Cincinnati Playhouse Presents SAFE HOUSE, Now thru 11/15

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has a long, distinguished tradition of introducing new plays to Cincinnati.

SAFE HOUSE, Keith Josef Adkins' moving and surprising drama exploring a little-known chapter in our region's history, is the 71st world premiere production at the Playhouse. It will continue the Robert S. Marx Theatre season today, Oct. 18 through Nov. 15.

Adkins is a Cincinnati native who grew up in Woodlawn and attended both Princeton High School and Wright State University. Inspired by his Kentucky ancestors, free people of color, SAFE HOUSE is set in Northern Kentucky in 1843 - nearly two decades before the start of the Civil War. It's not a story about slavery, but rather an exploration of the fascinating journey of a free family of color and the searing tensions that arise when two brothers have conflicting dreams about securing their futures.

Shoemaker Addison Pedigrew, the elder of the two, is ambitious and controlling. Younger brother Frank is free-spirited, and more resentful of the many restrictions the family has faced since they were caught trying to help a slave escape. Of course "freedom," even without the additional limitations, is a relative term for blacks in the antebellum South. Across the country, they are considered second-class citizens, discouraged or outright prohibited from owning or renting land, voting or holding office. In Kentucky, free blacks faced limited mobility, lacked the right to privacy and could be sold into servitude for defaulting on their taxes or failing to pay fines. They lived in constant fear of kidnapping, and were required to carry papers with them at all times to verify their freedom.

While SAFE HOUSE paints a vivid historical picture, it simultaneously portrays an intimate story of siblings, and the family tensions in the play feel universal and very modern.

"I've always been fascinated by favoritism and rivalry within families," Adkins says. "My maternal grandfather and his brother were always at odds. They were both considered good-looking and extremely intelligent, but they feuded constantly over money, life choices and only the stars know what else.

"I've also been fascinated by racial and social loyalty among African-Americans. I grew up in a family that encouraged individuality within a black community that thrived on communal survival and identity. If one's personal survival was threatened by a group's demand or someone else's handicap then one was encouraged to break free from those demands. I figured if my family was complicated now, they had to be complicated in the 19th century."

Playhouse Associate Artist Timothy Douglas will direct SAFE HOUSE. "This well-made play has everything my director sensibilities could ever desire, and I'm beyond inspired and gratified by the demands it is making of me," Douglas says.

SAFE HOUSE originally was commissioned by Atlanta's Alliance Theatre and was the first play featured in the New Professional Theatre's Writers Festival. Adkins is a playwright, screenwriter and artistic director of The New Black Fest. His plays include The Last Saint on Sugar Hill, The People Before the Park, Sugar and Needles, Sweet Home, The Bug Pods, The Final Daze and Pitbulls, which will premiere this fall at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater off-Broadway.

The cast for SAFE HOUSE features LeRoy McClain as Addison, Shane Taylor as Frank, Stephanie Berry as Dorcas, Wilbur Edwin Henry (Clybourne Park) as Bracken, Deonna Bouye (Clybourne Park) as Clarissa and Shannon Dorsey (The Trip to Bountiful) as Roxie. In addition to Douglas, the creative team for SAFE HOUSE includes set designer Tony Cisek, costume designer Kara Harmon, lighting designer Michael Gilliam, sound designer/composer Vincent Olivieri, stage manager Becky Merold, second stage manager Jenifer Morrow and assistant stage manager Suann Pollock.

The Playhouse will partner with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to host a panel discussion at the Freedom Center at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, to explore the themes raised in SAFE HOUSE. Adkins and Douglas will be joined by community leaders who will discuss the history of African-American entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
The event also will feature a brief excerpt from the play. The panel, free and open to the public, is included as part of the Playhouse Perspective Series. Support is provided by Roderick and Barbara Barr.

Additionally, the Playhouse has teamed with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to display a behind-the-scenes look at SAFE HOUSE in the atrium of its Main Library downtown. The display will feature set and costume renderings, as well as research about free people of color in 19th-century Kentucky. It will be on view beginning in early October as part of the library's activities recognizing Family History Month (visit www.cincinnatilibrary.org for further information).

SAFE HOUSE is sponsored by Tony Alper. The 2014-15 Robert S. Marx Theatre season is sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, and Macy's is the Robert S. Marx Theatre season design sponsor. The season sponsor of new work is The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.

Ticket prices for SAFE HOUSE start at $30. Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices. Teen and student tickets are $30 each. The show is appropriate for adults and older teenage audiences.