The stage play of Angola 3 is coming to the historic Carver Theater for four nights on October 20, 21, 27 and 28. The doors will open each night at 7 p.m., and the performances will start at 7:30 p.m.
Produced by Poetic Panther Productions and 5th Dimension Studioz, Angola 3 was written by Parnell Herbert and will be directed by Saran Bynum.
Angola 3 at Carver Theatre
Angola 3 tells the story of Robert King, Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace, who are three former prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola. The three men received international notoriety while they were unfairly and inhumanely held in solitary confinement at Angola, for what had become decades.
King was wrongly convicted of a prison murder in 1973, and would spend 29 years in solitary confinement. Woodfox and Wallace were unjustly convicted in 1974 of killing a prison corrections officer. The two men served 43 years and 10 months in solitary, which is the longest period of solitary confinement in American Prison History.
With the help of organizations like Amnesty International and prisoner advocates like Malik Rahim and lawyer, Scott Fleming, all three men were eventually released. Robert King's conviction was overturned on appeal and he was released in 2001 after taking a plea deal. Herman Wallace, who had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, was released on October 1, 2013. However, he died just three days later. Woodfox was released in February of 2016 after his conviction was overturned by the court of appeals. Woodfox died from Covid-19 complications in August of 2022.
"It is a tribute of strength, a tribute of defiance, a tribute of greatness, determination and truth that gives us the courage to speak truth to power," says Angola 3 creator, Parnell Herbert.
"It gives me and the actors a platform to tell the true story of the three men who were wrongfully convicted and held in solitary confinement for decades," says Filmmaker and director, Saran Bynum.
The play also helps to shed new light on "the current situation happening in prisons across the nation," says Bynum.
In Angola 3, Larry DE McGhee will be playing the role of Robert King. Jay Dorsey will be playing Albert Woodfox. Justin Williams-Davis will be playing Herman Wallace.
Angola 3
The stage play, Angola 3 is sponsored by Voices of the Experienced (VOTE). There will also be special guest Robert King, who is the only surviving member of the Angola 3.
Opening night will feature performances by The Baby Dolls, Spyboy Rickie and Big Chief David of the Washitaw Nation. Also, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson will be performing his New Orleans Anthem. In a special performance, Dameon Neville will debut his song, "I want to be free," which is a tribute to Herman Wallace.
Tickets are available here.
