The Classical Theatre of Harlem

Archbishop supreme tartuffe  

by Alfred Preisser & Randy Weiner
Directed by ALFRED PREISSER

Featuring: André DeShields, Ted Lange, Kim Brockington, Lawrence Street, Reji Woods, Tyrone Davis, Jennifer Akabue, Gina Marie Rivera, Kisa Willis, Charletta Rozzell, Soneelea Nankani, Jabari Brisport and Gerron Atkinson

June 12, 2009 – July 19, 2009
Tuesdays 7pm | Wednesdays – Fridays 8pm | Saturdays 3pm & 8pm | Sundays 3pm & 7pm
Theatre Row Studios | Clurman Theatre | 410 West 42nd Street

Single Tickets: $50
Order Tickets with discount code CTHW by June 1st and save $10!
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Group Rates & Reservations Email: [email protected]

Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe is an original play with music, inspired by Moliere's great comic classic and informed by the gloriously unorthodox ministries of Reverend Ike, Daddy Grace and Rasputin.  Set within a fabulously theatrical Harlem Renaissance-era "church," the play explores the outrageously creative criminal mind of the title character through a series of songs, dances, sermons and feats of divine inspiration.

JENNIFER AKABUE (Supreme Choir) is an actress and professional dancer born and raised from Dallas, Texas. As a new resident of New York, God has already made a way for her to take the center stage. She appears in the new 2010 in the Sony Pictures movie Salt, played Renae Hall in the Off-Broadway play Black Metropolis, and is a dancer for the Fred Astaire Awards in New York. She is also a member of Faith in God theater group. She also has experience as a stage manager and acted as an administrative assistant at the Riverside Theater. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Genesys Danze, Inc. She is a dance instructor and specialist at The Harlem Children Zone and acts as mentor to the inner city youth. She is skilled in hip-hop, jazz, street jazz, contemporary modern, West African dance, lyrical, and praise dance from Texas Woman's University. She has instructed and performed for various workshops and national community service projects such as Children Miracle Network and Dance for the Planet.

GERRON ATKINSON (Orgon, Big Jerome & Supreme Understudy) is very excited to make his debut at the Classical Theater of Harlem. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater/Performance. Some of his credits include: Smokey Joe's Cafe, The Civil War: A Musical, Pippin, Cabaret, Guiding Light, Day of Absence, Fences, The Piano Lesson, Cherry Falls, and Godspell. He also had an opportunity to play alongside R&B singer Toni Braxton on the VH1-Fashion Awards and was nominated for an Irene Ryan award for his work in The Civil War: A Musical. He is grateful to his family and all the people who have supported his dream of the theater!

JABARI BRISPORT (Damis) Classical Theatre of Harlem debut. Jabari is a recent grad of NYU Tisch: The NYU Reality Show (Ensemble) A Map of the World (Victor Mehta), Hamlet (Laertes), Bash (John). New York Classical Theatre: Macbeth (Angus). The Culture Project: Political Subversities (Ensemble).  He's been dreaming of working with CTH for 2 years, and couldn't be happier to be here.  Thanks to Mom, Dad, Sisters and Friends for all the love and support!

KIM BROCKINGTON (Elmire) Off Broadway and regional theatre: Angela’s Mixtape (Ohio Theater), Doubt as Mrs. Muller (National Tour), Zora (American Place Theater and Kennedy Center), Wanda Dean (MTC), In Walks Ed, From The Mississippi Delta and Dark Paradise (Cincinnati Playhouse), The America Play (A.R.T.), Thunder Knocking on the Door (Yale Rep), Venice (Crossroads), Letters From a New England Negro (NBTF), A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theater), Flyin’ West (Alabama Shakespeare Fest).  TV credits include: Zora in Zora: Jump at the Sun on PBS, Felicia Boudreaux on Guiding Light (recurred 7 years), One Life To Live, All My Children, Whoopi, West Wing, Law and Order, Hate, Third Watch. Film: Rock the Paint, School of Rock, Love Songs, Dirty Laundry, and The Red Right Hand. She is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Studied and worked with Susan Batson and Lloyd Richards.

TYRONE DAVIS, JR. (Little Jerome) New York: The Rape of the Lock, Coriolanus, Twelfth Night. Regional: Pure Confidence (New England Premiere), Angels in America, Parade, 42nd Street, Three Sisters, Into the Woods, King Lear. Tour: The Mystery of King Tut (Theatreworks USA) B.F.A.: New World School of the Arts. Proud member of the Actor's Equity Association.

ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS (Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe) is an award-winning actor, director and educator.  The Classical Theatre of Harlem: 2007 Award for Sustained Excellence in the Theatre, Black Nativity (2007), King Lear (2006), Caligula (2005), Dream On Monkey Mountain (2004).  La MaMa:  Haarlem Nocturne.  The Flea: Cato.  Broadway: Impressionism, Prymate, The Full Monty, Play On!, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and The Wiz.  Regional: Death Of A Salesman, Inherit The Wind, Waiting For Godot, Our Town. Intermittently, Mr. De Shields is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at colleges and universities across the nation.  He is a proud member of Equity, SDC, SAG and AFTRA.  Namasté!

TED LANGE (Orgon) certainly exemplifies the Renaissance Man Theatre Award that he received from the NAACP in Los Angeles and the Heroes and Legends HAL Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre. A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, an outstanding actor of stage and screen, an exceptional movie and television director, and a prolific writer, comprise an award-winning and diverse show business career.  Lange made his Broadway debut in the musical hit Hair and his theatre acting career spans over forty plays including Galileo and a national tour of Driving Miss Daisy.  Lange received the Best Actor Award from the NAACP Theatre Committee for his portrayal of Louie in the Gus Edwards’s play Louie and Ophelia. Behind the Mask, Lange’s one-man show based on the life and poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar has played to sold-out houses across the nation. He has appeared in the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s production of King Lear, starred locally in I’m Not Rappaport, and is recognized around the world for his portrayal of Isaac Washington from classic television show, The Love Boat.  Lange has penned twenty-two plays.   Four Queens - No Trump, a bodacious comedy about four black women, played to rave reviews in Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, and Omaha and won NAACP Best Play. His play, Lemon Meringue Façade, was nominated by the Valley Theatre Awards with Lange winning for Best Director. Evil Legacy - the Story of Lucretia Borgia was nominated by LA Weekly for Best One Woman Show.  Also written, directed, and produced by Lange was Born a Unicorn, a rock ‘n roll musical depicting the life of black Shakespearean actor, Ira Aldridge, and the musical, The Heart of Biddy Mason. Continuing his historical play series, George Washington’s Boy has received standing ovations at the National Black Theatre Festival and The University of Florida.  His theatre directing career includes over fifty productions including Othello in which he directed and starred in the stage and film version. Lange’s film directing career includes the feature film, For Love of Amy, as well as the television shows All of Us, Eve, Dharma and Greg, Love Boat: The Next Wave, In The House, Moesha, and seventeen episodes of the original Love Boat. Currently, Lange is writing, producing, and directing a series for the web on Youtube called Players at the Poker Palace. 

SONEELA NANKANI (Marianne) Theatre: The Clay Cart, Comedy of Errors (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Midsummer Night's Dream (Classic Stage Company), Ovid's Metamorphoses (Riverside Theatre), Happy Days, Yerma, The Cherry Orchard (Schapiro Theatre), Seven Great Loves (Sojourn Theatre).  Film/TV: As the World Turns, Child Brides, The Invisibles, Poonam Banarjee, Nic and Marisa, The Tools of War. Web: Maybe New York (www.maybenewyork.com), www.soneela.com. MFA Acting, Columbia University. Thank you Walker, Meena, Helen and Gobind for your patience and love.

GINA RIVERA (Supreme Choir) is making her Classical Theatre of Harlem debut and is excited and blessed to perform with such a unique and creative company. She earned her BFA in Acting from Avila University where she starred in Trojan Women, Noises Off, The Rover and A Funny Thing.... Since graduating she has been a resident performer of The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and toured with The Nebraska Theatre Caravan among other projects.

CHARLETTA ROZZELL (Supreme Choir) born and raised in Queens, NY has been blessed with the wonderful talents of acting, singing, dancing and modeling. She was successfully cast as Mary in the play Nativity Now at the Harlem School of Arts in 2004. Currently a student at Nassau Community College, she has been cast in On Striver's Row as Tillie Petunia in January 2009 and Little Shop of Horrors as an urchin in March 2009. "It is an honor to work amongst such talented people in this production. I look forward to a bigger, brighter and successful future pursuing my passion!"

LAWRENCE STREET (Cleante) Broadway: Urinetown (Original Broadway Cast), Chess (Actor's Fund), Showboat (Carnegie Hall Benefit) South Pacific (starring Reba McCintire)  also performed at Carnegie Hall and filmed for PBS Great Performances. Tours: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Porgy and Bess (Mingo), and Cy Coleman's City of Angels. Favorite roles include: leads in La Cage aux Folles, Ragtime, Dreamgirls, Fade Out/Fade In, Bizet's Carmen and Mozart's The Magic Flute. Many thanks to my friends—especially "The Q.C." and John.  Special thanks to Alfred Preisser for this fantastic opportunity.  Lawrence is a proud member of Actor's Equity.

KISA WILLIS (Supreme Choir) is a native of Atlanta, GA, a graduate of Howard University and is excited to be part of this remarkable cast and to join the CTH family!  A few of Ms. Willis’s previous theatre credits include …Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones (NY), History of the Word (Carolina Theatre, NC), Wild About Harry (NYMF), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (NY), The Lathe of Heaven (DC), Jekonni’s Song (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta); amongst several television, film and regional theatre credits in Atlanta, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and New York.  She thanks God, family and friends for constant love.

REJINALD WOODS (Big Jerome) is a graduate of the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre and proud member of Actor's Equity, Rejinald has performed throughout the United States and in a four-city tour of India. Favorite roles include Black Nativity (Temptation/Soloist), Smokey Joe's Café (Victor), Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Cogsworth), Seussical: The Musical (Mr. Mayor), Dreamgirls (CC White), Guys & Dolls (Nicely Nicely Johnson), Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour), and Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death (Sunshine). 

 

Startlingly fresh . CTH reconfirms itself as one of the gutsiest and physically fearless groups around - David Cote, Time Out NY