Upcoming Production
Cadillac Crew
by Tori Sampson
On the day of a much-anticipated speech by Rosa Parks during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, four activists working in a Virginia civil rights office wonder whether the proclamation of equality amongst mankind includes women. With remarkable insight and unexpected humor, Cadillac Crew reclaims the stories of the forgotten leaders who blazed the trail for desegregation and women’s rights and asks: when will the world be ready to embrace women in all their capacity?
When: September 24-28
Where: Grand Rapids Public Museum
Time: 7:00 PM
Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical
by Melvin Tunstall, III
Polkadots follows 8-year-old Lily Polkadot who just moved to the “Squares Only” small town of Rockaway. As the first Polkadot in an all Square school, Lily faces an almost impossible task of gaining acceptance from her peers. From daily bullying, to segregated drinking fountains, Lily’s quest seems hopeless until she meets Sky, a shy Square boy whose curiosity for her unique polkadot skin blooms into an unexpected pal-ship. Inspired by Civil Rights pioneers Ruby Bridges and The Little Rock Nine, Polkadots serves as a colorful history lesson for the world, reminding us that our differences make us awesome, not outcasts.
Past Productions
A Song for Coretta-
by Pearl Cleage
On February 6, 2006, people began lining up at dawn outside of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church to pay their respects to the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose body lay in state in the small sanctuary. By mid-morning, the crowd wound down the street and around the corner of the old red brick building. People of all ages stood patiently for hours, waiting to say goodbye. Sometimes they murmured to each other quietly. Sometimes they shared memories of Mrs. King’s extraordinary life and expressed sorrow at her passing. When a cold rain began to fall at sunset, those who had thought to bring umbrellas shared them with those whose resolve was the only thing not dampened by the drizzle. At close to midnight, the crowd had dwindled to a determined few. The five fictional characters in this play are at the end of that long line of mourners.
The Mountaintop
by Katori Hall
"The Mountaintop" is a powerful and thought-provoking play written by Katori Hall, known for her exceptional storytelling and ability to tackle complex social issues. This play, which premiered in 2009, takes audiences on a fictional journey to the eve of April 4, 1968, the night before the iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinatedMartin Luther King Jr. returns to the Lorraine Motel after his sermon, I've Been To The Mountaintop. As a storm rages outside, King comes into contact with Camae (Carrie Mae), the mysterious and beautiful maid who captures King's attention immediately. King and Camae begin to discuss the hopes and fears that Martin Luther King Jr. has been feeling, forming a connection and understanding between the two. The conversation focuses on the fight for civil rights and reaches the climax when Camae reveals her true intentions for walking into King's motel room that night.
Alabama Story
By Kenneth Jones
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a controversial children’s book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends--an African-American man and a woman of white privilege, reunited in adulthood--provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Don't Mind Me
By Amisha Groce & Todd Lewis
Don’t Mind Me explores the subject of mental health by bringing the audience inside the head of someone suffering with it. A student at a local college, is dealing with challenges from all sides - home, school, romantic relationships - in addition to the potentially devastating voices inside themselves. Follow the student on a particularly challenging day struggling with making sense of a world and self-view that can turn from positive to negative at the drop of a hat. But, fear not. This play is not without its lighter moments. Hope can come from the most surprising of places.
Sheepdog
by Kevin Artigue
This one-act play follows Amina and Ryan, both officers on the Cleveland police force. Amina is black, Ryan is white, and they are falling deeply and passionately in love. When an officer-involved shooting roils the department, small cracks in their relationship widen into a chasm of confusion and self-doubt. A mystery and a love story with high stakes and no easy answers, SHEEPDOG fearlessly examines police violence, interracial love, and class in the 21st century.
Anne and Emmett
By Janet Langhart Cohen
In this imaginative stage play, Anne Frank and Emmett Till meet in a place called “Memory” to share accounts of their lives and deaths. The story, about Till, an African American boy and Anne Frank, a German-Dutch Jewish girl, compares and contrasts how the racial injustices experienced on both ends were more similar than many people want to accept. It hold a mirror to all of us, showing that we are more alike than different and how important understanding and love will be in the healing of our world.
“for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf”
by Ntozake Shange
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When The Rainbow is Enuf was written by Ntozake Shange. The work consists of a series of poetic monologues to be accompanied by dance movements and music, a form Shange coined as the choreopoem. For Colored Girls tells the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. Don't miss out on your chance to see director, Amisha Groce's modern spin on this classic. Watch as the cast demonstrates that, although the original was written in 1974, women still face many of the same issues. No topic is off limits in this incredible story of community and strength despite all odds.
Loving
by Peter Manos
The story of Mildred and Richard Loving and the Loving versus Virginia Supreme Court Case of 1967. Come follow the lives and tenacity of Mildred and Richard as they fight unjust racist laws reaffirming the most essential right of all Americans: the freedom to love whomever you want. It is an important piece of history for the whole family.
The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington
by James Ijames
Christmas Eve. 1800. Martha Washington, the "Mother of America,” is on her deathbed surrounded by slaves waiting to be freed the moment she dies. As “Miz Martha” slips into a series of fever dreams, she is confronted by the unspoken horrors of slavery she and her young country have been complacent to. Filled with sharp satire, clever humor, and a powerfully theatrical story, this acclaimed play from James Ijames holds a startling contemporary mirror up to the inaugural First Lady’s legacy and dares you to look away.