Temple Theaters Present FOR COLORED GIRLS, Now thru 9/24

Temple University's Temple Theaters opens its 48th season with Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, directed by Lee Kenneth Richardson, with a cast of talented undergraduate students. The historic and groundbreaking drama runs tonight, September 16 - September 24 in the Randall Theater.

Celebrating 40 years, the drama is a compellingly relevant today as it was when it premiered in 1975. "As the theater world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Ms. Shange's groundbreaking drama, we as educators and students have the opportunity to explore the play's timeless themes from a 21st century perspective" says. The play presents universal and commanding messages of self-awareness and self-empowerment. Of the female characters, Richardson say "You [as a woman of color] realize the work that needs to be done is as much yours as it is the world around you. You are not looking for sympathy. You recognize where you are and the demands of the road ahead."

for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf features seven nameless women of color who share stories of love, loss, and faith through music, dance and poetry. The Washington Post called it "an electrifying Broadway hit...Its form-seven women on the stage dramatizing poetry-was a refreshing slap at the traditional, one-two-three-act structures." The New Yorker called it "passionate, fearless, and all-encompassing."

Director Lee Kenneth Richardson, founding artistic director of Crossroads Theatre Company and original director of George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum, brings a wealth of experience and vision to this timeless piece. Since joining Temple Theaters, he has directed a number of plays, including a world premiere The Belly by Temple alumnus G. Lloyd Morris and most recently The Brother Size (2013), part of the The Brother/Sister Plays by Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Temple Theaters season continues this fall with Cole Porter's musical comedy Anything Goes, directed by Peter Reynolds, running October 1 - 11 in the Tomlinson Theater and John Guare's satirical drama A Free Man of Color, directed by Douglas C. Wager, running November 11 - 21 in the Randall Theater. Located on the northern edge of the Avenue of the Arts, Temple Theaters, the production program of the Department of Theater, has established itself as one of the finest nationally-ranked theater training programs in the nation. Visit tfma.temple.edu/events for more information about the 2015-2016 season.