Photos: First Look at the World Premiere CULLUD WATTAH at The Public Theater

The world premiere of CULLUD WATTAH by Erika Dickerson-Despenza and directed by Candis C. Jones began previews on Tuesday, November 2 and will run through Sunday, December 5, with an official opening on Wednesday, November 17.

Check out photos below!

CULLUD WATTAH features Crystal Dickinson (Marion), Jennean Farmer (Marion/Ainee u/s), Lizian Mitchell (Big Ma), Ta'Neesha Murphy (Plum/Reesee u/s), Andrea Patterson (Ainee), Alicia Pilgrim (Plum), Chavez Ravine (Big Ma u/s), and Lauren F. Walker (Reesee).

2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winner Erika Dickerson-Despenza's new Afro-surrealist play premieres at The Public about three generations of Black women living through the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan. It's been 936 days since Flint has had clean water. Marion, a third-generation General Motors employee, is consumed by layoffs at the engine plant. When her sister, Ainee, seeks justice and restitution for lead poisoning, her plan reveals the toxic entanglements between the city and its most powerful industry, forcing their family to confront the past-present-future cost of survival. As lead seeps into their home and their bodies, corrosive memories and secrets rise among them. Will this family ever be able to filter out the truth? Directed by Lilly Award winner Candis C. Jones, CULLUD WATTAH blends form and bends time, diving deep into the poisonous choices of the outside world, the contamination within, and how we make the best choices for our families' futures when there are no real, present options. CULLUD WATTAH comes to us from the same playwright and director duo behind the thrilling digital production of shadow/land.

CULLUD WATTAH will feature scenic design by Adam Rigg; costume design by Kara Harmon; lighting design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew; sound design by Sinan Refik Zafar; hair, wigs, and make-up design by Earon Nealey; original composition by Justin Hicks; and movement direction by Adesola Osakalumi. Janelle Caso will serve as the production stage manager.