San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company Announces Cast And Creative Team For The World Premiere Of SIGN MY NAME TO FREEDOM
Directed by Elizabeth Carter, Sign My Name to Freedom chronicles the life, music, and writing of Bay Area icon Betty Reid Soskin.
Today, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (SFBATCO) Artistic Director & Co-Founder Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. and Managing Director Adam Maggio announced the cast and creative team for Sign My Name to Freedom—a world premiere production chronicling the life, music, and writing of Bay Area icon Betty Reid Soskin.
Sign My Name to Freedom will perform at San Francisco's Z Space (450 Florida St.) beginning Friday, March 29 and running through Saturday, April 13, 2024. Press night will be held on Friday, March 29 at 8 p.m. Single tickets ($15–$65) are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.sfbatco.org/smntf. Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.
How do you chronicle 102 years of life? Flood survivor, racial integrator, World War II defense worker, business owner, activist, revolutionary, songwriter, and… park ranger? Bay Area icon Betty Reid Soskin has survived it all. In this World Premiere musical based on her life, acclaimed playwright Michael Gene Sullivan weaves Soskin's original music in and out of dialogue between The Four Bettys—Little Betty, Married Betty, Revolutionary Betty, and Ranger Betty as they take us through a century of the Negro, Colored, Black, and African-American experiences of this amazing woman.
"Betty Reid Soskin, a true Rosie the Riveter Trailblazer, embodies resilience and courage, something we know in the Bay Area all too well,” said Jackson. “Her journey, a beacon for Black Americans, Women, and people of color all across the world, is a testament to the strength of the human spirit, and Michael Gene Sullivan crafts so much of it in this play with music. Having her blessing to steward her life's story is an honor and a highlight of my career as an Artistic Director. Our exceptional team of Bay Area artists, including Elizabeth Carter, Angie Doctor, laura Elaine Ellis, Mikiko Uesugi, Tiersa Nureyev, Claudio Silva, and Joanna Haigood--just to name a few--are passionately crafting 'Sign My Name to Freedom,' ensuring it becomes an unforgettable experience for San Francisco Bay Area audiences this spring kicking off SFBATCO's 10 year celebration!"
“It is with immense pride that we kick off our 10th Anniversary Season with Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin,” adds Maggio. “This production perfectly represents what SFBATCO has done for the past decade: tell uniquely Bay Area stories while investing in and celebrating People of the Global Majority. This piece marks SFBATCO's first commissioned play to receive its world premiere, as well as our first full production to have been developed through our New Roots Theatre Festival. We cannot wait to share it with our audiences."
The cast of Sign My Name to Freedom includes (in alphabetical order): Tierra Allen (Little Betty), Aidaa Peerzada (Married Betty), Cathleen Riddley* (Present Betty Reid Soskin), Lucca Troutman (Revolutionary Betty), Jasmine Milan Williams (Renee). Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Based upon the life, music, and writing of Betty Reid Soskin, the creative team for Sign My Name to Freedom includes Michael Gene Sullivan (Book), Elizabeth Carter (Director), Jamie Zimmer (Concept Creator), Angie Doctor (Music Supervisor, Vocal Director, and Arranger), Daniel Savio (Music Director, Arranger, and Additional Music Composition), laura Elaine Ellis (Choreography), Joanna Haigood (Aerial Choreography), Mikiko Uesugi (Scenic Design), Tiersa Nureyev (Costume Design), Claudio Andres Silva Restrepo (Lighting Design), and Jules Indelicato (Sound Design).
Sign My Name to Freedom is made possible by the generous support of San Francisco Dream Keeper Initiative, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Human Rights Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, MAP Fund, and Creative Work Fund.
*The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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