Tracie Thoms Set for BEAUTY IS A RARE THING at Illusion Theater, 7/8-7/11

Illusion Theater is pleased to announce that actress Tracie Thoms, best known for her work on the television series Cold Case and her role in the final cast and film version of Rent, will be a member of the Company performing BEAUTY IS A RARE THING.

BEAUTY IS A RARE THING, written and directed by Marion McClinton, is a part of Illusion Theater's 23rd Annual Fresk Ink Series and will play July 8, 9, & 10 at 8 pm and July 11 at 7 pm. 

Illusion's relationship with McClinton goes back to the early 1990's when he began to shift from acting and directing to writing and directing. Beauty is a Rare Thing is a passionate look at African American experience from an artist who is unafraid to tackle big issues of our times. Morris offers, "Marion's long partnership with August Wilson propelled him to write this chronicle of this African American family, the Maroons, where he writes about the legacy of slavery and the resiliency of the African American spirit."

Descendants of a rebellious free society of former slaves and, then later, leaders in the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, the Maroon family members come together on a death watch for the family matriarch. "I find every part of American life and the truth of American humanity in the story of the former slaves in the land of the free determined to march to inclusion. It is the most American story there is, and the true hope of democracy is always in the eyes of the disenfranchised seeking enfranchisement," says writer/director Marion McClinton.

For more information, visit online at www.illusiontheater.org.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi