CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, SEVEN GUITARS and More Set for Black Theatre Troupe's 2017-18 Season

Black Theatre Troupe announces its 2017-18 season with an arresting array of theatrical tales that chronicle the African American experience. From musicals to drama, Black Theatre Troupe presents works that will touch the heart and stir your spirit!

All performances are held at the Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center, 1333 E. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85034. Tickets are $38- and are on sale at www.blacktheatretroupe.org or by calling 602-258-8129.

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Caroline, or Change
Book and Lyrics by Tony Kushner
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Sept. 15 - Oct. 1, 2017

The time is 1963 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Caroline Thibodeaux, an African-American mother of three works for a Southern Jewish family. She and their eight-year old son Noah, find themselves in the middle of a family conflict during the Christmas and Chanukah holidays.

Combining gospel and the sounds of Motown with operatic stylings, this sparkling gem of a musical illuminates the changing times of the Civil Rights era while examining the social and family issues with which our diverse culture still struggles with today.

Seven Guitars
by August Wilson
Oct. 27 - Nov. 12, 2017

With the performance of Seven Guitars The Black Theatre Troupe becomes one of the few companies in the country to have produced the complete ten-play cycle of August Wilson's decade by decade exploration of the black experience in America.

Seven Guitars, the 5th in the cycle, is set in 1948 as friends gather to mourn for Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, a blues guitarist and singer, who died just as his career was on the verge of taking off. August Wilson's epic vision, power and poetic sense lifts their stories to strange and compelling heights ending in a stunning conclusion.

Black Nativity
by Langston Hughes
December 1 -10, 2017

Last season's sold out, legendary holiday event by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes returns to the Black Theatre Troupe stage for a limited two week special engagement. This stunning new production of Black Nativity is without a doubt a theatrical wonderment.

A joyous company of singers, actors, dancers and musicians delivers its powerful message of joy, hope, victory and liberation. This song-play touches a special chord in the hearts of all at a very special time of the year.

(PLEASE NOTE -Black Nativity is not included in subscription packages)

Lines in the Dust
by Nikkole Salter
February 9 - 25, 2018

When Denitra loses the charter school lottery for her daughter, she must find another way to escape from their under-performing neighborhood school. The answer seems like a risk well worth taking but may end up requiring a bigger sacrifice than she ever could have imagined.

It's been exactly 60 years since Brown Versus the Board of Education. Lines in The Dust questions how far we've come and more importantly, where we go from here.

Blackberry DAZE
by Ruth P. Watson & Thomas W. Jones II
Original Music by William Knowles
April 6 - 22, 2018

It is the end of "The Great War," and a small Virginia town is rocked by secrets, seductions and murder. The lives of three unsuspecting women are inextricably intertwined as they each succumb to a force that sweeps through their town and weaves magic on their already mysterious lives. Thrilling music propels this powerful romantic mystery in the key of the blues.

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