Director, schedule take Jomandi stage from www.ajc.com By Kathy Janich Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer Six months after its co-founder and artistic director abruptly quit and left town, Atlanta's only African-American theater company has named actor, director and producer Andrea Frye as an interim successor. Andrea Frye Jomandi Productions, which has been scuffling for several seasons, also announced Monday a five-show 2001-02 season and $400,000 in government grants. If Jomandi completes its new season, an ambitious slate that begins in September and includes "In the Blood" by the difficult and rewarding Suzan-Lori Parks, it will be the first time since 1998 that it has done so. The storied 22-year-old theater company was already struggling financially when co-founder Marsha Jackson-Randolph resigned in January to join Houston's steadier Ensemble Theatre. But Monday's moves, Jomandi's board and backers hope, will help make the company vibrant again. It has reduced its debt by $20,000 - to $160,000 - in the past six months and will operate with a budget somewhere below the $700,000 it has been accustomed to, according to state Rep. Bob Holmes, Jomandi's board chairman. The specific figure will be determined at a board meeting Wednesday. In Frye, a distinguished woman of uncertain age, Jomandi gets a leader with experience both backstage and onstage. The Atlanta native has ongoing relationships with the Oregon and Alabama Shakespeare festivals and the St. Louis Black Repertory as well as with Jomandi, where she has directed ("Home," "The Colored Museum" and "Spunk," among others), acted (in "Josephine Live" and "Sisters"), served as artistic associate and filled in administratively for Jackson-Randolph. Her interim term lasts through the season; she is part of the committee searching for a permanent artistic director, but doesn't rule out staying longer than a year. "I have a good life that's been given me by the theater," Frye said, "and I could not continue to do that if Jomandi were not here. That's why I'm here." Frye will be at Jomandi full time in October after fulfilling a commitment to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where she is acting in Regina Taylor's "Oo-Bla-Dee" and directing Nilo Cruz's "Two Sisters and a Piano." In January, she will direct "Jar the Floor" at the Alliance Theatre. The Jomandi season, anchored at the 14th Street Playhouse, begins Sept. 1 with the musical "Ain't Misbehavin' " and continues during the holidays with "Black Nativity," which Frye will restage in a local church. The strength of the season, however, lies in its choice of new plays: "Joe Louis Blues" by Oliver Mayer, opening Feb. 9; "The Dance on Widows Row" by Samm-Art Williams, opening April 6; and Parks' "In the Blood," opening May 25. © 2000 Cox Interactive Media  |  Want to advertise on ajc.com?       Jomandi looks to stage a revival from creativeloafing.com BY SCOTT HENRY Atlanta's only African-American theater has turned to a familiar face to help it regain its footing after recently losing its co-founders within a few months of each other and being forced to cancel its 2001 season. Jomandi Productions is expected to announce June 18 that it will bring on veteran Atlanta actor and director Andrea Frye to serve as interim artistic director through the end of the year and to unveil its upcoming season schedule. A native Atlantan who studied drama at Spelman College, Frye is a longtime Jomandi associate who has directed seven productions there over the years. She was named Best Director of the 1998 season by Creative Loafing critics for her work with She'll Find Her Way Home at Jomandi and Valley Song at the Alliance Theatre. As an actor, Frye created the role of Cassie in Sisters at Jomandi and later reprised the role off-Broadway. Frye, who is performing with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore., through October, says she will "telecommute" and make frequent visits to Atlanta until she can return to take over full time at Jomandi. One of her primary duties will be to help direct the search for her permanent replacement. The demise of the 22-year-old Jomandi has been the source of speculation since the departure of its co-artistic directors -- Tom Jones in March, 2000, and Marsha Jackson-Randolph this past January -- forced the theater to cancel its remaining 2001 productions and step up fundraising efforts to retire a $170,000 debt.