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Arts & Entertainment

WordTheatre presents Storytales at The Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles

What happens when you mix a world class author's literary exploration of his African-American heritage with explosions of rap music and hip hop dance? In the rhythmic, spellbinding vernacular of the streets, John Edgar Wideman's characters articulate the human impact of race, politics, violence, sex, love and loss. Brilliant film, television and Broadway actors bring Wideman's words to life and Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids produces his original tracks live with dancers from Culture Shock LA populating this dynamic cityscape. Featuring:

  • Keith David (Crash, The Princess and the Frog, Coraline)
  • Omar Dorsey (Django Unchained, The Blind Side)
  • Gary Dourdan (CSI, Alien: Resurrection)
  • Edi Gathegi (X-Men, Gone Baby Gone, Twilight)
  • Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons, 227)
  • Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster, Final Destination)
  • Dennis Haysbert (The Unit, 24)
  • Barry Shabaka Henley (The Big Year, FlashForward)
  • Mark Christopher Lawrence (Chuck, The Pursuit of Happyness)
  • Stephen McKinley Henderson (Tower Heist, Tony Award Nominee for Fences)
  • Dorian Missick (Southland, Lucky Number Sleven)
  • James Pickens Jr. (Grey's Anatomy, The X-Files)
  • Ron Simons (Night Catches Us, Law and Order)
  • Lorraine Toussaint (Saving Grace, The Soloist)
  • Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story, Eve's Bayou)
  • Robert Wisdom (The Wire, Face/Off)
  • Narration by Dave Fennoy, the voice of Hulu

Produced and directed by Cedering Fox. John Edgar Wideman is the author of more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including the award-winning Brothers and Keepers, Philadelphia Fire, and most recently the novel Fanon. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Genius grant, two PEN/Faulkner awards, and has been nominated for the National Book Award. Wideman lives in Manhattan and teaches at Brown University. For more information about Briefs, the collection that Storytales draws from, visit http://www.lulu.com/john_edgar_wideman For more information on The Cool Kids and their music visit http://coolxkids.com/ Culture Shock LA is a non-profit dance troupe that aims to use urban dance forms to engage traditionally underserved populations in the arts, and to present these forms with the same dedication and artistry given to classical dance styles. We promote the positive attributes of the Hip-Hop culture by teaching self-worth, dignity and respect through training in the visual and performing arts. http://cultureshockla.org/ Storytales contains mature content.

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