Every day is opening night.

Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Andy Snyder / Elizabeth Wagner
rick@oandmco.com / andy@oandmco.com / elizabeth@oandmco.com
212-695-7400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

New York, NY (April 6, 2011) – The Riverside Theatre, Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group, and Walk Tall Girl Productions present the New York premiere of Tearing Down The Walls, a new musical featuring direction, book and lyrics by Obie Award-winner Daniel Beaty (Through the Night, Emergency) and music by Beaty and Oscar and Grammy-nominated songwriting team Jamal Joseph & Charles Mack (August Rush). Beginning performances at The Riverside Theatre (91 Claremont Avenue) on Friday, May 6, Tearing Down The Walls will officially open on Thursday, May 12. This production follows on the heels on the acclaimed, award-winning, and extended run of Beaty’s solo show Through the Night, which premiered at the Riverside Theatre last year.

Infused with soulful music, impassioned spoken word and laugh-out-loud humor, Tearing Down The Walls tells the story of the residents of a tight-knit Harlem community upended and pushed to the limit by life's challenges, but who find hope in the most unusual places.

The cast features Dietrice Bolden, Umi Shakti, Adrienne C. Moore, Rumando Kelley, Jevon McFerrin, and Kelechi Ezie.

The creative team includes Wendell Howlett (Choreography), Bryan Collier (Scenic and Projections Design), Catherine Fisher (Costume Design) and Andrew Merkel (Lighting Design).

The playing schedule during previews will be Friday, May 6 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, May 7 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, May 8 at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m., and Wednesday, May 11 at 8:00 p.m. After opening night the playing schedule will be Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., with 3:00 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tickets are available via www.theriversidetheatre.org or (212) 870-6784. All preview tickets are $15.00, and all regular performance tickets are $25.00. Tickets purchased before April 15 will be $10 (previews) and $20 (regular performances). Opening night tickets are available for purchase at $50, and include exclusive access to the VIP reception, which will include an exhibit of original artwork by Bryan Collier.

Bios

Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and composer who just completed an extended off-Broadway run of his acclaimed solo play Through The Night produced by Daryl Roth. For this production, Daniel received the 2010 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and the 2010 Ovation Award for Best Male Lead Actor. His critically acclaimed solo play Emergence-See! ran off-Broadway to a sold-out, extended run at The Public Theater in the fall of 2006. For this production, he received the 2007 Obie Award for Excellence in Off-Broadway Theater for Writing & Performing and the 2007 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. He is the recipient of the 2007 Scotsman Fringe First Award for the best new writer at the Edinburgh Festival and was presented with a Lamplighter Award from the Black Leadership Forum in Washington D.C. He holds a BA with Honors in English & Music from Yale University and an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre. His ensemble play Resurrection received its world premiere production at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. in August 2008 (where he was awarded the 2008 Edgerton Foundation’s new American Play Award); followed by engagements at Hartford Stage, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and ETA Theater in Chicago. He is a proud member of New Dramatists and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

Jamal Joseph has worked in theater, film and music as a writer, director, producer and composer. His 25-year collaboration with producing partner Voza Rivers has resulted in the creation of twenty plays, and thirty films. His memoir about his life in the Black Panther Party and prison will be published by Algonquin press early next year. His composer/producer credits include collaborations with Mos Def, Dead Prez, Afeni Shakur, Sonia Sanchez and Nile Rogers. Jamal is a film professor at Columbia, the Executive Artistic Director of New Heritage Theater and the proud co founder of Impact Repertory Theater. He is the recipient of a James Baldwin Playwriting Award, an AUDELCO Award, a NYFA playwriting fellowship, a Cine Golden Eagle, a Sundance Film Institute Fellowship and a Oscar nomination for best song for Impact’s “Raise It Up.”

Charles Mack was born and raised in Flatbush Brooklyn, where he began his musical & artistic journey at his church. While his resume contains placements with major recordings artists, film & telelvision, Charles is most noted for being featured in the Warner Brothers Major Motion Picture August Rush. He also contributed original music to the film. The most notable song, “Raise it Up,” Earned Charles an Academy Award Nomination for Best Song. He performed this song on the 80th Annual Academy Awards Show, which was televised worldwide to an audience of billions!

Celebrating a milestone 50 years of artistic programming, The Riverside Theatre believes that the arts can be a transforming power in peoples’ lives and is committed to serving as a catalyst for cultural connections and social change. The Riverside Theatre, located at the historic Riverside Church, presents a diverse range of programming that includes dance, drama, film and music. Highlights from the past seasons have included: the Katherine Dunham Tribute in honor of her 96th birthday; the Clark Terry Tribute hosted by the late Ossie Davis, with special guests Bill Cosby, Arturo Sandoval, Dianne Reeves, Nicholas Payton and Jon Faddis; the screening of The Rise & Fall of Jim Crow, in collaboration with Thirteen WNET; and Daniel Beaty’s critically acclaimed Through the Night.

Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group is celebrating their 47th anniversary as the oldest black not for profit theatre in New York City. The Theatre is pleased to join with Riverside Theatre celebrating its 50th Anniversary in presenting the work of the distinguished actor Daniel Beaty. New Heritage is pleased to be a part of the producing team. New Heritage is headed by Grammy nominated and Audelco award winning Executive Producer Voza Rivers and Oscar and Grammy nominated Executive Artistic Director Jamal Joseph, Chair of the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University.

Founded in 2000 by Marcia Pendelton, Walk Talk Girl Productions is a marketing, audience development and group sales company. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, WTGP seeks to find the widest possible audience for the arts and is pleased to continue its association with Daniel Beaty. Recent clients include the award-winning musical FELA! on Broadway, the Broadway revival of Fences with Denzel Washington, Second Stage Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center and V-Day. www.walktallgirlproductions.com

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