Brutal Imagination

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The Vineyard Theatre reunites Cornelius Eady, Diedre Murray and Diane Paulus for the world-premiere of Brutal Imagination, starring Joe Morton, a Tony nominee, and Sally Murphy, best-known as Julie Jordan in the Lincoln Center revival of Carousel.

The play presents a unique perspective on the notorious Susan Smith case, in which a young mother insisted that an African-American man had kidnapped her children, when in fact she was responsible for their deaths. In the play, the imaginary black man is brought to life to tell his side of the story. Over the course of the nine days between the shocking event and Susan Smith's confession of the crime, these two characters are brought to life in a powerful, theatrical encounter.

This story is told theatrically with the accompaniment of a four-piece jazz ensemble. Brutal Imagination began its life as a book of poetry by Mr Eady and was recently a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award.