Accompanying Ed Smith to the Phoenix stage is Jubilee actor Aaron Petit. Petit was last seen onstage at Jubilee Theatre alongside Major Attaway in Music Director Joe Roger’s Sam Shade: A Detective Musical. Petit, known for his work in Jubilee comedies, will play the title character, Jefferson, who is wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to die.
This has been a big year for Ed Smith, who received The Black Theatre Festival’s first annual Lloyd Richards’ Director’s Award in August in Winston-Salem, NC.
According to their website, The Black Theatre Troupe has promoted excellence in the performing arts with an emphasis on people of color. From its proud but humble beginnings as a grassroots, creative outlet for restless, talented youth in the 70’s, the Black Theatre Troupe is now a highly recognized theatre producing quality plays which reflect the heart and soul of the African-American experience.
The Black Theatre Troupe enhances the cultural and artistic awareness in Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the country, by producing plays and musicals that illuminate the African-American experience and culture. The Black Theatre Troupe’s production of A Lesson Before Dying opens February 18, and will run through February 28, 2010.
Ed Smith is an award-winning director with a lifetime of experience in the world of theater who is currently serving as Jubilee Theatre’s Artistic Director.
