I wish to thank all those who came out in the bitter cold to see "The M.A.N." It really meant a lot. I hope you were entertained. I appreciated the feedback on race and living in Cleveland. And thanks to all the wonderful people at the Cleveland Public Theatre for allowing me to open up and be an artist.

Sincerely,
Alex P. Michaels

Read the Article from the Call & Post by Clicking The Image Below.

For one weekend only, January 23rd to January 25, 2004, Emmy winning writer and acclaimed director Alex P. Michaels is bringing to the Cleveland Public Theatre an interactive visual event that covers: being black and famous in America, scandals, rumours, and making movies in a city that "just doesn't get it." The play/ visual event titled "The M.A.N." a.k.a. "The Magnificent Arrogant Nigger or I Never Learned to Dance Like Fred Astaire" will involve the audience and show movie clips from Prelude2Cinema. The M.A.N. will also use elements from Alex's life (whether they are true or not). The MAN was originally a one-man show, but Alex expanded it to include a famous, but troubled actress who the MAN directs and later marries (played by Yvonne Buemi on Friday and Sunday, and by Liza Foster who is a theatre major at Cleveland State University on Saturday night) and a teen Lolita played by Alex Russo. Miss Russo also appears in the trailer for the TV Pilot of "Out of Darkness" which will screen at "The MAN."

In "The MAN," Alex P. Michaels will play the dual role of a lawyer and a Cleveland filmmaker who gets involved in a scandal. What is true and what isn't is up to the audience. Throughout the play, movie clips from Prelude2Cinema will be screened. The audience will also have a chance to interact on questions of fame and scandal and being an artist in Cleveland. The M.A.N. will not be politically correct and all names will be changed to protect the innocent.

The M.A.N. takes place as part of Cleveland Public Theatre's award winning Big [BOX] series. Throughout January 2004, CPT is turning over its upstage theatre to various artists and gives them creative freedom.

The MAN was the last Big [BOX] performance and took place
January 23rd and 24th at 8pm and January 25th at 3pm at
The Cleveland Public Theatre at 6415 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, OH
I wish to thank CPT for taking risks and allowing an artist to have their say. I also wish to thank my co-stars (Yvonne, Mike, Alex and Liza). I also thank the audience for coming out and being a part of the performance. I am leaving the site up for those who missed it, but since it was one of my more personal performances, I shall be in no shape to ever do it again. Yet, I am happy that I did and I can not say thanks enough to CPT for letting me be me.

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