Park Square Theatre Presents GEE'S BEND, Opens 10/22

The Pettway women of Gee's Bend, Alabama, share their songs, faith, and traditions as they persevere through segregation, family turmoil and the battle for Civil Rights. Quilting brings them comfort, each firm stitch a reminder of their resilience. When a museum exhibits their work as modern art, their deeply personal stories invoke a spirit-filled celebration.

In Park Square Theatre's regional premiere of GEE'S BEND, Austene Van directs this epic yet intimate play, which spans over 65 years. Inspired by a true story, Gee's Bend (pronounced Jeez) follows Sadie Pettway (2010 Ivey Award winner Regina Marie Williams) from her teenage years to her 70s, her sister Nella (Thomasina Petrus, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill) and their mother Alice (Grammy Award-winning Coré). The production opens at Park Square Theatre, 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul, on October 22 (previews begin October 15) and runs through November 7.

Gospel songs, with new original arrangements by J.D. Steele, weave in and out of this critically acclaimed play, which reviewers called, a "hauntingly beautiful work." Says director Van, "The music has a raw, authentic sound inspired by the spirituals and field songs recorded by residents of Gee's Bend. The music will be sung without the polished sounds of instruments or modern voicing. The songs will remain liberated from a strict form to allow the soul to breathe and the heart to soar. For me, the songs are dialogue or monologue with a melody."

Written by playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, who says that the quilts are a "backdrop for a much bigger journey," this moving tale of three generations of women living in an isolated Alabama town chronicles the courage and resiliency of their life's work. James A. Young II, in his first Park Square role, plays Sadie's husband Macon. Coré, making her stage debut, also plays Asia, Sadie and Macon's grown daughter, rounding out the three generations of Pettway women. The artistic team includes Ivey Award winners Joel Sass (scenic), Mike Hallenbeck (sound) and Michael Kittel (lighting), and Amelia Cheever (costumes) and Abbee Wamboe (properties). Gee's Bend is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

Previews of Gee's Bend will be held Friday, October 15 through Thursday, October 21; the show opens Friday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Sunday, November 7. Performances are Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Sundays. All performances are in the company's intimate theater in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place. Tickets are $36-$56 on Wednesdays through Sundays (with opening night at $40-$60 and preview tickets at $20). Group, senior and special prices for those 30 and under are also offered. Tickets are available at 651-291-7005 or online www.parksquaretheatre.org.

GEE'S BEND

By Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
Directed by Austene Van
October 22-November 7, 2010 (Previews begin October 15)
PARK SQUARE THEATRE
20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul
Tickets: $20-$60
Box office: 651-291-7005 or www.parksquaretheatre.org