FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(CHICAGO-IL) The National Pastime Theater, one of Chicago’s most innovative and
provocative theater companies, presents the professional premiere of Doo Lister’s
Blues, Terry Abrahamson’s powerful story of the turbulent 1960s as seen through the
eyes of an African American barber in Garfield Park, Chicago. This production is a
revision of the original show.

Doo Lister's Blues looks back at the meeting of the political turmoil of the 1960s with
the rise of an emerging Black music experience. Set against the backdrop of the Civil
Rights movement, Doo Lister’s Blues traces a songwriting Chicago barber's creative
metamorphosis from Motown to militant, with results that challenge the validity of the
evolution of Black popular music.

In 1965, as the smoke clears over Chicago’s riot-ravaged West Side, Doo Lister’s chance encounter
with a white radical leads to shared tragedy and a revelation that transforms Doo Lister’s musical
style. On the brink of altering the course of American music, they confront the realities that molded
our culture, while sowing the seeds for a highly unexpected redemption.

About the author:
Terry Abrahamson has written for or with Oprah Winfrey, John Lee Hooker, Joan Jett,
Clarence Clemons, George Thorogood and won a Grammy for “Bus Driver,” one of three
songs he penned for Muddy Waters. His original play, with original music by Terry and
Michael Carlson, The New Orleans Jazz Funeral of Stella Brooks, will have its world
premiere at the Provincetown (MA) Tennessee Williams Festival 2010. His book of
original Chicago Blues Photos, “In the Belly of the Blues,” is in the permanent collections
of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS.

The 1999 workshop production of Doo Lister’s Blues, directed by Victor Cole, won Terry
the honor of being the first Caucasian playwright performed at Chicago’s DuSable
Museum of African American History. Terry has lectured for the Chicago Public Schools
on Blues History, and has taught at California State University and Northwestern
University. He is a proud product of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood and, later, of
Amundsen High School.

Doo Lister’s Blues opens at The National Pastime Theater October 1, and runs
November 28, 2010. performances areThursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm
and 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. There will be no performance Thanksgiving November
25.

Directed by Victor Cole, the cast includes Victoria Abram-Copenhaver, Don
Claudin, Damien Crim, Mark Habert, Kenneth Johnson, Colin Jones, Warren Levon and
Lucy Sandy.Production staff for the show includes Zach Perrault as Set Designer, Amanda Clegg
Lyon as Lighting Designer, Mina Hyun-Ok Hong as Costume Designer, Tyler Burke as
Properties Designer, Scott Redmon as Sound Designer, Keely Haddad-Null as
Production Manager, and Joseph Loffing as Tech Director.

Tickets are $30, student and senior tickets are $25 and groups of 20 or more pay $20
per ticket. For tickets call 773-327-7077 and follow the prompts.
Artistic Director Laurence Bryan, director Victor Cole and author Terry Abrahamson are
available for interviews. To arrange for an interview or for more information, call
Laurence Bryan at 773-327-7077.

The National Pastime Theater is located in the old speakeasy at 4139 N. Broadway,
Chicago. It can be reached by the #36 Broadway bus. Paid parking is available at Belle
Plaine and Clarendon.
August 23, 2010