The American Theatre Of Actors To Present A REPERTORY OF TWO PLAYS

The American Theatre of Actors will present A Repertory of Two Plays by playwright Anne L. Thompson-Scretching, featuring A Long Way From Home and Resurrection. Performances will take place at the American Theatre of Actors, located at 314 West 54th Street in New York City.

The two plays are part of Thompson-Scretching’s ongoing Blood Trilogy and examine themes of migration, systemic racism, and family dynamics within Black American life during the 1960s.

A LONG WAY FROM HOME

A Long Way From Home is the second play in Thompson-Scretching’s Blood Trilogy. Set in the 1960s, the play follows Shanna Taylor and her family after they migrate from Macon, Georgia to Brooklyn, New York, where they settle in a walk-up apartment in Brownsville. Having fled Jim Crow laws and the Ku Klux Klan in the South, the family confronts segregation, redlining, and civil unrest in the North.

As Shanna works to keep her family together while saving for her dream home and holding onto her Southern values, her daughter Luella becomes involved in the Black Power Movement. Shanna’s husband Jacob is frequently absent, while their son Willie feels compelled to follow in his father’s path. Jacob’s brother Chester, a broker employed at Falco & Son, exploits Shanna by steering her toward a redlined property and stealing her savings, blaming the loss on Jacob. Chester’s employer, Joe Falco, pressures him to engage in blockbusting throughout the neighborhood.

The cast includes Ms. D, Gina McKinney, Rommell Sermons, Joy Foster, Kevin Leonard, Laquan Hailey, and Phil Oetiker.

RESURRECTION

Resurrection continues the narrative world of the Blood Trilogy, returning to the Taylor family and the social forces shaping their lives in 1960s Brooklyn. The play further explores the emotional and societal consequences of migration, fractured trust, and generational responsibility as the family grapples with the realities of racism, economic exploitation, and political awakening.

The production features the same ensemble cast as A Long Way From Home: Ms. D, Gina McKinney, Rommell Sermons, Joy Foster, Kevin Leonard, Laquan Hailey, and Phil Oetiker.