Sojourner and First Lady of Philadelphia Plays Hedgerow Theatre, Closes 2/6

Sojourner and First Lady of Philadelphia: Deborah Franklin, are the historical shows onstage at Hedgerow Theatre this January, Sojourner, closing Feb. 6, written by Philadelphia playwright Richard LaMonte Pierce, introduces audiences to Sojourner Truth, the former slave who rose to become the first African American woman in the suffrage movement, confidante to Abraham Lincoln and master debater with Fredrick Douglas.

Zuhairah McGill, Artistic Director of Swarthmore's First World Theatre, will play the Sojourner Truth. McGill was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress Barrymore award for her portrayal when the show was staged at Hedgerow in 2002.

"Sojourner was a very strong female that stood up to the injustices, not only of black women but all women, and the way women were treated-like second or third class people," said McGill. "Sojourner, the only black woman in the women's suffrage movement with Susan B. Anthony, refused to let people humiliate her and tell her what she should be after the age of ten," Ms. McGill said. "She was older than Harriet Tubmanand would talk to Harriet Tubman as the two were growing up together."

McGill also noted that the play carries a very timely message for 2011. "Sojourner thought we should come together and work together as a people and that we were going to destroy each other with hatred," a message that makes the play particularly powerful during the month Martin Luther King Jr's life work is honored.

McGill, a former student of NYU, has studied under Uta Hagan, Ossie Davis, and H. German Wilson. As the Founder/Producing Artistic Director of First World Theatre Ensemble, she has produced 13 plays of which five were world premieres. She has also appeared in several off-Broadway shows including the national tour of For Colored Girls.

A winter six ticket discount package is available; call for details. Non-package tickets are $25 for adults, $22 seniors and $10 for students with valid ID and children under 18.

For reservations, call 610-565-4211, or visit www.hedgerowtheatre.org. Hedgerow Theatre is at 64 Rose Valley Road, Media.

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