Birmingham Festival Theatre Opens BLACK PEARL SINGS!, 9/13

In Black Pearl Sings! at Birmingham Festival Theatre, the setting is the mid-1930s. An ambitious "song collector," for the Library of Congress, Susannah Mullally (Nancy Malone), is searching for undiscovered folk music with African-American roots in the prisons of Texas. Her best hope may be found in Alberta "Pearl" Johnson (Donna Thornton), who has been imprisoned for 10 years for killing a man. Pearl holds a treasure-trove of unrecorded slave-era music, but does she hand over her ancestor's songs without giving up something of herself? The two women form an alliance that "reaches into the soul of a nation, and pulls at the heart and mind," while exploring how music tells the story of its people. Join me and these two wonderful actresses in this journey of song and soul.

The playwright, Frank Higgins, will be with us September 13 for the opening night performance and at the reception afterward. There will also be a "talk back" with the playwright, cast, director and crew on Friday night, September 14, after the performance. Additionally, we will have our regularly-scheduled "talk back" on the second Friday, September 21.

Birmingham Festival 2012-2013 season tickets are on sale now and will be during the run of Black Pearl Sings! through the website at bftonline.org or in the lobby when you come to the show. 

Call 933-BFT3 for reservations. Tickets: $20 for general admission; $10 for students; $15 for groups of ten or more (prepayment and reservations required for groups).

PERFORMANCE AND SPECIAL EVENT SCHEDULE

Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00 pm.
September 13: Free opening night reception
September 20: Pay What You Can Afford ($10 minimum)
September 21: Talk-back with the cast after the show
September 23: Sunday matineee at 2:00 pm

Pictured: Donna Thornton, Nancy Malone. Image courtesy www.DinaGraphics.com.