"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." So Ralph Ellison described the African-American condition in 20th Century United States in his novel "Invisible Man."

The much lauded African-American stage actors Keith David (Othello, The Winter's Tale, Viola Davis and Joe Morton (Brutal Imagination, Art) will read from the book March 18 at the Manhattan Theatre Club, kicking off the company's 2002 "Writers in Performance" series. Williamstown Theatre Festival executive director Steve Lawson directs.

002 marks the 50th anniversary of Ellison's novel. "Invisible Man" follows an unnamed African-American protagonist as he comes of age in New York City. When it was published in 1952, the novel won the National Book Award. Besides "Invisible Man," Ellison wrote many essays and short stories published in the volumes "Going to the Territory," "Flying Home and Other Stories" and "Shadow and Act."

Dylan Baker and Anthony Mackie will also read. Baker recently appeared in Homebody/Kabul, while Mackie portrayed deceased rap star Tupac Shakur in Up Against the Wind.

Tickets are $15. Manhattan Theatre Club is located at 131 West 55th Street in City Center. Fo reservations, call (212) 399-3030. *

Upcoming Writers in Performance are:

March 25: Actress Zoe Caldwell presents her autobiography "I Will Be Cleopatra"
April 1: "This Side of Parodies"
April 29: "All I Can See From Where I Stood": Edna St. Vincent Millay
May 6: William Kennedy: "Roscoe"
May 20: Jonathan Franzen: " The Corrections"

— By Christine Ehren