Ohio Northern University’s Freed Center for the Performing Arts will present “Warriors Don’t Cry” on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. The production is being held in conjunction with ONU’s celebration of Black History Month.
“Warriors Don’t Cry” is a one-woman play based on the searing civil rights memoir of the same name by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals.
As one of the Little Rock Nine who integrated Central High School in 1957, Beals and her eight fellow student-warriors captured the world’s attention as they endured untold hatred and violence in pursuit of an education equal to that of their white counterparts.
Portraying Beals will be Almeria Campbell, who hails from Tyler, Texas. Campbell is a resident artist with the Cell Theatre in New York City and a member of Amphibian Productions out of Fort Worth, Texas, and has appeared on “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.”
Brian Richardson, the teaching artist in this production, is a New York-based actor who began his career with Trinidad Tent Theatre.
He has worked with Pulse Ensemble Theatre, Metropolitan Playhouse, Theaterworks USA, and others. He presently tours his one-man show “W.E.B. Du Bois: A Man For All Times.” He has been a teaching artist for the last seven years.
The production is under the direction of Richard C. Aven. In 1995, Aven co-authored “Acting: Preparation, Practice and Performance,” an in-depth application of sensory technique to text. Aven has directed productions by Hellman, Coward, Shepard, Shakespeare, and Chekhov, among others.
As associate artistic director of Mixed Phoenix Theatre Group, Aven has been producing their first full production, “Muzungu” by David Myers, at the 4th Street Theatre in New York City and the Fourth Annual Fall Play Reading Series.
In honor of Black History Month, all tickets for this event are $5. The Freed Center box office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Phone orders are accepted with American Express, MasterCard, VISA or Discover by calling 419-772-1900. Tickets also are available online at www.freedcenter.com
