Darryl Maximilian Robinson Presents His District Attorney Flint In 'Night of January 16th' Notes

Friday, June 07, 2024 - 11:00 AM
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"Darryl Robinson leads the talented cast, playing the prosecuting district attorney with style and wit." -- John K. Adams, The Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier, June 7, 2017

Veteran Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles stage actor and play director Darryl Maximilian Robinson, who received a 2015 / 2016 Los Angeles Elate Season Ticket Holder Award Nomination as Best Actor for his performance as the debonair, but aging, leading man Ernest in Tad Mosel's "Impromptu" as part of the Elate staging of four one-acts entitled "Just 4 Fun" returned to the stage of the Lincoln Stegman Theatre of North Hollywood in the late spring of 2017 to play District Attorney Flint, a prosecutor deeply involved in the case of "The People of The State of New York vs. Karen Andre" in The Emmanuel Lutheran Actors Theatre Ensemble - ELATE revival of Russian-American author and playwright Ayn Rand's 1935 classic Broadway courtroom drama "Night Of January 16th."

Mr. Robinson, a 1997 Chicago Joseph Jefferson Citation Award Winner as Outstanding Actor In A Principal Role In A Play and 1997 Chicago Black Theatre Alliance Best Leading Actor In A Play Award Nominee ( for his performance as Sam Semela in Athol Fugard's "Master Harold...And The Boys" presented at The Windy City's Heartland Cafe Studio Theatre of Rogers Park ), and who for 15 years ( 1987-2001 ) served as The Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of the multiracial, non-Equity professional, classical and contemporary chamber theatre, The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago, and who currently serves in those same positions with The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project, has played numerous roles in courtroom dramas during the course of his 50-season stage career including: The Angry Man in Director / Producer Ray Hayman's 1980 staging of The At Random Players' production of C. B. Gilford's "The Jury Room" presented at Chicago's McCormick Inn; The Professor in Director Jonathan Wilson's 1998 staging of The Pegasus Players' Jeff Citation Award-winning world premiere production of Robert Myers' "The Lynching of Leo Frank" performed at Chicago's O'Rourke Center For The Performing Arts; and The Reverend Sykes in Director Diedra Celeste Miranda's 2011 staging of The Glendale Centre Theatre's five-time Stage Scene L A "Scenie" Award-winning production of playwright Christopher Sergel's adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird."

However, Ayn Rand's "Night of January 16th" marked the first time Mr. Robinson has appeared as a lawyer onstage since he played the role of Sir Thomas More, the condemned Lord Chancellor of England, in Director John Grassilli's 1984 staging of The University Players' revival production of Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons" presented at Benton Hall Theatre of The University of Missouri-St. Louis ( UMSL).

The Plot of Ayn Rand's acclaimed, classic 1935 courtroom drama Night of January 16th

A woman stands accused of murder. But despite mounting evidence against her, she maintains her innocence in "Night of January 16th," a courtroom drama from iconoclastic writer and philosopher Ayn Rand ( Atlas Shrugged ).

And here's the twist: The jury for the trial is comprised of members of the audience who, after hearing conflicting testimony of witnesses from the elite world of finance and high society, render a verdict, deciding the end of the play and the fate of the accused.

Rand surprised 1930s audiences by letting them decide the verdict at every performance. Playwright Rand allowed THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS TO VOTE THEIR CHOICE OF THE ENDING OF HER PLAY!

And in 2017, more than 80 years after its 1935 Broadway success, ( and its initial 1934 Los Angeles staging under the title "Woman on Trial" at The Hollywood Playhouse ) City of Angels area audience members were still delighted and intrigued by the work and more than willing to serve and Vote as Jury Members.

The recent well-received 2017 revival of Rand's play by The Emmanuel Lutheran Actors' Theatre Ensemble - ELATE at The Lincoln Stegman Theatre in North Hollywood, Ca. with a talented cast headed by 1997 Chicago Joseph Jefferson Citation Outstanding Actor In A Principal Role In A Play Award Winner, 2015 / 2016 Los Angeles Elate Season Ticket Holder Best Actor Award Nominee, and 2022 Making The World Happening Award Winner Darryl Maximilian Robinson as District Attorney Flint proved that the "Audience Participation By Acting As Jury Members Who Vote Their Choice" component of her drama still works!

Today, in Election Year 2024, it is more important than ever for Lovers of Theatre, Practitioners of The Theatre and Supporters of The Theatre to...VOTE THEIR CHOICE!

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Chicago-born and stage-trained actor Darryl Maximilian Robinson was last seen by Windy City theatregoers in his critically-praised dual roles of The Chairman Mr. William Cartwright and Mayor Thomas Sapsea in the 2018 Saint Sebastian Players Chicago revival of Rupert Holmes 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' at the more than a century old St. Bonaventure Church for which he received a 2019 BroadwayWorld Chicago Award nomination for Best Performer In A Musical or Revue ( Resident Non-Equity ).

Now celebrating his 50th Anniversary as an American Stage Performer, Darryl Maximilian Robinson has become noted as the very first black actor in American Theatre History to portray on stage a trio of classic dramatic roles including: Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons" ( in a 1984 revival presented by The University Players of The University of Missouri-St. Louis and directed by AEA Member John Grassilli at The Benton Hall Theater ); King Henry II in a 1992 multiracial cast revival of James Goldman's "The Lion In Winter " ( directed by Mr. Robinson for his chamber theatre Excaliber Productions, Ltd in St. Louis and staged at The Wabash Triangle Cafe ); and Andrew Wyke ( opposite the talented actor Sean Nix as Milo Tindle ) in a 2000, 30th Anniversary, all-black cast revival of Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth" presented under Mr. Robinson's direction by his chamber theatre The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago at The Harrison Street Galleries Studio Theatre of Oak Park, Illinois. Most recently, Darryl Maximilian Robinson was named a winner of a 2022 Making The World Happening Award from Allevents.in for his numerous online theatre-related offerings during the early years of The Covid-19 pandemic. He is the Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of both The multiracial chamber theatre The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and the multiracial video theatre and events group The Excaliber Shakespeare Company Los Angeles Archival Project.