Production History
SEASON FIVE (2010-2011)
THE WIZ
Story adapted from L. Frank Baum
Music by Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross
Aug. 19th – Sept. 12th
An African-American re-imaging of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, a kindergarten teacher from Harlem, and her dog Toto are lost in a snowstorm and end up in the Land of Oz. Dorothy learns the only way she can get home is to ease on down the road to see the Wiz. Along the way she meets a scarecrow made of garbage; a Tin Man, who is a turn-of-the-century mechanical carnie; and a lion that was banished from the jungle and must make his living as a statue in front of the New York Public Library.
JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE
Written by August Wilson
Sept. 23rd – Oct. 17th
Set in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, this play tells the story of Herald Loomis, a man illegally enslaved on a chain gang, as he searches for his wife. Herald, troubled by his past, becomes increasingly unstable, causing problems at the boarding house. A local traveling salesman helps Herald find his wife. When she tries to renew his faith in Jesus, he refuses angrily, but performs a violent and personal act that sets him free.
TARTUFFE
Written by Moliere
Oct. 28th – Nov. 14th
The rich Orgon is convinced that Tartuffe is a great religious man. In fact, Tartuffe is a con man. He gets Orgon to use his power as the master of the household over everyone else. By the time Tartuffe is exposed he has control of Orgon’s finances and family and is about to marry Orgon’s daughter — all at Orgon’s own invitation. At the very last minute, the king intervenes, and Tartuffe is condemned to prison.
IF SCROOGE WAS A BROTHER
Written by Ekundayo Bandele
Dec. 2nd – 26th
It’s Christmas Eve and Eb Scroo is seeking to snuff out the season’s cheer by demanding that all debts owed him be paid before nightfall. Facing imprisonment or a Christmas without presents and a feast, the residents are desperate. This urban spin of Dickens’s Christmas Carol has been reworked from Season 3 and includes soulful holiday carols.
THE OLD SETTLER
Written by John Henry Redwood
Jan. 6th – 23rd, 2011
Set in Harlem in the 1940s, Husband has come to New York City from down South to find his old flame Lou Bessie. Needing a place to stay, Husband boards with Elizabeth and Quilly, two sisters from the South with family trauma in their past. In time, the oldest sister, Elizabeth and Husband begin a courtship that may or may not overcome their considerable age difference, while Quilly reacts critically. The Cosby show’s Phylicia Rashad played the leading role on Broadway.
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Written by Lorraine Hanesberry
Feb. 3rd – 27th
The Youngers are a poor African-American family in Chicago. An opportunity to escape from poverty comes in the form of a life insurance check that the matriarch of the family, Lena Younger, receives upon her husband’s death. Lena’s children, Walter and Beneatha, each have their plans for the money. Walter wishes to invest in a liquor store. Beneatha, wants to use the money for medical school. Lena has plans as well for the money: she wants to buy a house for the family and finance Beneatha’s medical school.
THE TRIAL OF ONE SHORT-SIGHTED BLACK WOMAN vs. MAMMY LOUISE and SAFREETA MAE
Written by Marcia L. Leslie
March 24th – April 10th
This play unfolds as a courtroom drama pitting modern black businesswoman Victoria Dryer against two stereotypes of black women from a fictional film set on a plantation in 1823: the mammy and the “Jezebel,” in this case known as Safreeta Mae. Dryer accuses these icons of preventing her from being the proud black woman she should be. If these two images are the only representations of black women in the media, she argues, then other people will see all black women as fitting into these two categories.
CROWNS
Written by Regina Taylor
Directed by Patricia Smith
April 28th – May 22nd
A musical play in which hats become a springboard for a young black woman who has come down South to stay with her aunt after her brother is killed in Brooklyn. The characters use hats to tell tales concerning everything from the etiquette to their historical and contemporary social functioning. There is a hat for every occasion, from flirting to churchgoing. The tradition of hats is traced back to African rituals and forward to the New Testament and current fashion. Some rap but predominantly gospel music and dance underscore and support the narratives.
