Arts & Events

THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH (AND LIFE) OF RICHARD WRIGHT

Thursday September 04, 2008 - 09:36:00 AM

After months of fascinating staged readings at local libraries and other venues, Oakland Public Theater celebrates the centennial of great black novelist Richard Wright (Native Son, Black Boy) and its own 10th anniversary with Richard Talavera’s original play (a distillate, in part, of the readings), Before the Dream: The Mysterious Death (and Life) of Richard Wright, directed by Norman Gee, at the Noodle Factory’s new theater, 1255 26th St., corner of Union, in Oakland, off West Grand and Mandela. $20–9, sliding scale. 8 pm, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 5 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 5. Reservations: 534-9529. Opens Saturday, Sept. 6. First preview tonight (Thursday, Sept. 4), Wright’s actual centennial.