When a play weaves in watershed moments in American history, there's sure to be connectivity and enlightenment. Before Obama and the Change movement, there was Maynard Jackson. Jackson was the first black mayor of Atlanta. He would go on to serve three terms, during which he made huge strides in improving race relations and development in the city. Pearl Cleage's play WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS serves up a history lesson, a powerful story, and a witty cast of characters. Cleage is an Atlanta-based writer with an impressive literary imprint. She is a best-selling author with Oprah Winfrey book club accolades. There is no denying her literary significance to the world. Cleage is not only a novelist, but a playwright of great works such as FLYIN' WEST, A SONG FOR CORETTA and WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS. I had the esteemed honor to see Houston's Ensemble Theatre's Regional Premier and I have to say, I am glad that I was in the building.
Atlanta's nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre and Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth are pleased to announce the 2015/16 Season for the Alliance Stage, Hertz Stage, Theatre for Youth and Families, and Theatre for the Very Young series. The 47th season includes five world premieres, a musical by BeBe Winans and Charles Randolph-Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, a literary classic featuring an all-Atlanta cast, and exceptional productions for youth and families.
ATLANTA, GA - The music and civil rights activism of legendary singer/songwriter Nina Simone will be celebrated at the 5th Kenyetta: A Festival of Women in Jazz at Spelman College, March 26-28, 2015, with a series of presentations, lectures and musical performances, including a featured concert by the Geri Allen Trio with special guest artist Carmen Lundy.
The Alliance Theatre has announced its upcoming production of Blues for an Alabama Sky, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the production's world premiere at the Alliance in 1995. Written by beloved Atlanta author and playwright, Pearl Cleage (What I Learned in Paris, The Nacirema Society…) and directed by Alliance Theatre Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth, Blues for an Alabama Sky is a timeless look at hopeful dreams in the hopeless days of the waning Harlem Renaissance. Opening night is Wednesday, April 22, 2015.
Continuing its 2014-15 Script in Hand playreading series featuring women playwrights, Westport Country Playhouse will present Pearl Cleage's humorous and gripping "Flyin' West," on Monday, March 9, at 7 p.m. Director is Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each.
In 2013, New York Times art critic Holland Cotter described Maren Hassinger as 'another artist awaiting serious study.' The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art agrees and will present Maren Hassinger . . . Dreaming, from today, Feb. 12 to May 16, 2015.
Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) welcomes GFour Productions, winners of 54 Drama Desk and 44 Tony Awards who have officially announced their cast of leading ladies for the production of the international hit show Menopause The Musical. Best described as a groundbreaking celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of or have survived 'The Change', Menopause The Musical is sure to leave audiences inspired and laughing long after the show.
Oprah Winfrey hosts a gala of events honoring some of the legendary men and extraordinary women of civil rights, the arts and entertainment who made history and redefined what was possible for us all in the primetime television event OPRAH WINFREY PRESENTS: LEGENDS WHO PAVED THE WAY
Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) welcomes GFour Productions, winners of 54 Drama Desk and 44 Tony Awards who have officially announced their cast of leading ladies for the production of the international hit show Menopause The Musical. Best described as a groundbreaking celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of or have survived 'The Change', Menopause The Musical is sure to leave audiences inspired and laughing long after the show.
Goodman Theatre, in collaboration with Chicago's various off-Loop theaters and Northwestern University, unveils partial programming in its spring 2015 citywide "August Wilson Celebration" -- an extensive retrospective of the late playwright's life, artistry and influence on American culture. The seven-week Celebration takes place in March and April 2015 on dual landmark occasions: the 70th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's birth and the 10th anniversary of his death.
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today a month-long celebration in January honoring civil rights legends who paved the way as we approach the 50th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that changed the trajectory of America forever.
Theatre and Dance at Wayne presents Pearl Cleage's uplifting play A Song For Coretta, tonight, November 6-16, 2014 at The Studio Theatre. Set in Atlanta in 2006, A Song for Coretta chronicles five African American women and their shared experience as they mourn and celebrate the legacy of the great civil rights activist Coretta Scott King. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast!
Eclipse Theatre Company announces League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Deb Clapp as the recipient of theirSixth Annual Corona Award, which honors an individual who plays an important role in supporting and nurturing the growth of the Chicago theatre community as well as small- to medium-sized organizations such as Eclipse.
Theatre and Dance at Wayne presents Pearl Cleage's uplifting play A Song For Coretta, November 6-16, 2014 at The Studio Theatre. Set in Atlanta in 2006, A Song for Coretta chronicles five African American women and their shared experience as they mourn and celebrate the legacy of the great civil rights activist Coretta Scott King. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast!
Chicago's Eclipse Theatre Company, the Midwest's only theatre company to focus on a single playwright each season, will feature the works of award-winning American playwright Terrence McNally for their 2015 Season. Eclipse will explore the range of McNally's output with three full productions, plus readings and public events about the playwright.
The Colony Theatre will present the second production of its historic 40th Anniversary season, the West Coast Premiere of WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS by Pearl Cleage. The production stars Tony winner L. Scott Caldwell, and is directed by Saundra McClain. WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS will preview tonight, September 3; Thursday, September 4; and Friday, September 5 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, September 6 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, October 5 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street in Burbank.
The Colony Theatre will present the second production of its historic 40th Anniversary season, the West Coast Premiere of WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS by Pearl Cleage. The production stars Tony winner L. Scott Caldwell, and is directed by Saundra McClain. WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS will preview on Wednesday, September 3; Thursday, September 4; andFriday, September 5 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, September 6 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, October 5 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street in Burbank.
Harlem9 presents the Obie Award Winning '48 HOURS IN HARLEM' -- a twist on the traditional 24-hour play festival. This event marks the 4th year of the collaborative Harlem9, bringing together 6 playwrights, 6 directors, and 18 actors to re-conceive classic plays from the African Diaspora over the course of one weekend in Harlem. 48 HOURS IN HARLEM culminates in a final presentation on Sunday, August 17, 2014.
Twenty students gathered at the Alliance Theatre today to begin the thirteenth annual Collision Project. This diverse group of teenagers from around the metro Atlanta area will explore a classic text under the guidance of a professional playwright. The Pulitzer Prize winning American realist novel The Grapes of Wrath will serve as the source text that will inspire a new performance piece developed by the students. Under the guidance of the Alliance Theatre's Mellon Playwright in Residence, best-selling author, Pearl Cleage, students will explore John Steinbeck's themes of home, family, environment, and income inequality and examine how these themes are manifested in modern times.
