JUBILEE THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2008-09 SEASON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jackie Elliott
817-338-4204 ext. 2
jackie.elliott@jubileetheatre.org
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ED SMITH ANNOUNCES JUBILEE THEATRE’S 2008-2009 SEASON
Jubilee Theatre Artistic Director Ed Smith announces the theatre’s 2008-2009 season, a lineup that includes For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange, Uncle Duz Christmas (a new take on the Jubilee Theatre classic Auntee Explains X-mas), Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye adapted for the stage by Lydia R. Diamond, The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, The Gospel Queen (originally produced as part of Jubilee Theatre’s Music and Reading Series with Sheran Goodspeed Keyton performing the music of Mahalia Jackson) conceived by Ed Smith, and Sam Shade – A Detective Musical conceived by Music Director Joe Rodgers.
Jubilee Theatre’s 28th season continues the organization’s mission of creating and producing theatrical works, which reflect the African-American experience. Season tickets will go on sale in July, and can be purchased by calling the Jubilee Theatre Box Office at 817-338-4411 or online at http://www.jubileetheatre.org. Season tickets can be purchased to include 4 or 6 matinee or 4 or 6 evening performances and reflect a discount from the listed single ticket price. Single ticket sales will begin for the season opener, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, in September. For additional information please visit http://www.jubileetheatre.org in the coming weeks.
JUBILEE THEATRE’S 2008-2009 SEASON SCHEDULE
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
Directed by Lorey Hayes
Previews: September 26, 27, 28, and October 2
Opening: October 3
Run: October 3 – October 26
This passionately feminist spellbinder is a fluid collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives performed by young Black women. Almost exclusively concerned with the cavalier and sometimes brutal treatment accorded Black women by their men, they capture inner feelings that infuse a unique universality. Though their performances are mainly solo, the girls are united in sorrow, spirit, pride and soul. Sometimes they sing together and dance together.
Uncle Duz Christmas, Conceived by Joe Rogers and inspired by Rudy Eastman’s Auntee Explains X-mas
Directed by Tyrone King
No Previews and no performance on November 27th
Opening: November 13
Run: November 13 – December 21
Join Uncle, as he hosts three generations of family members for Christmas dinner. Everyone is here for the food, family, and holiday cheer. But the fun is just beginning as Uncle reveals a secret. Uncle has plenty to tell you about his holiday adventures, with stories and songs told with enough enthusiasm to convince anybody of the spirit of the season. Funny and heartwarming - Uncle is a great way to start your holiday season!
The Bluest Eye, Adapted by Lydia R. Diamond from the novel by Toni Morrison
Directed by Ed Smith
Previews: January 23, 24, 25, and 29
Opening: January 30
Run: January 30 – February 22
Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye is a story about the tragic life of a young black girl in 1940’s Ohio. Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove wants nothing more than to be loved by her family and schoolmates. Instead, she faces constant ridicule and abuse. She blames her dark skin and prays for blue eyes, sure that love will follow. With rich language and bold vision, this powerful adaptation of an American classic explores the crippling toll that a legacy of racism has taken on a community, a family, and an innocent girl.
The Piano Lesson, By August Wilson
Directed by Ed Smith
Previews: March 20, 21, 22, and 26
Opening: March 27
Run: March 27 – April 19
No performance on April 12
August Wilson won his second Pulitzer Prize for this haunting drama. It is 1936 and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister and it sits in her living room. She has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with incredible carvings detailing the family’s rise from slavery. Boy Willie tries to persuade his stubborn sister that the past is past, but she is more formidable than he anticipated.
The Gospel Queen, Conceived by Ed Smith
Directed by Ed Smith
Preview: May 21
Opening: May 22
Run: May 22 – June 21
Sheran Goodspeed Keyton captures the great Mahalia Jackson’s melisma and charismatic performing style while bringing to life the songs that dubbed Jackson The Queen of Gospel Music. While growing up in Chicago, Jackson absorbed the sounds of blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, but it was the church to whom she pledged her allegiance. In Jackson’s own words, “Rock and roll was stolen out of the sanctified church!” This is Jubilee’s full-length version of the Music and Reading Series hit: The Songbooks of Mahalia Jackson.
Sam Shade – A Detective Musical, Conceived by Joe Rogers
Directed by Tyrone King
Previews: July 24, 25, 26, and 30
Opening: July 31
Run: July 31 – August 23
It’s thrilling . . . it’s chilling . . . it’s the most baffling mystery story in years! Based on Dashiell Hammett’s character Sam Spade from such novels as The Maltese Falcon, Sam Shade – A Detective Musical delivers the same classic detective intrigue, mystery, and twists. Sam Shade is tough enough to bluff the toughest thugs and hold off the police, risking his reputation when a beautiful woman begs for his help, while knowing that betrayal may deal him a new hand in the next moment.
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