, and ‘serious’.
Recommended: For mature audiences.
The Ensemble:
3535 Main Street - Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 520-0055 Phone
(713) 520-1269 Fax
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The Ensemble Theatre’s production of That Serious He-Man Ball is generously underwritten by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. Support is also received from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County (CACHH).
Founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins, The Ensemble Theatre has brought several generations of African Americans and other theatre patrons into the performance art form.
The mission of The Ensemble Theatre is to preserve African American artistic _expression, enlighten, entertain, and enrich a diverse community.
The Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) theatre that holds the distinction as the nation’s largest African American theatre that owns and operates its own facility and produces a Mainstage Season of 5-6 contemporary and classic works devoted to the portrayal of the African American experience by local and national playwrights and artists.
In addition, The Ensemble’s Tour Education Program provides performances for young audiences including schools, community outreach, and training for young artists through The Young Performers Program.
The Ensemble Theatre’s $4.5 million facility includes the George Hawkins main stage with seating for 200 patrons, the Audrey Lawson Arena seating up to 125, and a performance centre accommodating up to 500 people. The Theatre’s most recent accomplishment occurred on January 1 when the theatre celebrated two major milestones: the retirement of its $360,000 debt remaining from its $4.5 million capital campaign, and the dedication of METRO commuter rail stop named in the theatre’s honor.
