'Caballero' kicks off Juneteenth Jamboree

by MISSY BAXTER
Special to The Courier-Journal

The main characters in award-winning playwright John Robinson's "Caballero" think they've discovered an oasis in a small West Texas town.

The Civil War is over, and Eilley and Lem Parker are enjoying their newfound freedom. They work diligently to run their tavern and raise their daughter. Yet racism casts a gloomy shadow over the Parkers' safe haven as crooked authorities scheme to take control of their business.

Will the mysterious cowboy who rides into town persuade the townspeople to rally against racism and protect their community?

Find out Friday when "Caballero" kicks off the Juneteenth Jamboree. The festival of new play readings runs for three consecutive weekends at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

It's sponsored by Juneteenth Legacy Theatre, a professional theater company that serves as a forum for established and emerging artists who create works about the African-American experience.

This year's Jamboree features several celebrity guests and includes an array of readings and workshops, a benefit dinner and auction, and a new twist: a local talent showcase.

"We're going to have a lot of exciting things on, including some amazing guest artists and very talented playwrights and actors," said Lorna Littleway, Juneteenth Legacy Theatre's founder and producing director. "We just finished auditions, and we've got a company of about 35 extremely talented actors to work with and..some wonderful plays."

Guests include stage and television actress Sharon Hope, who has appeared in "Law & Order" and in the national tour of "Having Our Say - The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years"; actor/composer Grenoldo Frazier, whose credits include CBS' "American Gothic"; and director Sue Lawless, whose credits include "The Five O'Clock Girl" on Broadway.

The local talent showcase, "Juneteenth at the Apollo," will be like "a live, local version of 'Evening at the Apollo,'" Littleway said.

Included in the Jamboree play lineup is Littleway's dramatic piece, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" - which she wrote in January after the death of Michael Newby, a 19-year-old Louisville man shot in what police described as an undercover drug deal gone bad. A former Louisville Metro Police detective has been charged with murder and wanton endangerment in the case.

"I originally wrote that for a festival in New York City called the If My Brain Could Talk Festival," she said. "I was in New York at the time, but I had heard about the shooting here. When I got a call about entering that festival, I decided to write about that experience. We need to hear how the victim feels ... to know their thoughts."

Summer Theater Preview

The Juneteenth Jamboree is one of many theater options this summer. Make your plans with our Summer Theater Preview, on Page I-6. You can also view it at courier-journal.com .

If you go…

The Juneteenth Jamboree runs June 4 through 20 at Actors Theatre, 316 W. Main St.

Tickets are $7 for play readings, $5 for "Juneteenth at the Apollo" performances, $15 for arts development workshops and $50 for the DARASA benefit.

Discount ticket packages are also available. A Jamboree Play Pass ($35) is good for all staged readings; the Apollo Pass ($10) provides admission to all three Sunday evening talent showcases; and an arts workshop pass ($25) includes two workshop sessions.

Tickets can be ordered from Actors Theatre's box office, (502) 584-1205 . For more info, check out www.juneteenthlegacytheatre.com .

Highlights of the Jamboree

Friday, 8 p.m.: "Caballero" by John Robinson. A community rallies against racism in this post-Civil War Western. Robinson, whose plays have been produced by BBC Radio, Magic Theatre in San Francisco and Seven Stages in Atlanta, is a winner of the National Endowment for the Arts award for playwriting.

Saturday, 6 p.m.: DARASA (a Swahili word meaning "celebration"), a dinner benefit for Juneteenth Legacy Theatre, honors the history of African-American independence and the importance of sharing that legacy with new generations. It features special guest Sharon Hope, entertainment and an art auction.

8 p.m.: Double bill - "Mrs. Reader" by Sharon Hope. An absent-minded psychic from the Caribbean combines humor and pathos to heal her audience. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" by Lorna Littleway. This drama concerns the dying thoughts of a young man shot by a police officer.

June 6, June 13 and June 20, 7 p.m.: "Juneteenth at the Apollo," Local talent performs before a panel of judges.

June 11, 8 p.m.: "Rise Up Singing!" by Margo Reese. This musical shares the true story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who toured the country in 1871 to raise money to save their college. It features sacred hymns, work songs and ballads including "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Steal Away."

June 12, 5:30 p.m.: Arts Development Workshop. "History of Black Music in America" with award-winning composer Grenoldo Frazier.

8 p.m.: "Jungle Alley Salutes Ladies of Jazz" by Lillian Butler. A musical tribute to Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald and Josephine Baker told through the eyes of Lenora, a cleaning lady.

June 18, 8 p.m.: Double bill - "More than Cooking Going on in This Kitchen" by Antoinette Oglesby Taylor. In this play set in the late 1950s and early '60s, black domestics participate in the civil-rights movement. "Lavinia Speaks" by Jennie Redling. An actress supports her dream with two stressful jobs, as an assistant for a demanding attorney and acting coach for a group of precocious kids.

June 19, 5:30 p.m.: Arts Development Workshop. "Writing a Stageable Play" with Sue Lawless.

8 p.m.: "Destiny Manifested" by James Gillard. This play about the hip-hop generation is set soon after 9/11.