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|  Five
Guys Named Moe
Book by Clarke Peters
Music and Lyrics by
Louis Jordan
Directed
and Choreographed by Patdro Harris
Musical Direction by Carlton Leake
June
19–July 25, 2010
Extended Dates: July
29 - July 31, 2010
Previews:
6/19, 6/20, 6/23
Opening Night: 6/24
PG/Musical
His
woman has left him, he’s flat broke, and it’s almost
five o’clock in the morning. Suddenly Nomax finds Big Moe,
Four-Eyed Moe, Eat Moe, No Moe, and Little Moe emerging from his
1930s style radio to comfort, cajole, wheedle and jazz him with
the hit songs of songwriter and saxophonist, Louis Jordan, one
of the most revered talents of the 20th century. With more than
50 top 10 singles and instantly recognizable classics such as
“Early in the Morning,” “Don’t Let the
Sun Catch You Crying” and “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t
My Baby,” this great composer brought a popular new slant
to jazz that paved the way for the rock-and-roll of the 1950s. |
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PAST SHOWS
|  Seven
Guitars
By August Wilson
Directed
by Eileen J. Morris
September
19–October 18, 2009
Previews:
9/19, 9/20, 9/23
Opening Night: 9/24
PG
Seven
Guitars represents the 1940s entry in Wilson’s 20th
century cycle, a decade-by-decade anthology of the African American
experience. Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton’s recorded
song, “That’s All Right,” became a radio hit.
After a year of trials and tribulations, Floyd is ready to right
the past year’s wrongs and return to Chicago with a new
understanding of what’s important in his life. The play’s
recurring theme is the African American male’s fight for
his own humanity, self-understanding and self-acceptance in the
face of personal and societal ills.
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|  Christmas
with Great Aunt
By Thomas Meloncon
Directed
and Choreographed by Patdro Harris
Musical Direction by Carlton Leake
November
21–December 27, 2009
Previews:
11/21, 11/22, 11/25
Opening Night: 11/27
G/Musical
The
proud farmers of Bethlehem, Texas may have lost their 150-year-old
church in a fire, but they are determined to uphold the tradition
of having their annual Christmas play, an event filled with history,
song, messages of self-determination and reverence for the coming
of the Messiah. While visiting their great aunt in Bethlehem,
the Gilliam family experiences an awakening that tests their faith
and irrevocably changes their view of Christmas. This contemporary
gospel play celebrates family and is infused with traditional
and non-traditional music.
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|  American
Menu
By Don Wilson Glenn
Directed
by Eileen J. Morris
January
30–February 28, 2010
Previews:
1/30, 1/31, 2/3
Opening Night: 2/4
PG/Regional
Premiere
It’s
May 1968, shortly after the murder of Rev. Martin Luther King,
Jr. and a month before the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Five Black kitchen workers at a segregated lunch counter are forced
to engage in painful self-examination brought about by the senseless
death of a young boy. Through passionate conversations, these
women face the realities of life on the cusp of change. Jammed
in a hot, airless room they must battle prejudice, poverty, ignorance
and each other as they search for inspiration.
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Interview
with American Menu playwright Don Wilson Glenn |
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 Stick
Fly
By Lydia Diamond
Directed
by Eileen J. Morris
April
3–May 2, 2010
Previews: 4/3, 4/4, 4/7
Opening Night: 4/8
R/Adult
Language
The
LeVays, an affluent African American family, gather in their vacation
home on Martha’s Vineyard. Dr. LeVay, a respected neurosurgeon
and hopeless philanderer, has two sons: one that has followed
in his footsteps, and the other, who is a struggling novelist.
Each son brings along his girlfriend to meet the family for the
first time, resulting in confrontations about race, the economy
and politics. The family ties rapidly unravel as tensions rise
when secrets are revealed. Through lively exchanges and simmering
wit, they tackle the challenges of family life and the changing
world around them.
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