FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2013
CONTACT:
John Fullinwider
President, Dallas Peace Center
jhfullinwider@gmail.com
214.683.2493
Ginny Cunningham
g.ginnywrites@verizon.net
412.441.2389
Martin Sheen will participate in the staged reading in Dallas of Noah’s Ark, a new play inspired by James Douglass’ bestselling book, JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters.
Noah’s Ark, by Pittsburgh playwright Ginny Cunningham, has been three years in development and will have a public staged reading at Unity Church of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 21, the eve of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. James Douglass will join Sheen and Cunningham for a talk-back following the 90-minute reading.
Noah’s Ark revolves around Colonel Elliott Benson, the consummate CIA and military insider and advisor to the President, who is tortured by the thought that he may have been unwittingly complicit in the assassination. Determined to redeem himself, Benson journeys into his past, where he must confirm or deny his loyalties, patriotism, and faithfulness. Has he betrayed his values? Can he live in peace with his choices? The story sails the rough waters of the Kennedy presidency – the Bay of Pigs, the summit with Khrushchev in Vienna, a line in the sand in Berlin, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the prelude to Vietnam. Global peril and unremitting tension force Benson to assess his own depths and shallows and seek his own redemption.
Director/actor Matt Clark of Austin will direct the staged reading, assisted by John Fullinwider. Local actors in the play include Mark Oristano, Vickie Washington, James Kille, and Linda Coleman. The event is co-sponsored by Pax Christi Dallas.
The Dallas performance is one of eight readings of Noah’s Ark in U.S. cities this November, including New York City, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Birmingham AL, Glens Falls, NY, Erie PA, and Royal Oak MI.
An award-winning actor and political activist, Martin Sheen’s films include Apocalypse Now (1979), Badlands (1973), Gandhi (1982),Wall Street (1987), Da (1988), The American President (1995),Catch Me If You Can (2002) and The Way (2010); he starred in the television series The West Wing (1999-2006).
Matt Clark, actor and director, began his career with the experimental company The Living Theater and has appeared in more than fifty feature films. He directed Martin Sheen in the film Da (1988).
James W. Douglass is a longtime peace activist and writer whose works include “The Nonviolent Coming of God” and “Resistance and Contemplation”. With his wife Shelley, he is cofounder of Mary’s House, a Catholic Worker house of hospitality in Birmingham AL, as well as the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Paulsbo, WA.
This is a benefit performance for the Dallas Peace Center. Tickets are $15. Online tickets purchases are through Teatro Dallas: www.teatrodallas.tix.com.
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Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend the performance. However, in this 50th anniversary year of the death of President Kennedy, I will be reading newly published books (and there are plenty of them). I was never one who believed the Warren report and I think it’s good for the country to explore JFK’s assassination with new information or old information from new perspectives. The first book I will be reading is “The Man Who Killed Kennedy-The Case Against LBJ” by Roger Stone. Stone’s reputation as a Washington insider and political operative is legendary and from reviews of the book, it promises a different perspective on the assassination. Stone claims to have proof that Lyndon Johnson was the mastermind behind the assassination. I ordered a copy from amazon.com.. http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Killed-Kennedy/dp/1626363137/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366222431&sr=8-1&keywords=Roger+Stone
A stronger case could be made against the CIA and military intel than LBJ. Johnson was likely just an “accessory after the fact.”
The real issue is WHY Kennedy was removed from office, which “JFK and the Unspeakable” discusses extremely well.
Jim Douglass’s book is the definitive work in my opinion because it most appropriately contextualizes the assassination … rather than speculating about which individuals actually pulled the trigger, he lays out the story of a President who had turned his focus toward peace — and was in conflict with the military industrial complex. Read Douglass’s book and you will understand the whole picture …