David Roberson, who's played Muhammad Ali on film and at FL's Coconut Grove Playhouse, will float like a butterfly to the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Jan. 28-Feb. 28, when Ali plays on the mainstage as a celebration of black history month.

The solo show, scripted by Geoffrey C. Ewing and Graydon Royce, follows Cassius Clay from the Olympics to his battle with Parkinson's Disease, from his conscientious objector status in Vietnam to his Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman.

Designing Ali are Paul Owen (set), Delmar L. Rinehart (costumes) and Martin R. Desjardins (sound). Israel Hicks, arts dean at NY's Purchase College, directs.

For tickets ($16-$34) to Ali, which opens Jan. 29 at ATL, call (502) 584-1205.

Special events at Actors Theatre of Louisville to coincide with Ali and the month-long commemoration include an art exhibition and a Feb. 1 national "read-in." TV news reporter Derrick Jones emcees the "Read-In," which will offer journalists and writers reading passages about historical triumphs in the African-American community. -- By David Lefkowitz