Video: First Look at Guthrie's THE NACIREMA SOCIETY

Get a first look at The Guthrie Theater's The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years by Pearl Cleage, directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton. Set in 1964 Alabama and featuring clever storytelling and scandalous plots, this lighthearted comedy winds its way to an ending as charming as its characters. The show begins previews on Saturday, April 19 and will play through Sunday, May 25. 

Grande dames Grace Dunbar and Catherine Green prepare for the Nacirema Society’s 1964 centennial cotillion — the event of the season in Montgomery, Alabama. The elegant African American debutantes include Grace’s granddaughter Gracie, escorted by Catherine’s grandson Bobby, and the two grandmothers hope the young couple will soon be engaged. But Gracie and Bobby have other ideas. As the young ladies prepare for their debuts, a blackmail scheme brews behind the scenes and subterfuges unfold, all under the nose of a skeptical reporter covering the ball.

The Guthrie previously produced Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky during its 2022–2023 Season, marking the debut of the playwright’s work at the theater. 

The cast of The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years includes Charla Marie Bailey (Guthrie: debut) as Jessie, Aimee K. Bryant (Guthrie: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Christmas Carol, My Fair Lady) as Alpha Campbell Jackson, Joy Dolo (Guthrie: Twelfth Night) as Janet Logan, Nubia Monks (Guthrie: A Raisin in the Sun) as Gracie Dunbar, Darrick Mosley (Guthrie: A Raisin in the Sun, Choir Boy) as Bobby Green, Greta Oglesby (Guthrie: A Christmas Carol, Into the Woods, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) as Grace Dubose Dunbar, Essence Renae (Guthrie: debut) as Lillie Campbell Jackson, Regina Marie Williams (Guthrie: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Christmas Carol, Into the Woods) as Catherine Adams Green and Dedra D. Woods (Guthrie: debut) as Marie Dunbar.