Vintage Theatre Presents CROWNS

Vintage Theatre presents "Crowns" June 28* through August 4 at Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $19 - $38 and available online at www.vintagetheatre.org or by calling 303-856-7830.

This gospel musical is a celebration of life in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of black history and identity as seen through the eyes of a young black woman who has come down South to stay with her aunt. There is a hat for every occasion, from flirting to churchgoing to funerals to baptisms, and the tradition of hats is traced back to African rituals and slavery and forward to the New Testament and current fashion. Hats are everywhere, in exquisite variety, and the characters use the hats to tell tales about family, love, and life!

The cast includes Michaela Murray (Yolanda), Mary Louise Lee* (Velma), Rajulari (Mother Shaw), Jasmine Jackson (Mabel), Sonsharae Tull(Wanda), Adrienne Martin-Fullwood (Jeanette) and Michael Peters (Man).

Cha'Rel Wright will understudy various roles.

With an impressive body of work that encompasses film, television, theatre and writing, Regina Taylor is best known to television audiences as Lilly Harper in the series I'll Fly Away and as Molly Blane in CBS's hit drama The Unit. Her critically acclaimed "Crowns" continues to be one of the most-performed musicals in the country, and is the winner of four Washington, D.C. Helen Hayes awards. Taylor has also received a Golden Globe, an NAACP Image Award, two Emmy Award nominations, and the Oscar Micheaux Award from the Chicago Film Critics Association.

* Mary Louise Lee is a member of Actors Equity Association, the Union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States and is Denver's First Lady!