Based on the novel by Jefferson Young about an African-American sharecropper in post-WWII America, A Good Man has music by Ray Leslee, with book and lyrics by Philip S. Goodman.
Jerry Dixon (Once On This Island, Five Guys Named Moe) will direct the presentations that will have musical direction by Jason Michael Webb.
Joining James are Tony Award nominee Joshua Henry (The Scottsboro Boys, Porgy and Bess), John Jellison (Memphis), Bob Stillman (Grey Gardens), Cheryl Alexander (Dreamgirls), Jeremy Gumbs (The Scottsboro Boys), Anastacia McClesky (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) and Kenneth Robinson (Baby It’s You).
A Good Man, according to the authors, "tells the story of Albert Clayton (played by Henry), an African American sharecropper in post-World War II rural Mississippi, where blacks are leaving for the urban north in droves. Albert, proud of his work and accomplishments, resists the trend and, upon learning that his wife is pregnant, decides to fulfill a dream to fix up and put fresh white paint on his shabby tenant house. He encounters a firestorm of criticism and resistance for this presumption, and not only from the local white community."
Reservations can be made by e-mailing [email protected], or by phoning (212) 563-2565. The readings will take place Nov. 3 at 4 PM and Nov. 4 at 1 PM and 4 PM. The Snapple Center is located at 1627 Broadway.