The New York premiere of the work written and performed by Beaty began previews Oct. 10 and opened Oct. 22 at The Public Theater's LuEsther Hall for a run originally slated through Nov. 12. The show now ends Nov. 19.
The 2006-set solo show features "a slave ship [that] rises out of the Hudson River in front of the Statue of Liberty sending NYC into a frenzy," according to press notes. In the work, Beaty takes on 40 diverse personalities.
The Emergence-SEE! design teams features Beowulf Boritt (scenic), Reggie Ray (costume), Michael Chybowski (lighting) with Drew Levy and Tony Smolenski IV (sound). Dan Moses Schreier provides instrumental composition.
Beaty has previously been seen on HBO's "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry" as well as NBC's "Showtime at the Apollo" and BET's "106 & Park." He is the 2004 Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poet's Café and the Fox Network's National Redemption Slam Champion.
Director Leon last staged the world premiere of Thulani Davis's Everybody's Ruby at the Public. His Broadway credits include August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean and the Tony Award-winning revival of A Raisin in the Sun. He is also slated to bring his staging of Wilson's final play Radio Golf to Broadway and reteam with his cast members on the upcoming screen version of "A Raisin in the Sun" for Sony and ABC. Tickets to Emergence-SEE! at The Public, 425 Lafayette, are available by phone at (212) 967-7555. For more information, visit publictheater.org.