TROUBLE IN MIND Comes to Fells Point Corner Theatre

 Fells Point Corner Theatre will present Trouble in Mind, Alice Childress’s razor-sharp play written in the 1950s and more urgent and resonant than ever today. Under the direction of Christen Cromwell, a brilliant ensemble of actors brings Childress’s prophetic, layered examination of race, art, and power to life in a production that is at once heartbreaking, hilarious, and uncomfortably alive.

Written during the mid-20th century by trailblazing playwright Alice Childress, Trouble in Mind exposes the compromises that Black artists face inside predominantly white institutions. The play was originally produced in 1955, but was canceled and then buried for decades when Childress refused to make changes to make the play more palatable to white audiences. Childress mixes biting satire with human warmth to reveal how racism operates not only through overt cruelty but through the “everyday” expectations and condescension that try to bend truth and art to fit easy, comfortable stories.

Director Christen Cromwell brings fresh theatrical urgency to the text, honoring Childress’s sharp wit while highlighting the play’s contemporary echoes in conversations about representation, labor, gatekeeping, and the emotional toll of performing identity for survival. This production emphasizes the play’s humor and its heartbreak in equal measure, creating a theatrical experience that invites laughter, discomfort, and reflection.

The show's ensemble embodies these characters navigating loyalty, ambition, and integrity under pressure. The cast includes Kay-Megan Washington, John Dignam, Abby Dobry, Brandon Dion Gregory, Margaret McCabe Janicki, J Purnell Hargrove, Mae Philippe-Auguste, Madison Sims, and Colin Tillery.

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