Celebration Arts Unveils 2024 Season Featuring TOPDOG / UNDERDOG & More

Celebration Arts, Sacramento's premier Black theater, has revealed its 38th Season, Black Girl Magic, featuring iconic, award-winning plays and new original plays, written and directed by Black women.

"Black Girl Magic is an expression of positivity and empowerment highlighting the struggles and triumphs of Black women," said James Ellison III, Artistic Director. "As we enter our 38th year, we pay homage to the Black women who stood by our founder James Wheatley's side to fortify the foundation and vision of Celebration Arts."

Season/Flex Passes are available now at celebratonarts.net or by calling the box office at 916.455.2787. Single tickets available for purchase on January 1, 2024

Celebration Arts thanks its generous 2024 Black Girl Magic Season Sponsors: Delta Managed Solutions, St. Hope, Teichert Foundation, Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools, Kaiser Permanente, and SMUD.

2024 Celebration Arts Productions

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF

By Ntozake Shange
Directed By Voress Franklin
February 2 - 25, 2024
*At the Guild Theater in Oak Park, In partnership with St. Hope for Black History Month.

A groundbreaking work in modern American theater, FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF is a choreopoem following seven women through a world of racism, oppression, and sexism. Filled with passion, humor, and raw honesty, they tell their stories and those of other women they know through a fusion of poetry, music, and dance. FOR COLORED GIRLS premiered at the Booth Theatre in 1976, becoming the second play by a Black woman to reach Broadway, preceded by Lorraine Hansberry's A RAISIN IN THE SUN.

ZORA & LANGSTON

Written and Directed by Imani Mitchell
March 1 - 17, 2024

We find two bright talents at the height of the Harlem Renaissance: Zora Neale Hurston, a fiery novelist with a flair for eccentricity, and Langston Hughes, a cerebral poet who plans to strategize himself to the top. A friendship quickly blossoms, filled with artistic passion, emotional depth, and a streak of competition. But soon, the pair find themselves controlled by the incessant demands of their benefactor, which leads to the demise of their friendship. This play grapples with the complexity of relationships, the passion of artists, and the literary heart of Harlem in the 1920s.

TOPDOG / UNDERDOG

By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed By Melinda Wilson-Ramey
June 7 - 30, 2024

Winner of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. TOPDOG/UNDERDOG is a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity, telling the story of Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names, given to them as a joke, foretell a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment. Haunted by their past, the brothers are forced to confront the shattering reality of their future.

MUD, RIVER, STONE

By Lynn Nottage
Directed By Nashell Lynem
August 9 -September 1, 2024

An African-American couple vacationing in Africa takes a turn off the main highway and finds themselves stranded during the rainy season in the remnants of a grand hotel. In a surprising twist, the couple's comic and romantic adventure takes on absurd dimensions, and their relationship is tested by the volatile politics of Africa, learning what the hungry human spirit will do for food and a warm blanket.

CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY

By Lynn Nottage
Directed By Kathryn Smith-McGlynn
October 11 - November 3, 2024

This charming, funny, and moving play, set against the social politics of the 1950s, follows 17-year-old Ernestine Crump as she adjusts to life after the passing of her beloved mother. In search of spiritual answers, Ernestine's father relocates the family from Pensacola to Brooklyn, where the Crumps must navigate a changing family dynamic, an unwelcoming neighborhood, and a shifting set of American ideals.

TINKER THE TOY MAKER

By Niyah Moore & James Ellison III
Directed By Niyah Moore
December 6 - 22, 2024

In the festive village of Jangleville, a talented and spirited woman named Mary Tinker was known for crafting the most enchanting toys that spread joy throughout the holiday season. However, little did she know that her creations had caught the eye of a mischievous toymaker, who wanted to capitalize on her genius and steal her toys under his name. Can Tinker bring back the true magic of the season?

ABOUT CELEBRATION ARTS

Originally the Celebration Dance Company founded in 1976 by James Wheatley, Celebration Arts became a 501c3 organization in 1986. For more than 30 years, Celebration Arts continues to be a cornerstone of music, dance, and theater for the Sacramento region's African American community bringing Black artists and stories to its stage at 2727 B Street. In addition, Celebration Arts provides educational programs to children through Kids' Time and dance training for teens, adults, and seniors. More information can be found at celebrationarts.net.

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