New Play Inaugurates New Theater:

The music industry is the backdrop for Hope Runs Eternal, a new drama by veteran stage and television actor Richard Brooks (“Law and Order). A co-production of Flat Top Entertainment, the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, and Heritage Empowered Arts Legacy (H.E.A.L. Inc.), Hope inaugurates the city-owned, 402-seat Nate Holden Performing Arts Center with a fully-mounted Equity production March 11 through April 9. Low-priced previews begin March 8.Playwright Brooks also stars as Raymond, a 30-something singer who hasn’t given up his dream of making it big in the music business. Enter Hope, his girlfriend’s sexy older sister, who happens to be a successful diva. Featuring six new R & B songs, Hope Runs Eternal is a drama about artists struggling to realize their dreams in a youth-obsessed world.Joining Brooks on stage are Victoria Platt Tilford as Hope; Cynda Williams as Raymond’s girlfriend, Roderick Garr and Roger E. Mosley. Donald Douglass directs.Ernest Dillihay, Performing Arts Director for the City of Los Angeles, sees this production as an important step in the Washington-La Brea area’s redevelopment plan. “The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center is a beautiful, state-of-the-art complex that stands on the site of the former Ebony Showcase Theater. It continues an important cultural legacy in this community, and Hope Runs Eternal will help revitalize and bring new audiences to the area. Very few Equity productions in Los Angeles are produced by African Americans, and Hope will set the standard for further professional productions at the Holden.”Hope Runs Eternal runs Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm & 7 pm, March 11 through April 9. Preview performances take place tonight through Friday, March 8, 9 and 10 at 8 pm. Tickets range from $25 – $50; discounts available with on-line purchase at www.nhpac.com. The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center is located at 4718 W. Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles (east of La Brea). For reservations and information, call (310) 773-8373 or visit www.nhpac.com.