Darkly Comic End-of-Life Hospice Care Drama Premieres
DEAD AND BREATHING
Opens November 5 at National Black Theatre
4 Stars. "An engaging, heartfelt exploration of death and the need for
redemption." -- DC Metro Theater Arts
"Simultaneously thought-provoking and as funny as it gets…. nasty,
funny, earthy, and surprisingly wise." -- Communities Digital News
"Will provide a treasure trove of reflections about life’s value and
worth, the impact we have on each other, and living to the fullest, no
matter what." -- DC Theatre Scene
"Funny, insightful… this play is so well-finished it seems ready for a
trip to New York. " -- BroadwayWorld
Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE, the oldest continually
operating black theater in New York, will present the New York City
Premiere of DEAD AND BREATHING by GLAAD Media Award winner Chisa
Hutchinson (She Like Girls). Directed by Obie winner Jonathan McCrory,
previews begin October 28 with press opening set for November 5. NOTE:
this limited engagement is produced on an Off-Broadway contract.
In DEAD AND BREATHING, cranky old Carolyn Whitlock has been in hospice
for far too long and just wants to die. When she tries to convince a
loud, oversharing, and very Christian nurse to assist her suicide, she
has to work harder than she ever has in her privileged life to end it.
Through surprising humor and persistent questioning, DEAD AND
BREATHING investigates morality, mortality, and the intense tug-of-war
between the right to die with dignity and the idea of life as a gift.
The production stars Lizan Mitchell (Helen Hayes Award for Best
Actress) and Nikki Walker with a production team that includes Maruti
Evans (scenic design), Alan Edwards (lighting design), Karen Perry
(costume design), Justin Hicks (sound design), Valerie Gladstone
(Special Effects) Halle Morse (stage management), Belynda Hardin
(production manager), Ngozi Anyanwu (production assistant).
Chisa Hutchinson was born in Queens, New York and raised in Newark,
New Jersey. She earned a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from Vassar College and
an M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU. Chisa's plays include She Like
Girls, The Subject, Dirt Rich, Mama's Gonna Buy You, This is Not The
Play, Alondra Was Here, and Somebody's Daughter. Her plays have been
produced by companies including Lark Play Development Center, City
Parks' Summerstage, Working Man's Clothes, Partial Comfort, Atlantic
Theater Company, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, New Dramatists,
Rattlestick Theater, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Midtown
Direct Rep, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Working Theater and
FilmGym. She is the recipient of numerous awards including GLAAD Media
Award, Lanford Wilson Award, Helen Merrill Award, NY Innovative
Theater Award, and the John Golden Award for Playwriting. Chisa has
written for and performed with the New York NeoFuturists and was a
Staff Writer for Blue Man Group.
Jonathan McCrory is an Obie Award-winning, Harlem-based artist. He is
currently the Director of the Theatre Arts Program at the National Black
Theatre. His directing credits include: HandsUp: 6 Playwrights 6
Testament, Last Laugh, Hope Speaks, Blacken The Bubble, Asking for
More and Enter Your Sleep. A Washington, DC native, he attended Duke
Ellington School of the Arts, then New York University Tisch School of
the Arts. In 2013 he was awarded the Emerging Producer Award by the
National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, NC, and the Torch
Bearer Award by Woodie King Jr. He is a founding member of Harlem9
(where he shared an Obie for 48 Hours in Harlem) and The Movement
Theatre Company. For more info, visit www.jonathanmccrory.com.
Founded by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer in 1968, NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE (NBT)
is a nationally recognized cultural and educational institution. Dr.
Teer was a pioneer in bringing black theatre where artists of African
descent lived and worked. In 1983, Dr. Teer expanded the vision
of NBT by purchasing a 64,000-square-foot building on 125th Street and
Fifth Avenue (renamed “National Black Theatre Way” in 1994). This was
the first revenue-generating black arts complex in the country, an
innovative arrangement through which for-profit businesses shared
NBT’s values rented retail space to subsidize the arts. Out of her
vision, NBT now houses the largest collection of Nigerian new sacred
art in the Western hemisphere. NBT is partially supported by grants
from the City Council of New York, the City of New York Department of
Cultural Affairs, Ford Foundation, Andrew Mellon Foundation, Columbia
University Service Society and private donations. Follow NBT on
Facebook (www.facebook.com/NationalBlackTheatre) and Twitter/Instagram
(@NatBlackTheatre). For more information visit
www.nationalblacktheatre.org.
DEAD AND BREATHING runs October 28 - November 23. Performances are
Monday, Thursday & Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 2pm & 7:30pm and
Sunday at 4 pm. NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE is located in the heart of
Harlem at 2031-33 National Black Theatre Way (at the corner of 125th
Street and Fifth Avenue -- accessible from the 2,3,4,5,6 trains at
125th Street). Tickets are $30, available at 866-811-4111 or
www.nationalblacktheatre.org.
