HOUSTON, Feb. 25, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
| Who/What: | The Ensemble Theatre presents By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, a regional premiere comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. This production will be directed by Ensemble Artistic Director Eileen J. Morris. | ||
| This comedy draws upon the screwball films of the 1930s to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. By The Way, Meet Vera Stark is a seventy year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a determined African American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land a role in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come. | |||
| Featured cast members include: Elizabeth Black; Kevin Daugherty; Tisha Dorn; Michelle Elaine; Roy Hamlin; Kimberly Hicks; and L.D. Green. | |||
| When: | Previews: | Saturday, March 15, 2014 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, March 16, 2014 | 3:00 p.m. | ||
| Wednesday, March 19, 2014 | 7:30 p.m. | ||
| Show Run: | March 20 – April 13, 2014 | ||
| Thursdays | 7:30 p.m. | ||
| Fridays | 8:00 p.m. | ||
| Saturdays | 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. | ||
| Sundays | 3:00 p.m. | ||
| ****Opening Night and Media Reception is Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.**** | |||
| Where: | The Ensemble Theatre | ||
| 3535 Main St. | |||
| Houston, TX 77002 | |||
| 713-520-0055 | |||
| www.EnsembleHouston.com | |||
| Ticket Prices: $19 -- $44 | |||
The Ensemble Theatre's 2013-2014 Season is sponsored in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. United Airlines is the exclusive airline sponsor for The Ensemble Theatre. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is generously sponsored by Spectra Energy.
The Ensemble Theatre was founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins to preserve African American artistic expression and to enlighten, entertain, and enrich a diverse community. Thirty-seven years later, the theatre has evolved from a touring company operating from the trunk of Mr. Hawkins' car to being one of Houston's finest historical cultural institutions. The Ensemble is one of a few professional theatres in the region dedicated to the production of works portraying the African American experience. The oldest and largest professional African American theatre in the Southwest, it holds the distinction of being one of the nation's largest African American theatres owning and operating its facility and producing in-house. Board President Emeritus Audrey Lawson led the capital campaign for The Ensemble's $4.5 million building renovations that concluded in 1997. The Ensemble Theatre has fulfilled and surpassed the vision of its founder and continues to expand and create innovative programs to bring African American theatre to myriad audiences.