UNBOSSED & UNBOWED: The Shirley Chisholm Story Comes to Bay Street Theater

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts will present Unbossed & Unbowed, a one-woman play written and performed by Ingrid Griffith about the life of Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to run for the Presidency of the United States. The show will have two performances at Bay Street in celebration of Black History Month, one for a school audience on Saturday, February 17, and a public performance on Sunday, February 19, at 2 p.m.

Unbossed & Unbowed is a solo show written by Ingrid Griffith, a performer, playwright, and teaching artist of Guyanese heritage. The play tells the largely unheard story of Shirley Chisholm, a Brooklyn-born politician of immigrant parents, who in the 20th century, was the first African-American woman to win a seat in Congress and to run for the Presidency. Using humor, history, and a call for present day activism, Shirley Chisholm is back with a forthright crispness and clarity that were distinctly her, inviting audiences to consider and redefine personal success and to understand the power of social commitment.

For additional information about Unbossed & Unbowed, including headshots, production stills, and biographical information, click HERE.

"I've been moved to write and share Shirley Chisholm's story in the hope that more people will become aware of her contributions and appreciate how her voices resonates today" says Griffith. Adding, "I'm drawn to tell stories about the immigrant experience, about being an outsider and daring to be one's self. I'm interested in social norms and cultural barriers that keep girls and women down, and in stories that promote and celebrate girls and women's empowerment."

Ingrid Griffith has appeared in numerous off-Broadway productions in and around New York City. Her first one-woman show Demerara Gold has sold-out shows across the United States and Guyana. Unbossed & Unbowed is her latest production and has been performed in select venues in New York along with performances in Barbados and Guyana.

Tickets are $35 and are available through the Box Office by calling 631 725 9500, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays on show days, or 24/7 at baystreet.org.

Bay Street Theater is a fully vaccinated company. All attendance is available via touchless ticketing. Masks are optional upon entry to the theater and when seated. For full list of COVID-19-related safety procedures and guidelines for in-person events, please visit us online at baystreet.org.

Bay Street Theater is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center, which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. It serves as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.