The End of Black Excellence
Written and performed by Chris Webb
Directed by Jimmie Woody
October 23, 2025 - November 08, 2025
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.
Photo by Steve Wagner
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).