Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative Present Play Based on Stephen Crane's Life: 'Red Badge, Black Riders,' by Phil Paradis

Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative, and Cincinnati Arts Association Present Play Based on Stephen Crane's Life: "Red Badge, Black Riders," by Phil Paradis, May 9, 2006

Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) May 9, 2006 -- Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati's Theatre of the Mind Series in conjunction with Cincinnati Playwright's Initiative's New Voices Series will present a stage reading of "Red Badge, Black Riders," a play based on the life of Stephen Crane, by playwright Phil Paradis on Tuesday, May 9, 2006, at 7:30 pm at the Aronoff Center for the Arts Fifth Third Bank Theatre, on the corner of Main St. and 7th Street.

Tickets are $6 and are available at the door or by calling the Aronoff Box Office at 513-621-2787.

"Red Badge, Black Riders" is new full length play based on the life of novelist, poet, and war correspondent Stephen Crane, famous as the author of the internationally acclaimed war novel "The Red Badge of Courage."

The stage reading is being directed by Greg Procaccino and produced by D. Lynn Meyers. Actors performing include Matthew Pyle, Jerry Rape, Carrie-Ellen Zappa, Amy Harpring, Michael Hall, Rodger Pille, Al McLaughlin, Nicole Tuthill, and Roger Brookfield.

According to Phil Paradis, in 1896 the internationally acclaimed author of The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, age 25, placed himself, at the height of his newfound fame, in the center of a scandal exposing police corruption in New York City. The ensuing trial was the crucible wherein Crane's mettle was tempered and his reputation assailed. Competing newspapers celebrated Crane as hero or derided him for his idealism and naivete.

Says Paradis, "Crane's private life became public as he was transformed into a celebrity. Defending a woman of questionable reputation against the New York City police department, Crane pitted himself against Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt and the status quo of the powerful ward bosses with their stranglehold on New York City politics. Crane's friendship with Roosevelt deteriorated and, although Crane retained his objectivity toward Roosevelt, the war hero of San Juan Hill and subsequent Governor of New York (and future President and Medal of Honor Winner) developed a contemptuous animosity toward Crane."

"Although Crane's courageous stand was championed and pilloried by the press, Crane became persona non grata in New York City. Leaving New York, he secured work as a special war correspondent risking his life while covering the wars in Greece and Cuba. For the remainder of his life, he wrote his war memoirs, stories, novels, and endeavored to live quietly with his wife Cora Taylor Crane in England among friends. Crane died of tuberculosis in Bandenweiler, Germany in 1900 at the age of 28."

Paradis's one act drama/comedy "A Bag of Groceries" was produced in 2005 by the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Phil Paradis is president of the Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative. He resides in Fort Thomas, KY with his family.

For tickets, go to the Box Office at the Aronoff or call: 513-621-2787, or online at www.cincinnatiArts.org

Media conatct: Phil Paradis, 513-241-5154.

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