Actor brings James Baldwin to life

Tony Award−nominated actor Calvin Levels will portray American writer James Baldwin in a solo play at Stillwell Theatre Friday‚ March 24.

Georgia (Mar 22, 2006) — Tony Award−nominated actor Calvin Levels will portray American writer James Baldwin in a solo play at Stillwell Theatre Friday‚ March 24.

Following a 7 p.m. reception‚ “James Baldwin – Down from the Mountaintop” will begin at 8 p.m. An audience “talkback” session will conclude the evening. The event is free and open to the public‚ but reservations are recommended.

“Calvin Levels as Baldwin is wonderful‚” Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs Flora Devine said. “When I saw the play in New York last year‚ it was as if I was spending an evening with Baldwin himself.”

The play‚ written by Levels‚ traces the fervent life of Baldwin‚ who was recognized for his novels on sexual and personal identity‚ along with his works of nonfiction‚ plays and essays on human rights. Baldwin‚ intent on setting the record straight‚ makes his way back to earth from the ethereal realm to recount his life‚ from his early childhood in Harlem as a prodigious reader to his involvement in the civil rights movement. The play ends with Baldwin’s death at his home in the south of France.

Baldwin was also known as a familiar figure in Atlanta in the 1980s during the missing and murdered children’s saga. One of his final published works‚ “Evidence of Things Not Seen‚” is about those murders.

The performance‚ part of KSU’s Black History Celebration‚ is also part of a larger campus collaboration titled “Bringing Baldwin Back‚” coordinated by the Division of Global Diversity‚ Legal and Community Affairs; the Center for African and African Diaspora Studies; and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

To reserve a seat‚ e−mail globaldiversity@kennesaw.edu or call 770−499−3010.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its approximately 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the third-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 92 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status, and one of the 50 largest public institutions in the country. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.