World Premiere Play TALKING TREES Returns to Secret Rose

When playwright and theatrical producer Lonnie Hughes first held a reading of his autobiographical play Talking Trees almost 14 years ago, people thought he was crazy, and that the racial relationship issues he addressed didn't exist anymore. He felt attacked, misunderstood and worst of all, silenced.

Not anymore.

Time has proven Hughes' words to be poignant and necessary, not just when looking at his life, but also at the state of love and race in the modern world. As such, he is thrilled to finally present the world premiere of Talking Trees, running October 12 to November 11 at the Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood.

Talking Trees is a therapeutic tale centered around a mixed race couple and their refusal to effectively communicate, giving race permission to be the silent killer of their relationship. This absurd dark comedy compares the couple's relationship to the irony of nature and the balance of its four seasons. Nature has no problem navigating the changes and messages sent within those seasons, but what is it with humans?

"The reason why I wanted to do the show now is because it feels like within all of the chaos, people are willing to hear the truth more, if it's cleverly executed," Hughes said. "This is a love story of two people of different races who at first you might mistake their differences to be embedded in the color of their skin, but it's truly a story of poor communication and the idea of being perfect so much for the other person that it kills."

The play is being helmed by acclaimed theatre director Marjorie LeWit (F*ck Fiction, A David Lynch Christmas Carol). Hughes said while this isn't a theatre company yet, the exceptional work and dynamic thus far could lead to future collaboration. For now the focus is on impacting as many theatre patrons as possible with Talking Trees.

"The most unique thing about the show is that it's funny in all of its pain, and also it's larger than life and yet so real and simple," he said. "The show is a paradox on itself, poking fun at the most serious things of economics and race but completely showing clearly how 'everyone feels the same things, even if they hide it from the world.' The thing that stands out the most is the comparison of people to nature and how nature has no problem with four seasons but people are not very good with transitions and changes in their lives."

For tickets and more information, check out the website www.talkingtreesplay.com and find them on Facebook.

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