FREE
Virtual play (availability extended through March 22) and Community Conversation
Virtual play: Written and performed by LeLand Gantt and developed at NYC’s Actors Studio with Estelle Parsons, Rhapsody in Black is a one-man show that explores LeLand’s personal journey to understanding and confronting racism in America. We follow his spellbinding life story—from an underprivileged childhood in the ghettos of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to teenage experiments with crime and drugs to scholastic achievement and an acting career that lands adult LeLand in situations where he is virtually the only African-American in the room. How he manages to cope with the various psychological effects of consistently being marked The Other is recounted in remarkable and moving detail, sure to leave lasting impressions. Watch now (PASSWORD: RhapsodyMahaiwe90).
Community Conversation:
The March 14 post-show conversation is moderated by Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, professor emeritus at MCLA and chair of Clinton Church Restoration’s Council of Scholars. She is joined by Gantt, Howard University junior Olivia Nda, and African American Studies teacher Jamal Ahamad. Building on the themes of Rhapsody in Black, this online discussion explores different points of view regarding the arts as a vehicle for approaching issues of race relations in the 21st century and across generations.
In partnership with Clinton Church Restoration
Sponsored by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Bridging Divides, Healing Communities program