(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Actor LeLand Gantt will perform his one-man show, Rhapsody in Black, on the Main Stage at the Grunin Center on February 9, 2022, part of Ocean County College’s Social Justice Series.The show, written and performed by Gantt and developed at NYC’s Actors Studio by Estelle Parsons, explores LeLand’s personal journey to understand and eventually transcend racism in America.
We follow his life story from an underprivileged childhood in the ghettos of McKeesport, Pennsylvania to teenage experiments with crime and drugs to an acting career that lands adult LeLand in situations where he is virtually the only African-American in the room.
His efforts to cope with the psychological effects of consistently being marked “The Other” are recounted in remarkable and exquisitely moving detail, guaranteed to leave lasting impressions. Multiple elements combine to give Rhapsody its super-powered emotional punch, many of them concentrated in the incredible persona of its star.
Charming, self-deprecatingly funny and linguistically awesome, LeLand Gantt imbues every word that falls from his mouth with all the passion and poignancy of a preacher speaking the Gospel. This is partly because he’s confronting heavy subjects, but mostly because he believes so firmly in his message that it’s impossible for it to emerge any other way. In his own words, “Objective truth strikes a chord.”
Tickets for the 7:30pm show are being sold in socially distanced pods and are on sale now for $10 and are available for purchase online. Please note that this show explores the topic of racism, and includes sensitive and difficult situations and language.
A school-time performance is also available at 11:00am. For more information and to book a group, contact Jaclyn Wood at the Grunin Center for the Arts: 732-255-0400 ext. 2487 or jwood@ocean.edu.
The Social Justice Series is presented through the collaboration of OCC’s Foundation, Student Life, the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Business and Social Sciences, EOF, the Library, and the Grunin Center.
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