PRESS RELEASE: CHROMOLUME THEATRE PRESENTS “BIRD LIVES!” BY WILLARD MANUS, AUGUST 15 — SEPTEMBER 21

CHROMOLUME THEATRE AT THE ATTIC
PRESENTS
BIRD LIVES!
A SOLO PLAY WITH MUSIC
BY WILLARD MANUS
STARRING MONTAE RUSSELL
DIRECTED BY TOMMY HICKS

AUGUST 15 — SEPTEMBER 21 ONLY

Chromolume Theatre has announced Bird Lives! as its next production, opening on Friday, August 15 at 8pm. Written by Willard Manus and directed by Tommy Hicks, Bird Lives! will star Montae Russell as jazz icon Charlie Parker in this solo play with music. Parker, a legendary saxophone virtuoso, ushered in a new era of jazz by pioneering bebop and influencing subsequent generations of musicians. Bird Lives! will play a strictly limited engagement through September 21 only.

Montae Russell is a veteran television, theatre, and film actor. He was seen on NBC’s ER for 15 seasons as paramedic Dwight Zadro, and his other film and cable credits include The Player’s Club, HBO’s Laurel Avenue, TNT’s Lily in Winter, One Life to Live. Russell has made many television episodic appearances including Shameless, Detroit 187, and Cold Case, to name only a few. Stage credits include King Hedley II, A Few Good Men, Prelude to a Kiss (Broadway); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and Fences (Kennedy Center); East Texas Hotlinks (Public Theater); The Glass Menagerie (Cleveland Playhouse); the solo show Thurgood; The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry; Jitney. Russell is active in the South Los Angeles area with his non-profit organization Successful Youth Los Angeles. www.MontaeRussell.com.

Playwright Willard Manus has had numerous plays produced in Los Angeles. Frank and Ava, a two-character play about Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, recently concluded a six-month run at Three Clubs in Hollywood after winning a Best Play prize in the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Marilyn—My Secret, co-written with Odalys Nanin, is now running at the Macha Theatre. Among his other plays are Bridge and Berlin Cowboys. Manus is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit.

Director Tommy Hicks is more widely known for his starring roles in independent feature films including Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It!, Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, and Charles Burnett’s The Glass Shield. Hicks is a former Walt Disney Studios Screenwriting Fellowship Award Winner, and has lectured on theatre, film, and television at university campuses across the country. He directed Champion at the Skylight Theatre which later moved to New York City’s New Federal Theatre for a critically acclaimed run. Most recently, Hicks directed Willard Manus’ ‘Roid Rage at the Write Act Theatre in Hollywood, Bird Lives! at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, and Mim & Rose at Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. Hicks is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit.

The Chromolume design team for Bird Lives! will include Daniel Ingram (scenic) Samantha Marie (lighting), Amy Mazzaferro (costumes), and James Esposito (sound). The stage manager is Lauren J. Peters.

Bird Lives! opens on Friday, August 15 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through September 21. Tickets are $20, with discounts for students and seniors ($17) and children 12 and under ($15), and may be purchased online at www.crtheatre.com, or via telephone at 323-205-1617. Chromolume Theatre at the Attic is located at 5429 W. Washington Boulevard (between the 10 freeway and Hauser Boulevard), in Los Angeles, 90016. Ample street parking is available.

For more information, visit www.crtheatre.com or call 323-510-2688.

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07-29-14