STEW Comes to Gloucester Stage Company

Gloucester Stage Company, under the leadership of Rebecca Bradshaw, Artistic Director, and Christopher Griffith, Managing Director, is thrilled to announce the regional premiere of Zora Howard's critically acclaimed play, STEW, a moving story of women, family, overcoming emotional obstacles and the healing power of cooperative cooking. Directed by Rosalind Bevan, this award-winning production will run from July 7 to July 23, 2023.

STEW, a 2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama, is a hilarious and haunting drama that explores the unbreakable bond between three generations of Black women. Gathered together to cook and honor an anniversary, tensions begin to simmer with all the Tucker women under one roof. Soon things come to a boil as the outside world begins to intrude upon the sanctity of Mama's kitchen. Through Zora Howard's powerful storytelling and poignant dialogue, the play uncovers the immense power of loss and its impact on our lives when we choose to keep it hidden.

Director Rosalind Bevan, building on a portfolio of insightful and emotionally resonant productions, eagerly takes the helm of STEW for her Gloucester Stage directorial debut. She will lead the all-star cast of Sadiyah 'Dyce' Janai Stephens (Lil' Mama), Janelle Grace (Nelly), Breezy Leigh (Lillian) and Cheryl D. Singleton (Mama) in bringing this intimate tale to Gloucester Stage.

"When I first read STEW, I couldn't put it down! I found the chaos of Mama's kitchen to be so relatable - equally the most chaotic room full of laughter and sisterly jabs married with a stage for connection and the inevitable confrontation. This story is a beautifully crafted comedy-drama inviting audiences to deeply understand these four resilient women," shared Gloucester Stage's Artistic Director Rebecca Bradshaw.

"STEW offers an opportunity for newfound love and respect for the resilience of the multi-generational fabric we are each woven from. My sisters, my mother, and my grandmothers make up the most crucial parts of me. STEW is fiercely loving and true to the women who made us - so this piece is for them, said the production's Director Roz Bevan. "I hope this promise of a deeply moving story surrounding a home-cooked meal will call you back home to your family, your roots, and your truest self."

STEW will run from Friday, July 7 to Sunday, July 23. All performances, unless noted, are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 pm at Gloucester Stage Company located at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester. Tickets are now on sale and available at GloucesterStage.com.

The 2023 Season at Gloucester Stage has been made possible by the Shubert Foundation and the Applied Materials Foundation. STEW is made possible with support from Mollie and John Byrnes and in part by Oak to Ember and MAHRI.

About the Artists:

Zora Howard (Playwright) is a Harlem-bred writer and performer. Plays include Stew (2021Pulitzer Prize Finalist; P73), The Master's Tools (WTF), Bust (2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist), AtGN (2022 Creative Capital Award Finalist) and Good Faith. In 2020, her film Premature (2020 Film Independent John Cassavetes Award nominee), which she co-wrote with director Rashaad Ernesto Green, opened in theaters following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Zora is the inaugural Judith Champion Fellow at MTC, a 2022 Lilly Award and Helen Merrill Award recipient and is currently under commission from Seattle Rep, MTC, and Wessex Grove.

Rosalind Bevan (Director) engages with Boston’s theater scene in several ways — as a director to a producer to a dramaturg to a critic to an administrator. She recently served as the Casting & Producing Assistant at the Huntington Theatre Company where she was the Assistant Director on Witch; Director for two Dream Boston audio plays: Echoes by Patrick Gabridge and The 54th in ‘22 by Kirsten Greenidge. She has also produced The Bluest Eye, Our Daughters, Like Pillars, and Common Ground Revisited. Around Greater Boston, she has directed for Newton Theatre Company, Boston University, Harvard Playwrights Festival, Free Soil Arts Collective, and Wheelock Family Theatre. Rosalind holds a BFA in Theatre Arts: Design & Production from Boston University. At BU, she directed Revolt, She Said. Revolt Again by Alice Birch, Am I Blue by Beth Henley, and a new play, Bones Like Dust by Gina Femia. 

Sadiyah 'Dyce' Janai Stephens (Lil' Mama), an actor, dancer, writer and choreographer, is making her Gloucester Stage debut. She recently received praise for her performance as Annette in the SpeakEasy Stage Company's production, TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever. Her other credits include Bright Half Life (Vicky), Midsummer Night's Dream (Hermia), Everybody (Usher/God/Understanding), and The Wiz (Dorothy). Dyce is a New York City native, raised in the Bronx, recently earned a BFA in Contemporary Theatre at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Janelle Grace (Nelly) is a St. Louis born, Boston based actor. She is currently studying at Boston University and has been able to work and collaborate with some incredible award winning and award deserving actors and directors. Some of her favorite credits include Agatha in The Moors, Ensemble in Revolt. She said. Revolt Again. Aaron in Titus Andronicus, and Nurse in the Ain Gordon Project.

Breezy Leigh (Lillian) is an actress and media personality known for BARSpodcast and the television shows Baby Mama Drama andStep Into My Office. After working in the corporate world after college, Leigh pursued her passion to positively impact and inspire through entertainment. Her theater credits include Off Broadway: Le Blanc (People's Improv Theater); A Sketch of New York (The Producers' Club Theater). Regional: Joy & Pandemic (The Huntington), Superstitions (OKC Rep); Oedipus Rex/ Symphony of Psalms (SF Symphony); Animals Out of Paper (Chautauqua Theater Company). Film: Step into my Office (BRIC TV); Baby Mama Drama (Chela Films). She received her MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater and Honors BA from University of Virginia.

Cheryl D. Singleton* (Mama) returns to the Gloucester Stage after previously seen on state in To Kill a Mockingbird and in staged readings for the Never Dark series, Additional credits include: Sonia Flew (u/s), Our Daughters, Like Pillars (The Huntington), Romeo et Juliet (BostonLyric Opera and Commonwealth Shakespeare Co.) The Boston Project: Project Resilience (SpeakEasy Stage Co.), The America Plays (Plays in Place), James and the Giant Peach and Billy Elliot the musical (Wheelock Family Theatre), The Little Foxes and Intimate Apparel (Lyric Stage Co), Absence (Boston Playwrights' Theatre & Manhattan Theatre Club), 1776, Passing Strange, Rent and Dollhouse (New Repertory Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (Commonwealth Shakespeare Co.), The Seagull (American Repertory Theatre). July 4th Spectacular and Holiday Pops (BSO/Boston Pops). Film/TV: Invitation to a Bonfire (AMC), She's Gotta Have It, Imagining the Age of Phillis (Revolutionary Spaces and Plays in Place), The Naturals(Coyle Street Prod.) Castle Rock (Hulu). Cheryl has also done commercial and voiceover work and is a proud member of both AEA and SAG-AFTRA.

*Member Actors Equity Association (AEA) Union

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