The End of Black Excellence
Written and performed by Chris Webb
Directed by Jimmie Woody
October 23, 2025 - November 08, 2025
James Levin Theatre
EVERY TICKET is "Choose What You Pay" and will be offered online, over the phone, and at the Box Office.
The End of Black Excellence follows a man who just may be the first Black person born without “Black excellence.” In his attempt to prove this theory wrong, he puts on an (ever-failing) solo show to prove his worth, value, and connection with the elusive excellence that he craves.
Photos by Steve Wagner
Click here for COVID-19 Safety Protocols. (Sunday COVID-Conscious performances)
The James Levin Theatre is ADA-compliant featuring a patron elevator and an all-gender, wheelchair accessible restroom.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Chris Webb is an Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker, spoken-word poet, journalist, and activist. He is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts and has toured internationally with his genre-bending performance work. Chris blends storytelling, film, and installation to create captivating custom performances.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Jimmie Woody (director and producer) is a dynamic director, arts educator & visual artist from Cleveland, Ohio. Some of his most recent directorial credits include: Jitney by August Wilson (Beck Center); Election Day by Lee Chilcote (BorderLight Festival); Brownsville Song/B-Side for Tray (Dobama Theatre); Art of Longing by Lisa Langford (Cleveland Public Theatre); To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, and Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (Weathervane Playhouse); Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky and The America Play by Suzan-Lori Parks (University of Akron); The Split Show, How Blood Go, and The Bomb by Lisa Langford (Tri-C, Convergence Continuum & Cleveland Public Theatre); Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, For Colored Girls… by Ntozake Shange, Jitney, Two Trains Running, Gem of the Ocean & Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson (Cuyahoga Community College [Tri-C Metro]); 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks (Cleveland Public Theatre); MLK Day by Jimmie Woody; The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe & When the Chickens Came Home to Roost by Laurence Holder (Karamu House); Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, Cleveland Public Library, and the Cleveland Botanical Garden); Underground Griots by Natalie Parker & Keith Josef Adkins (Cleveland Public Theatre, The National Black Theatre Festival and Here Café NYC); Wilberforce & Hollis Mugley’s Only Wish by Keith Josef Adkins (Cleveland Public Theatre, The National Black Theatre Festival & New York Hip Hop Festival); The Bacchae of Euripides by Wole Soyinka (Cleveland Public Theatre and Columbia University); Song by Daniel Gray Kontar and InCogNegro by Lisa Langford (Cleveland Public Theatre).