AND SHE WAS LOVED to Launch Black Rose Theater ATX's Inaugural Season

Black Rose Theater ATX will launch its inaugural season with the world premiere of AND SHE WAS LOVED, a new one-act play from acclaimed poet, playwright and theater artist Zell Miller III, who also serves as Austin's inaugural Poet Laureate. The world premiere will run at 8 p.m. Sept. 3-12, Thursdays to Saturdays at Hyde Park Theatre. Tickets are available at Hyde Park Theatre.

And She Was Loved marks the new company's first offering to Austin audiences and sets the tone for its mission: telling American love stories through an African American lens in spaces built for healing and connection.

The play grew out of two losses in Miller's life: the death of his mother, Vernell Miller, and the passing of his longtime mentor, theater icon Laurie Carlos. It is a personal look at grief, emotional abuse, memory and healing, told through poetic storytelling, movement, music and ritual. The production considers what stays with us after loss, and how the people we love keep shaping us long after they are gone.

“And She Was Loved was born from grief, but it is ultimately about love,” Miller said. “It is about the people who leave fingerprints on our lives, the lessons they leave behind, and the ways we learn to carry them forward. My mother and Laurie Carlos continue to speak to me through memory, through art, and through the work.”

And She Was Loved borrows from the mythology of Peter Pan and blends it with hip-hop theater, jazz aesthetics and gesture language. The result follows a journey through memory, imagination and self-discovery, and asks hard questions about how grief is carried, how emotional wounds change us and how healing often starts with learning to let go.

For Miller, the piece works as both tribute and conversation. It honors his mother, Vernell Miller, whose presence still guides him, and it celebrates the legacy of Laurie Carlos, a groundbreaking theater maker, director, educator and mentor whose influence shaped generations of artists nationwide.

The production brings together three generations of storytellers. Siobhan Alexis, a national and internationally award-winning tap dancer, lends her rhythmic storytelling to help carry the play's emotional weight. Marley Miller, an award-winning poet and Vernell Miller's granddaughter, brings to the production a performance that connects the family across generations through remembrance and legacy. Miller also has a role as Peter Pan. Renita Martin, voices Laurie Carlos and Dexxi Vaught voices Vernell Miller.

BLACK ROSE THEATER ATX: Black Rose Theater ATX was founded to tell American love stories through an African American lens while building artistic spaces that foster healing, connection and meaningful dialogue. Led by Austin Arts Hall of Fame inductee and award-winning interdisciplinary artist Zell Miller III and supported by an experienced board of nonprofit and creative leaders, the organization is rooted in artistic excellence, cultural authenticity, and strong community impact. With a commitment to uplifting underrepresented voices, including women of color in creative leadership roles, Black Rose Theater ATX produces powerful performances that reflect authentic lived experiences and inspire empathy and understanding.