The High Priestess Of Dark Alley Returns To Billie Holiday Theatre Thru 6/28

Following a six week sold-out run earlier this year, Brooklyn's famed Billie Holiday Theatre will present a nine week return engagement of The High Priestess of Dark Alley, a new play by playwright/director Jackie Alexander.

The production will run April 30 through June 28, 2009. The performance schedule is Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and Sundays at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15-$23, with additional discounts available for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.zerve.com/BHolidayInc/DrkAlley by phone at 212.209.3370, or at the theatre's box office at Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street.

Set in present-day New Orleans, THE HIGH PRIESTESS OF DARK ALLEY is the story of three creole women, Celeste Thibedeaux and her two grown daughters, Claire and Janee Charbonet. Divorced and waging a battle with time that has scarred her soul, Claire Charbonet had long turned her back on love. But on her thirtieth birthday, and with the encouragement and support of her sister and sole confidant, Janee, she reluctantly opens her heart to the possibility

Enter the girls' mother, Celeste, referred to by those who know her best as The High Priestess of Dark Alley; a moniker garnered due to her disdain for any in the African American community not of Creole descent. Arriving unannounced at her daughters' home with plans to repair Claire's marriage, Celeste is appalled by her daughters' new choice for a relationship. Iron-fisted as always, Celeste unapologetically sets out to show Claire the error of her ways. Janee, always the rebel, comes to the defense of her sister; laying much of the blame for Claire's troubles in life firmly at Celeste's doorstep.

As layers are stripped away from the three women, we discover each to be shackled in their own way by societal mores. But when an outsider attempts to sever the blood bond they share, the three women rally around each other; their love lighting a path to redemption for all.

Intra-racial prejudice - light-skinned blacks versus dark-skinned blacks - has had little exploration on the theatrical stage. "As society finally begins to embrace the rainbow of colors encompassed in the African American community, it's baffling that some within still cling to age old prejudices and myths that serve only to create division among us," playwright/director Jackie Alexander said. "African Americans are conquering what were once unthinkable heights. I hope this play is a reminder that the biggest hindrance to that progress is often self-imposed."

For more information, please visit www.thehighpriestessofdarkalley.com, or www.thebillieholiday.org.