In honor of Black History month, La MaMa E.T.C. will present Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green's Hymn to the Rising Sun Feb. 1-18. The production, directed by Barbara Montgomery, will play at their First Floor Theater in lower Manhattan.

The story follows a Black inmate in a North Carolina mixed-population prison. Set on the Fourth of July, the plays explores the microcosm of this band of men who are overseen by a whip-toting captain while they labor away the day building the rail.

Green won the 1927 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play, Abraham's Bosom. Other works include The House of Connolly, The Lost Colony and Johnny Johnson. His also notable screenwriting credits include "Cabin in the Cotton" (Bette Davis' first starring role) and "State Fair" (the 1933 film with Will Rogers).

The cast includes R.S. Call, Dom Genon, Cary Grant, Robert Haber, Charley Hayward, Zeb Hollins, Stephan Kolbert, Courtney Kopec, Kevin Lee, John Lisanti, Gian Marco Lo Forte, Lacy Darryl Phillips, Steven Pizzano, David Robertson, Ryan Rossetto, Sean St. John, Charles Weldon and Andrew Wright. Scenic and lighting design is by David Adams and sound design is by Cary Grant.

For tickets to Hymn to the Rising Sun, playing at La MaMa, 74A East Fourth Street, call the box office at (212) 475-7710. For more information on the La MaMa season, visit their website at www.lamama.org. — by Ernio Hernandez