Company description::
December 27, 2003 – Cleveland, OH -- January 23rd to January 25, 2004, Emmy winning writer and acclaimed director Alex P. Michaels is bringing to the Cleveland Public Theatre an interactive visual event that covers: being black in America, fame, scandals, rumours, and making movies in a city that “just doesn’t get it.” The play/ visual event titled “The M.A.N.” a.k.a. “The Magnificent Arrogant Nigger or I Never Learned to Dance Like Fred Astaire” will involve the audience and show movie clips from Prelude2Cinema. The M.A.N. will also use elements from Alex’s life (whether they are true or not). It will also cover his years making digital movies in the city of Cleveland and trying to create a system based on the Hollywood Studio System.
In “The Magnificent Arrogant Nigger or I Never Learned to Dance Like Fred Astaire,” Alex P. Michaels will play the dual role of a lawyer and a Cleveland filmmaker who gets involved in a scandal. What is true and what isn’t is up to the audience. Since this is an improvisational piece the script is subject to change, but here is a piece of the lawyer’s closing argument:
“Ladies and gentleman of the jury, what have we become. Why do we want someone to be bad before we give them attention? Why are the scandals the thing that drives us to frenzy? I wish I could tell you that the Man is completely innocent, but no one is completely innocent. The Man had a vision. He wanted to make movies. He wanted to do Hollywood in his hometown. Movies are stories. They are basically lies. And somewhere along the way, the Man got caught up in his own lies. Believed an actress smiling at him was a show of affection. And being a guy… well, let’s not get into what he did or didn’t do. It’s my opinion he was too busy making movies to do anything…”
The M.A.N. will feature movie clips from Prelude2Cinema including: the trailers for “Blood Kiss: Soul of a Woman,” “Little Girl,” “I Dare You to Kill Her,” the pilot for the TV Series “Out of Darkness” based on Alex P. Michaels’ Emmy winning movie “What Angels Fear” and his short movie “The IT girl” which is playing in New York City in January 2004.
Alex says, “Cleveland eats you alive if you are an artist. Why do you think everyone leaves here?” Needless to say after such a bare open and real look at Cleveland, Alex will probably be run out of town on a rail. No matter, his movies are playing all over the world. He has planned screenings in New York City, Boston and elsewhere. His website www.prelude2cinema.com has gathered an international audience. The M.A.N. will not be politically correct and all names will be changed to protect the innocent.
The M.A.N. takes place one weekend only January 23rd and 24th at 8pm and January 25th at 3pm at Cleveland Public Theatre at 6415 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, OH 44112 Tickets are $10. Free Parking. 216-631-2727. www.cptonline.org
The M.A.N. is being presented as part of the award-winning BIG [BOX] series. Cleveland Public Theatre Executive director James Levin and artistic director Randy Rollison are proud of the BIG [BOX] series, which is now in its second year. Big [BOX] focuses on the independent creative artist and the exciting things that can happen when one is given the space and time to create. Throughout January 2004, Cleveland Public Theatre turns the Upstairs Theatre over to a different individual or set of artists each week. Writers, directors, actors, and designers will dedicate themselves to creating new and original work, or stretching their artistic powers by working in new disciplines
The official website for “The M.A.N.” is at www.prelude2cinema.com/man.htm
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