PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE
Today, New York, NY - A Love Like Damien's, a timely new play and a response to the national trend of prominent black leaders using the pulpit to promote spiritual violence, will will open at the WOW Cafe Theatre in the East Village (59 East 4th St., Between 2nd Av & Bowery) . Written by Andrea E. Davis and under the direction of Andre Lancaster, this performance with a vibrant cast is set to go up on Sept 14th and run until Oct 1st, 2006.

"Damien’s story is one that occurs again and again in almost every Black, Christian community, in some form. My hope is that placing the problem before the eyes of the community will make it even less ignorable, and will encourage the continuation of a conversation that has already become so crucial to the survival of a sense of unity within Black Christianity,” says the show's writer Andrea Davis.

A Love Like Damien's is a story about a young black gay man who loses his way. After a chance encounter with God he get's -it-together and finds the strength to stand up to his church's homophobia.

"When you have so-called leaders of the Black Christian Community like Bernice King and Rev. Willie Wilson promoting a right-wing - or is it white wing? - homophobic and sexist agenda, it's imperative that believers and artists alike respond with ferocity and conviction," says Director Andre Lancaster. "This is what Andrea E. Davis has done with A Love Like Damien's. Whether you grew up in the church or not, whether you're in the church or you left the church out of protest, you'll identify with these characters."