PIPELINE Will Come to Lakewood Playhouse in April

Lakewood Playhouse has announced Pipeline, opening in two weeks, Dominique Morisseau's searing and timely drama that takes a hard look at the American educational system and its impact on underserved students and their families.

“I really hate you for being so beautiful and confused. But I'm really glad you aren't coming back here anymore. Because this place can't hold you. This place can't hold none of us.”

At the center of Pipeline is Nya, a dedicated inner-city public high school teacher who is fiercely committed to her students, yet determined to provide greater opportunities for her son, Omari. When a controversial incident at Omari's prestigious upstate private school threatens his future, Nya is forced to confront his anger, her own choices as a parent, and the systemic forces working against them. As tensions rise, she must reach him before circumstances beyond her control pull him further away.

The play takes its title from the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a term used to describe the policies and practices that disproportionately push students — particularly students of color — out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Woven throughout the piece is the influence of Gwendolyn Brooks' iconic poem “We Real Cool,” underscoring the urgency and poetry of Morisseau's storytelling.

With profound compassion and striking lyricism, Pipeline brings a vital and urgent conversation to the forefront. Morisseau crafts a deeply moving story of a mother's determination to secure her son's future without abandoning the community that shaped him.

Pipeline continues Lakewood Playhouse's 87th season — one dedicated to stories that celebrate the power of individual voices to uplift one another, serve community, and speak truth to power.

The cast features Isaiah Myers as Omari, Kaelynn Miller as Jasmine, Whitney Crawford as Nya, Diana Trotter as Laurie, Darryin B. Cunningham as Xavier, and Don Anderson II as Dun.