Starting next month, you can see actress and New Rochelle resident Ashley Lynette Brown in the play “Show Way” staged by the Vital Theatre Company.
The show is scheduled to run six weeks starting mid-January.
Here’s a press release sent in by Brown herself:
NEW ROCHELLE NATIVE MAKES OFF-BROADWAY DEBUT
In “Show Way” at the Vital Theatre Company
Opening Saturday, January 19 through Sunday, March 3
11am and 1pm shows
New Rochelle, December 17, 2012 – Accomplished performer, Ashley Lynette Brown of New Rochelle, will star in her first ever off-Broadway show at the Vital Theatre Company titled “Show Way” in which she will play the starring role of Toshi.
Brown, NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate, will play the role of a young girl who learns about the seven generations of women in her family who pass quilts, or “show ways,” from daughter to daughter. As these quilts pass – from slaves who sewed paths to freedom, to civil rights marchers, to a writer in modern-day New York, to a young girl who is eager to hear each generation’s stories of bravery and courage – the women reconnect with the past and look with hope toward the future.
The 23-year-old performer, who was hand-picked by Hollywood director Spike Lee at the age of 10 for her first job, was also a part of the show’s reading before she was called into audition for the fully staged production. “After I was called in for the reading, I knew that I wanted to be a part of this production. The story and music are fun, and the creative team is excellent. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better way to start my New York theatre career.”
Earlier this fall, Brown performed at the Play Group Theatre in her debut one-woman show “Reasoning With Fire” portraying an impressive 8 characters. The show, for which she was awarded the ArtsWestchester Grant for Individual Artists, paid homage to the members of New Rochelle’s historic Union Baptist Church who watched their beloved church home burn to the ground on February 14, 2011. You can also find her Mtv PSA commercial playing online at www.halfofus.com.
Brown works as the speech and debate coach and choreographer at Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich where she attended nursery through high school. She is the proud recipient of the Greenwich Arts Council Award for music.
Those interested in seeing the show can visit www.iseats.net, walk up to the box office at Vital Theatre Company’s McGinn/Cazale Theatre (2162 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY at 76th Street), or call (212) 579-0528. You can also visit Brown’s website at www.AshleyLBrown.com for specific dates and more details. Brown is currently repped by Frontier Booking International.
