By Special to the Daily World
Georgia Shakespeare kicks off its 26th season with the one-weekend-only engagement of Avery Brooks’ widely acclaimed performance of Paul Robeson. Avery Brooks, of “Star Trek” fame, will perform the show chronicling the singer’s life on and off the stage in only four performances at the Conant Performing Arts Center March 24 -27.
The 26th season opens with a special engagement of Philip Hayes Dean’s “Paul Robeson” starring the one and only Avery Brooks.
Ernie Scott (“The Piano Lesson” “Broadway”) accompanies Brooks on stage in the role of Robeson’s longtime pianist, Lawrence Brown. Paul Robeson, originally produced on Broadway in 1979, is a biographical drama about the spectacular life of this athlete, lawyer, actor, singer and political activist. From his early days at Rutgers, through Columbia Law School and on to a spectacular international stage and screen career, all the while, speaking for the voiceless in a tumultuous climate, Robeson broke barriers and set new precedents. It was a life well-lived.
Brooks is best known for his role as Captain Sisko on TV’s “StarTrek:Deep Space Nine,” which ran from 1993 to 1999. Sisko was the first African American to lead a Star Trek series. He was artistic director of Atlanta’s own National Black Arts Festival from 1993-1996, and with credits like the movie “American History X” and the TV hit, “Spenser: For Hire,” he is a celebrated artist of stage and screen. Brooks has received much critical acclaim for his work in “Paul Robeson,” and pays tribute to the life of Robeson as famous singer, actor, and civil rights activist. He’s performed in the role several times since 1982 at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Longacre Theater on Broadway. He also portrayed Robeson in “Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been,” both on and off-Broadway.
“Paul Robeson” will only be performed on four occasions. Thursday, March 24, at 10 a.m.; Friday and Saturday evenings, March 25 and 26, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 27, at 2 p.m. For ticket information contact the box office at 404-264-0020 or online at www.gashakespeare.org.
About Post Author
