Classroom Publication

Issue date: 3/2/05 Section: Alternative Nightlife

Media Credit: Edwina Smith El Hajj Malik is an ensemble production that details the life of the late Malcolm X.

"El Hajj Malik", a play that ran at various venues throughout the Capital Region for Black History Month, fell short of its goal of reaching the community.

The play received little patronage. "On opening night we had about 50 people in the audience," director Wanda Webster said, "in a theater that seats over 400."

"Once people come to see a show they enjoy it and are glad they came. But getting them to come out and see the production is the tricky part" --director Wanda Webster

"Webster, 44, said there is a lack of support in the Capital District for professional theater. "It is very difficult to get things going in Albany." She said this is due to the lack of support from those in positions capable of aiding in the promotion of productions.

Webster has been involved in professional theater for approximately 12 years. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and an Albany native who returned to the Capital Region after several years. She is the artistic director for the Underground Railroad History Project (UGRHP).

According to its website, the UGRHP consists of board members who are dedicated to the research of events that took place in the Capital Region while slavery was still in practice in this country. They present their research findings through the theater or the sponsoring of guided tours to places in the Capital Region relevant to slavery.

"The UGRHP is an effort to research, identify, celebrate, and preserve the Underground Railroad story in the Capital Region of the state of New York," according to its website.

Once a year, the UGRHP board members put on a theatrical production. This year their annual production was "El Hajj Malik", a play detailing the life of the late Malcolm X. The more contemporary play was selected in order to garner a larger following, Webster said.

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