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 “Lyrics From Lockdown is an important and necessary story told with a voice as fresh as today’s headlines,” said Artistic Director Tim Robbins. “With poetry, musicians and striking visuals, Bryonn Bain and Gina Belafonte give us a first hand look into racial profiling and a deeply flawed criminal justice system in a powerful evening of theater.”
Under the direction of Gina Belafonte, Lyrics From Lockdown weaves the voices of over 40 characters into an extraordinary, internationally acclaimed tour de force.
This one man multimedia production features a live band and VJ and a fusion of hip hop, theater, spoken word, rhythm and blues, calypso and classical music, to tell Bain’s story.
After being unjustly stopped and frisked outside of a NYC nightclub, the back then Harvard Law School student was thrown into jail. Once released, Bain recalls writing poetry, rhymes, and what later became a cover story for the Village Voice. His story, “Walking While Black,” received the largest response in the history of the nation’s most widely-read progressive newspaper. Soon after, Bain’s law school professor Lani Guinier suggested that he create a “hip hop opera.” From there “Lyrics From Lockdown” was born.
The play also introduces the audience to Nanon Williams, a young man who was sentenced to death at age 17 for a crime he did not commit. Nanon wrote Bain from Death Row after reading his story nearly a decade ago. “His letters changed my life,” Bain said. “He asked me to share his story and I was so moved by it that I weaved his letters into Lyrics so you see how this young poet — unjustly robbed of his youth — is inspiring a global movement to free himself and others unjustly thrown into prison.”
"Art and culture are creative tools to educate, organize and mobilize a movement. The criminal justice system has hit pandemic proportions and our level of engagement as a community is vital to bring solution and alternatives to this crisis,” director Gina Belafonte said. “Bryonn Bain's Lyrics From Lockdown is an exemplary offering of the engagement of arts in activism and a vision of an equitable and transformative world."
Presenter / Producer: The Actors' Gang
Listed Categories
Theater > Drama
Event Phone: 310-838-4264
Venue
Actors' Gang Theatre
9070 Venice Blvd.
Culver City CA 90232
Regions:
LA - Hollywood / Westside
Performance Dates: 2/4/2017 - 2/26/2017
Saturday, 02/04/2017
Sunday, 02/05/2017
Thursday, 02/09/2017
Friday, 02/10/2017
Saturday, 02/11/2017
Sunday, 02/12/2017
Thursday, 02/16/2017
Friday, 02/17/2017
Saturday, 02/18/2017
Sunday, 02/19/2017
Thursday, 02/23/2017
Friday, 02/24/2017
Saturday, 02/25/2017
Sunday, 02/26/2017
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Performance Times
WHEN:
January 26 – Saturday, February 26, 2017
PREVIEWS:
Thursday, January 26 – February 3, 2017
PERFORMANCES:
Opening night: Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 8:00pm
EVENINGS:
Thursday at 8:00pm
Friday at 9pm
Saturday at 8pm
MATINEE:
Sunday, Feb. 26 at 3pm
Ticket Information:
General tickets are available for $34,99. Seniors and students may purchase $30.00 tickets. Thursday evenings are “Pay-What-You-Can.” For tickets, please call 310-838-4264 or visit www.theactorsgang.com to purchase tickets online or to view the complete schedule. The Actors’ Gang Theatre is located at 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA, 90232.
Websites:
Event Information
Social Media or other Links:
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