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CONTACT: Long Branch, NJ (BlackNews.com) - NJ Rep, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, is proud to present the NJ premiere of Minstrel Show; Or the Lynching of William Brown by Max Sparber, Sept. 27 thru Oct. 28. Performances will be Thursdays, Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm & 8pm; and Sundays at 2pm & 7pm. Special reduced priced previews will be presented on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 27 and 28 at 2pm and 8pm. Opening night is on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 8pm. Minstrel Show retells the story of the real-life murder of an African-American man in Omaha, Neb., in 1919, through the narration of two fictional African-American blackface performers. Through comedy, music, and drama two minstrel performers re-enact the tragic event, and at the same time the audience witnesses the evolution of the black actor in America. It is a compelling piece of theater directed by Rob Urbinati and starring Spencer Scott Barros and Kelcey Watson. NJ Rep will offer a talk-back with the cast after each performance. Tickets are $35 for general admission, $40 for opening night, and $30 for previews. Discounts are available to seniors, students, and groups. Special performances can be scheduled for schools and groups in addition to the ones listed. For tickets and additional information call 732-229-3166 or visit www.njrep.org for online ticketing. NJ Rep offers free parking and easy access from NJ Transit and Academy Bus Line. There are several dinner theater packages with local area restaurants. COMMENTS FROM PLAYWRIGHT MAX SPARBER: I moved, somewhat without planning to, to Omaha, Neb in 1996. I had never visited the city, and so, my first week, set out to read a little about my new home. At the library, I discovered a book written by the Federal Writer's Project during the depression that offered a map of downtown labeled with interesting historical tidbits, such as former brothels and gambling houses. Wandering around downtown, visiting these sites, I eventually reached the Douglas County Courthouse. Standing before it, I read an astounding, horrifying account of a lynching that had occurred on that spot in 1919. William Brown, a man crippled with rheumatism, had been accused of molesting a white woman, and thousands had stormed the massive, bunker-like courthouse to get him. During the course of the assault on the courthouse, the mob even attacked their own mayor, hanging him from a lamppost, where he would have died had not policemen rescued him. I spent the next year researching this story, reading the newspaper accounts of the era. At the same time, I had become friends with Hughston Walkinshaw, of Omaha's Blue Barn Theatre. I approached him with the idea of dramatizing the lynching of William Brown, and he at once agreed, placing it on the schedule for the theater's next season before I had ever even written one word of the script. To our surprise, we were granted the use of the rotunda of the Douglas County Courthouse, the actual site of the lynching, to perform the play. It was the subject of some controversy when it opened: State Senator Ernie Chambers, without either reading or seeing the play, condemned it, calling for a black boycott of the production. He was mostly ignored, and the play enjoyed an extended, sold out run. Shortly thereafter, the Omaha production was invited to Denver, and also played one weekend in Carmel, California. Rob Urbinati, a director based out of NY but formerly a student in Omaha, heard about the play and requested a copy. He brought the script to Queens Theatre in the Park, where he is an artistic director, and the play inaugurated a minority theater project in 1999. The Queens Theatre also brought the play to Manhattan, co-producing it with Chain Lightning Theatre, later that year.The play has continued to be produced since then, finding venues in Long Beach, Cal., Colorado Springs, Col., Pittsburgh, Penn. (it had a weekend run at the Warhol Museum), and, two productions in Durham, NC. In Feb 2006, the play returned to Omaha's Blue Barn Theatre, and then to the John Beasley Theatre, again under the direction of Rob Urbinati. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MINISTREL SHOW: "It's easy to forget how much intelligence and sheer talent it takes to transform pain into any kind of crowd-pleasing humor--the triumph of this play...the audience is constantly entertained but never allowed to forget about the minstrels' degrading world. In that context the lynching seems entirely normal -- and all the more horrific for it. In the end, what may be the most startling thing about using these entertainers to teach us our history is the disturbing resonance it creates within our celebrity-filled era." "A powerful piece of theater...It's a window into the past -- and the present." "We become dumbstruck bystanders of events too terrible to fully comprehend. And as the reality of what happened that fateful September night slowly sinks in, we ultimately find ourselves rendering the only verdict we're able -- a silent, absolute assent -- [at] the drama's final words: 'We're witnesses to history. We want it told, and we want it told right.'" "It's a horrific, compelling, masterful story: enough to take the starch out of anyone's collar." "I can't stress enough that this play is not to be missed. The power of this performance...is monumental even in its starkness." "A hard-hitting, must-see tour de force." "Historically rich, contemporarily relevant, compelling, evocative - and great - theater."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2007
SuzAnne Barabas
732-229-3166
suzanne@njrep.org
NJ REP TO PRESENT MINSTREL SHOW; OR THE LYNCHING OF WILLIAM BROWN
Minstrel Show; Or the Lynching of
William Brown 
Kelcey Watson 
Spencer Scott Barros
-- The New Yorker
-- The Denver Post
-- Westword
-- CurtainUp
-- The Omaha Reader
-- The Omaha City Weekly
-- The Omaha World-Herald
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