Pearl Cleage News

Actor's Express is presenting the virtual reading of Woke by Avery Sharpe, a new addition to the running Threshold New Play Festival, on Monday, June 8.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Hartford Stage has decided to reschedule the run of Ah, Wilderness! (originally scheduled May 7-31) to October 22a?"November 15, 2020 and The Complete History of Comedy (Abridged) (originally scheduled June 11-21) to October 1-11, 2020.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival has commissioned 22 Southern playwrights to create original monologues on the theme of a?oehome.a?? Since the 2020 Southern Writers Festival (SWF) was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Artistic Director Rick Dildine commissioned a diverse group of playwrights to craft original pieces, which will be performed by actors from around the country. The a?oe22 Homesa?? project will launch April 21 at ASF.net/PlayOn.

Hartford Stage has announced its 2020/2021 season.

Single tickets for Westport Country Playhouse's 2020 Season, the historic theater's 90th, will go on sale, beginning Tuesday, March 10, at noon EDT.  Single tickets may be purchased by phone at 203-227-4177; in person at 25 Powers Court, Westport, between 12 and 6 p.m.; or online at westportplayhouse.org.

'I'm tired of Negro dreams. All they ever do is break your heart,' contemplates an unemployed nightclub singer after an audition that turned out to be for a mistress rather than for an entertainer in Pearl Cleage's ravishingly written post-Harlem Renaissance portrait, Blues for an Alabama Sky.

Quick Silver Theater Company (QSTC) presented a staged reading of Pearl Cleage's latest play Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous, featuring Crystal Fox (A Fall from Grace, 'Big Little Lies,' Burden opposite Forrest Whittaker, 'The Haves and Have Nots') as Anna Campbell, Tony nominee and QSTC company member Pascale Armand (Eclipsed) as Precious Pete Watson, Tony nominee Brenda Braxton (Smokey Joe's Café) as Kate Hughes and Two-time Audelco Award winner Marjorie L. Johnson (Coleman Domingo's-Dot) as Betty Samson at the National Black Theatre, 2031 125th Street & National Black Theatre Way (5th Avenue) 10035 on February 20.

The National Theatre today announces nine productions that will play on the South Bank in 2020-2021 alongside previously announced shows. These run alongside our international touring productions, three plays that will tour to multiple venues across the UK and a West End transfer. The NT also announces today that it will increase the quantity of low-price tickets on the South Bank by 25%, with 250,000 available across the year at £20 or less.

Arena Stage has announced its 2020/21 Season, which is set to include five world premieres, four plays and three musicals, including a Corbin Bleu-led Catch Me If You Can.

Keen Company is presenting the New York Premiere of Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage.  LA Williams directs a cast that features Alfie Fuller, Jasminn Johnson, John-Andrew Morrision, Khiry Walker, and Sheldon Woodley.  The design team includes You-Shin Chen (scenic), Asa Benally (costumes), Oona Curley (lighting), and Lindsay Jones (original music & sound design). Casting is by Billy Hopkins Casting. Fran Rubenstein serves as Production Stage Manager and Drew Francis is the Production Manager.

Quick Silver Theater Company (QSTC) presents a staged reading of Pearl Cleage's latest play: 'Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous'

Today, AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) President Jackie Jeffries, SeasonWalk Productions CEO Denise Gray, Marcia Pendelton, President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, LIU Brooklyn Campus (Rodney Hurley, Managing Director) announced THE THEATERMAKERS - A Black Theater Preview: Winter/Spring Edition.

Falcon Theatre's third production of its 30th anniversary season is Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky. The play is a brutally honest and candid examination of an array of issues--including race, gender, sexuality, and cultural intolerance--in the historical context of the Harlem Renaissance and the early years of the Great Depression. The production, directed by Torie Wiggins, opens January 24, 2020.

Today Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced the cast for the New York Premiere of Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage. LA Williams will direct a cast that features Prema Cruz, Alfie Fuller, John-Andrew Morrision, Khiry Walker, and Sheldon Woodley. The design team includes You-Shin Chen (scenic), Asa Benally (costumes), Oona Curley (lighting), and Lindsay Jones (original music & sound design). Casting is by Billy Hopkins Casting. Fran Rubenstein will serve as Production Stage Manager and Drew Francis will be the Production Manager.

Westport Country Playhouse announces its upcoming 90th Season in 2020, featuring five productions, playing April 14 through November 21, under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos. The historic, professional theater's 2020 lineup includes two musicals, two dramas, and a new comedy.

L.A. Theatre Works has announced its 2019-20 season of seven plays, each of which will be recorded in front of a live audience for future radio broadcast and online distribution. Performances take place at the James Bridges Theater, located on the campus of UCLA in West Los Angeles. In addition, the company will introduce audiences to its signature style of radio theater at venues across the country during its 16th annual national tour.

Today Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced his plans for the upcoming season, Keen's 20th

2019 Tony winner Andre De Shields has been attending The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, N. C. since 1995. Dubbed the 'Black Theatre Holy Ground,' NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, founded by the late Larry Leon Hamlin in 1979. The Festival, also founded by Hamlin, has been held biennially since 1989. The NCBRC celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, while the NBTF celebrated its 30th.

When the stars come out…there is magic in the air.  That's exactly how the opening day of the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) in Winston-Salem felt…majestic and magical.  As the originators and attendees declare…”This Is Holy Ground!”   The NBTF is “taking over” the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina this entire week, July 29-August 3. 

The Alliance Theatre has assembled a diverse group of 20 students from metro Atlanta for the 18th Palefsky Collision Project, an annual program that gives high-school students a platform to tackle important social issues.  Guided by the Alliance's Mellon Playwright in Residence Pearl Cleage, director Patrick McColery, and assistant director Rodney Williams, participants are encouraged to find and claim their own voices within a judgment free zone of creativity and community. This innovative program challenges metro Atlanta teens to 'collide' with a classic text and make it their own.  This year's ensemble will explore George Orwell's classic text, 1984, and ultimately create their own unique showcase exploring the prevalent themes inspired by this story.