I Go On Singing - Paul Robeson’s Life in His Words & Songs

Lost American Hero of the 20th Century Re-Discovered in
I Go On Singing - Paul Robeson’s Life in His Words & Songs

Aurora, CO – Grand Design, Inc. will present I Go On Singing – Paul Robeson’s Life in His Words and Songs  by Andrew Flack  (directed by donnie l. betts [lower case is intentional]) from February 28 – March 9 2014 at The Aurora Fox Arts Center (9900 East Colfax Avenue).  Tickets are $26 for adults and $22 for seniors and students. For tickets and/or group rates call: 303-739-1970 or visit: www.AuroraFox.org       
     Once in a lifetime a human being comes along who stands head and shoulders above the rest. Paul Robeson was such a man. An All-American athlete, recording artist, and star of the stage and screen, by the 1930s Robeson was the best-known and most popular African-American entertainer in the world. But trouble lay ahead for Paul, and ultimately he would sacrifice his career, and everything he’d accomplished, by challenging the dominant culture’s politics and status quo. 

     The story of this controversial champion of freedom and justice comes alive in a rousing new 90-minute musical presentation, I Go On Singing, Paul Robeson’s Life in His Words & Songs performed by the gifted American baritone and international promoter of peace, Anthony Brown.  Told in Robeson’s own words, using many first-hand accounts from his autobiography, Here I Stand, the show also uses archival video to trace his humble beginnings as a preacher’s son in Princeton, NJ, to his international celebrity and relentless fighter for human rights.

     Written by Andrew Flack and directed by Denver’s own donnie l. betts, I Go On Singing delivers equal parts historical drama with a live concert experience. Musical numbers range from Spirituals to Broadway, and include original Robeson arrangements of favorites like Ol’ Man River, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Shenandoah, Scandalize My Name, It Ain’t Necessarily So, All Through the Night, Joe Hill, Deep River and many others.

     Folk legend Pete Seeger makes three video guest appearances discussing his friendship with Robeson and the music they shared.

About Paul Robeson:

· In the first class of African American All-American collegiate athletes

· Graduated valedictorian of his 1919 Rutgers class

· Appeared on Broadway in Eugene O’Neil’s “Emperor Jones” and was the first African American to play “Othello” in what is still the longest running Broadway production of a Shakespeare play

· Sold millions of records, appeared in dozens of films, and became a household name for his rendition of “Ol’ Man River” in the film version of “Showboat”

· Became an international celebrity traveling the world fighting Fascism and singing for human rights

· Supporter of the US war effort and spokesperson for the sale of millions of dollars of US War Bonds during WWII

· Ran afoul of J. Edgar Hoover, Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the right-wing elite who blacklisted him and revoked his passport

·   Lived to see the triumphs of the civil right movement and many of the freedoms realized by the courage of his conviction.

 

 PRODUCTION DATES –
Thursday                             February 27 at 7:30pm – PREVIEW PERFORMANCE
Fridays                                  February 28  at 7:30pm  -  OPENING NIGHT
Saturdays                           March 1 and  March 8 at 7:30pm
Sundays                               March 2 and March 9  at 2:00pm