Casting Announced For Raven Theatre's HOODOO LOVE

Raven Theatre is pleased to announce casting for its 2019-20 season opener: Katori Hall's drama HOODOO LOVE, directed by Wardell Julius Clark with music direction by The Ricky Harris.

HOODOO LOVE will feature Matthew James Elam, Christopher Wayland Jones, Martasia Jones and Shariba Rivers.

This spellbinding, blues-filled tale about the danger of our desires will play October 31 - December 15, 2019 on Raven's intimate 56-seat West Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177.

A young woman named Toulou arrives in depression-era Memphis with dreams of becoming a blues singer. Almost immediately, she falls in love with a rambling musician named Ace of Spades while her born-again brother, Jib, is hot on her heels. Desperate to claim Ace's love for herself, Toulou lays a hex on him with the help of a Hoodoo practitioner, setting in motion a devastating chain of events.

Comments Raven Artistic Director Cody Estle, "Katori Hall's Hoodoo Love, a poignant portrait of the Memphis blues culture during the great depression era, debuted off-Broadway in 2007. At that time, she was described as 'a young playwright of great promise.' Today she is known as one of the great writers of our time. She is best known for her Olivier Award-winning play The Mountaintop about Martin Luther King Jr. the night before his assassination in Memphis. Hoodoo Love is a play with music filled with human emotion, magic and love. It's sure to cast a spell on our audiences."

The production team includes: Sydney Lynne Thomas (scenic design), Alexis Chaney (costume design), Sim Carpenter (lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Rachel Flesher (intimacy design), Catherine Miller (casting director), Cole von Glahn (artistic producer), Kiayla Ryann (assistant director), Bobby Huggins (technical director), Beckie Price (assistant costume designer), Eileen Rozycki (scenic artist), Lena Aubrey (master electrician) and Nakia Shalice Avila (stage manager).