Resurrection
By Daniel Beaty
Directed by Oz Scott
Originally produced at Arena Stage, Washington, D.C..
August 29, 2008 through October 5, 2008
About the Premiere Production: In a unique blend of music, poetry, and dance, Daniel Beaty brings us six show-stopping characters-from 10-year old Eric, a budding child scientist, who says, “My life’s work is to find a cure for the aching hearts of black folks,” to the Bishop, the leader of a mega church, to his son Isaac, a corporate executive. The stories of these African American men collide one evening in an unforgettable look at identity, relationships and above all our human connections. A bold statement of hope and possibility in the face of pain and isolation, Resurrection is an urgent, timely story of a young hero convinced of his power to heal hearts and change lives. The author of Emergence-SEE!, Daniel Beaty won the 2007 OBIE Award for Outstanding Writing and Performance and dazzled Arena audiences last summer with a sold-out run of the show. He returns to Arena with a talented cast of six actors, as well as Oz Scott, who originally directed For Colored Girls... on Broadway, and Daniel Bernard Roumain, a Haitian-American composer who fuses classical violin with a variety of unlikely soundscapes.
Artistic Statement: "Daniel Beaty's work asks us to reconsider race in America through his 21st century lens - a view that is refreshingly free of clichéd notions of African-American men. As we watch an engaging African-American politician cross racial lines and ask his country to examine questions of faith, race and leadership, Resurrection is spot-on America's pulse." - From Molly Smith, Artistic Director:
Director: Oz Scott
Set Design: Skip Mercier
Lighting Design: Victor En Yu Tan
Sound Design: Tim Thompson
Costume Design: Karen Perry
Composer::Daniel Bernard Roumain
Assistant Light Design: Jason Arnold
Stage Manager (Arena): Kurt Hall
Stage Manager (Hartford): John Eric Scutchins
Subsequent Productions:
Hartford Stage, October 16 - November 16, 2008
Philadelphia Theatre Co, January 23 - February 22, 2009
News
"Mr. Beaty’s play will most likely resonate with those who know next to nothing of the black world he writes about and with those who actually live in it.”
- The New York Times
“Resurrection, the season opener at Arena Stage’s Crystal City space in Arlington, Virginia, uses poetry, dance, music, and six riveting performers to illuminate a panorama of contemporary African-American men coping with life.”
-Talkin Broadway
“Mr. Beaty’s manner of thematic and verbal overlap yields a piece that is both cohesive and dynamic, that feels infused with the playful and powerful energy of hip-hop’s poetry and that challenges its audience to compare and contrast the disparate obstacles that black men encounter.”
- Metro Weekly
“Daniel Beaty’s Resurrection is a piece buoyant with warmth, wit, heartbreak, anger and the beauty of language itself.”
- The Washington Times