Crowns at Little Theatre of Manchester

When Yolanda, a young Black woman from Brooklyn, moves to her grandmother’s house in rural South Carolina, she enters a world both unfamiliar and beautiful. There, she encounters a life full of traditions… with a hat for every occasion! These crowns symbolize a legacy of Black excellence and tradition, from flirting to churchgoing to funerals to baptisms. Through story and song, her eyes are opened to a life of faith, fashion, and family.

“Your crown has been bought and paid for. Put it on your head and wear it.” - Maya Angelou

CROWNS is a play filled with LOTS of music, ranging from “When the Saints Go Marching In” to “His Eye Is On The Sparrow”—and even a bit of rap. This musical is adapted from the book Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats which features black and white photographs of Southern church women in their Sunday finery (emphasis on the hats). In the book, photographs are by Michael Cunningham, and the text is by Craig Marberry with a foreword by Maya Angelou. Read more about how the book and musical came together here: NPR Story about CROWNS.

CROWNS is a family-oriented, heart-warming joyous musical celebration of love and redemption that will make your spirit sing!

Authors

• Craig Marberry
• Michael Cunningham
• Regina Taylor