Lucasville Play to Be Performed at The New York International Fringe Festival

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07.14.08

Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising to Be Performed at The New York International Fringe Festival

What: The ACLU of Ohio presents The Ohio Supermaximum Players in “Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising,” which will be performed at the New York City International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) in August 2008. The play depicts the April 1993 uprising at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio.

The eleven day uprising ended with a negotiated settlement. Nearly 2000 law enforcement officers and National Guard troops surrounded the prison. Nine prisoners and a hostage correctional officer had been murdered. Forty-seven men had their sentences extended as a result of the uprising. The five men depicted in the play received death sentences.

When:   Friday August 8, 2008, 9:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
               Saturday August 10, 2008, Noon-1:30 p.m.
               and 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
               Sunday August 11, 2008 , 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Where: FringeNYC, Barrow Street Theatre
                27 Barrow Street, New York, NY 10014
                (at 7th Ave., south of Christopher St.)

Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising, is based on the book by Staughton Lynd and co-written with Gary L. Anderson and Christopher Fidram. The play describes how prisoners worked together, black and white, Muslims and members of the Aryan Brotherhood, side by side, to demand better conditions, and how the State of Ohio engineered convictions.

In April 2007, a troupe of Youngstown actors and activists traveled around the state of Ohio and performed the play in 7 cities. On April 11, 2007, the 14th anniversary, the play opened at the Columbia Music Hall, an historic renovated theater, in Portsmouth, near Lucasville, Ohio where the uprising occurred. The play was performed in community centers and churches in Cincinnati, Toledo, Columbus, Athens and Cleveland before returning to Youngstown on April 29th.

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Go to our Lucasville Justice Project page where you will find additional links to performance information, rehearsal clips, and articles.