The organisers of the American premiere of Di Prodigal Pickney, the latest production of Jamaican theatre legend, Oliver Samuels, are using the event to raise funds for hurricane relief in Jamaica.

The disclosure was made by the New Jersey-based producer of the show’s American tour, Patrick M Reid, who says the decision was made in the aftermath of Category Five Hurricane Melissa sweeping across Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28.

“We had been eagerly anticipating the exciting return of Jamaica’s King of Comedy, Oliver Samuels, to the New York Tri-State area for months,” explains Reid, “but once we saw the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Melissa, we sprang into action immediately and decided that we had to do everything in our power to assist in the urgent recovery effort.

“Therefore, I’m pleased to share that we will now be donating part of the proceeds from the production’s American premiere run to two main beneficiaries: the Jamaica Organisation of New Jersey, which is actively involved in fundraising for Jamaican hurricane relief, and the Westwood High School for Girls Alumnae Chapter in New York, which is dedicated to supporting repairs and reconstruction needed at Westwood High School,” he told digital media company, CaribbeanLife.com.

Reid reported that Jamaica’s King of Comedy himself is highly committed and passionate about the cause and will be promoting the production extensively across many media platforms in the coming weeks. Reid confirmed that the Westwood High School for Girls Alumnae Chapter in New York, which supports the school’s development and reconstruction efforts, is one of the organisations receiving proceeds from the production.

According to the show’s American tour promoter, “Westwood was already slated to be beneficiaries of part of our production proceeds even prior to Hurricane Melissa. They were in the midst of reconstructing a much-needed medical clinic on campus for their students, and those funds would have assisted greatly with that effort. However, when Melissa hit the school, it did significant damage to the almost completed clinic and ravaged the rest of the compound as well, demolishing the auditorium, many classrooms, and some of the school’s boarding facilities.

Continuing, Reid remarked, “So, this has been a real and literal setback for Westwood, and so, we are hoping that audiences will turn out in large numbers to support both these worthy causes, while enjoying a very funny and highly entertaining production perfect for the entire family.”

The production began in the New York Tri-State Area with performances on November 14 (Bridgeport, CT, Central High School), November 15 (Brooklyn, NY, Wingate High School), and November 16 (East Orange, NJ, Cicely Tyson School for The Performing Arts). It continues this weekend in Jamaica, Queens, New York at the Springfield Gardens High School this Friday, November 21; Hartford, Connecticut at the Thomas Weaver High School on Saturday, November 22 and the Bronx, New York at the Harry S. Truman High School on Sunday, November 23.

The tour will conclude with the final performance on Sunday, December 7, in Beltsville, Maryland, at High Point High School. The American premiere tour of Di Prodigal Pickney is presented by Sky’s The Limit Foundation, Jammins Events, and STL Promotions.