Welcome! This year the Anthony Bean Community Theater and Acting School celebrates15 years of excellence in the performing arts.

The Anthony Bean Community Theater (ABCT) was established in Spring 2000 to meet the growing demands of New Orleans area residents seeking a quality, culturally diverse, performing arts venue. The theater also met the needs of individuals seeking to learn the art of acting, set design and theatre management. In recent years, ABCT has become a vehicle to enter New Orleans' booming "Hollywood South" film industry.

ABCT is unique in that it is not only a major theater production company, but a year-round, open enrollment acting school serving both adults and children with an eclectic group of courses designed to meet the basic needs of individuals seeking careers in stage and screen acting, set design and theatre management.  

ABCT believes that the arts have the power to transform people's lives. Our Mission is simple: "to inspire those we serve through the magic of the arts."  The Hallmark of ABCT and that which separates us from "all the rest" is - diversity.  ABCT proudly presents the most diverse theater schedule in the New Orleans area.  Our programing fare includes, the classics; Shakespeare, August Wilson and Tennessee Williams as well as popular drama (Reflections and Misery), comedy (Jar the Floor, Steal Away), and musicals (The Color Purple, Simply Irma and The Phyllis Hyman Story). Most importantly, ABCT mounts original plays such as I'd Rather Be Rich and Say Amen, and showcases our talented kids in perennial favorites: Cats, The Wiz, High School Musical and 504.  

The goal of the ABCT Acting School is to provide an intense, high quality learning and performing opportunity in an atmosphere where young people are encouraged to set goals, take risks and view mistakes as an avenue for learning. ABCT opens students up to the greatness that lies within them and creates an awareness that the Arts are a constructive vehicle of personal expression.

Anthony Bean Community Theater boasts a full professional portfolio including video DVD Productions and an ABCT clothing line. In addition to children and adult acting classes, ABCT offers a youth theater, an after-school program, and the Anthony Bean Community Theater City Choir.  During the summer months, working in conjunction with the New Orleans Recreation Department Commission - ABCT also operates a summer day camp.

We at ABCT wish to express our sincere gratitude for your ongoing support over the past 15 years and we urge you to purchase your PASS for the upcoming season. Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you at our next production.

Come and celebrate our Anniversary and you will agree.

"ABCT IS MORE THAN THEATER

IT'S CULTURE!"

Back ABCT! Be a part of the Anthony Bean Community Theater and Acting School! ABCT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and all contributions are tax deductible. Donate today and keep the arts alive and exciting in our community!

2009-09-04 00:00:00.0

By August Wilson

New Orleans, LA. August 18, 2009....The Anthony Bean Community Theater presents August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winning Play, The Piano Lesson. It tells the story of a brother who is pitted against sister over the fate of their heirloom piano. Starring Brittney M. James, Harold X. Evans, Donald Lewis Jr., Gwendolyne Foxworth and directed by Anthony Bean.

On August Wilson “By focusing on the eternal journey of the misplaced African, whose story was the truest account of the American struggle towards freedom and independence, he not only opened up what American theater could be about but also who could do the telling.” –Marion McClinton On The Piano Lesson A drama in two acts by August Wilson, produced in 1987 and published in 1990. The play, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1990, is part of Wilson's cycle about African-American life in the 20th century. The action takes place in Pittsburgh in 1936 at the house of a family of African-Americans who have migrated from Mississippi. The conflict centers around a piano that was once traded by the family's white master for two of the family's ancestors. Boy Willie (played by Stephfon L. Guidry) and Berniece, (played by Brittney M. James) the siblings who inherit the piano (carved to show family history), argue about whether or not to sell it. Berniece's climactic refusal to allow Boy Willie to move the piano exorcises both the literal and figurative ghost of the white slave owner who has been haunting the family.

Boy Willie (played by Stephfon L. Guidry) and Berniece, (played by Brittney M. James) the siblings who inherit the piano (carved to show family history), argue about whether or not to sell it. Berniece's climactic refusal to allow Boy Willie to move the piano exorcises both the literal and figurative ghost of the white slave owner who has been haunting the family. The cast also consists of veterans who makes up a who's who in this stellar ensemble. Wilbert Williams portrays Doaker, Harold X. Evans portrays Wining Boy, Donald Lewis, Jr. portrays Lymon, Gwendolyne Foxworth portrays Grace, Alfred Aubry plays Avery and Maya Patterson portrays Maretha.

Starring
Stephfon L. Guidry and Harold X. Evans Brittney M. James

(seated) Wilbert Williams, Harold X. Evans & Donald Lewis, Jr.

(L) Wilbert Williams, Brittney James & Maya Patterson.

The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson