Childress' 'Trouble in Mind' at Yale Rep, Opens 11/1

Trouble in Mind, Alice Childress' drama of race, identity and opportunity in the American theatre, will be produced by Yale Repertory Theatre from October 26 to November 17. Opening night is Thursday, November 1.

Irene Lewis, artistic director of Baltimore's Centerstage, directs Yale Repertory Theatre's first production by Childress, who is perhaps best known as author of the young adult novels "Rainbow Jordan" and "A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich."  Heading the cast as Wiletta Mayer, the long-struggling African American actress ready for her shot at the big time is five-time Joseph Jefferson Award-winner E. Faye Butler. Also featured in the cast are Starla Benford, Tony-nominee Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Don Guillory, Daren Kelly, Garrett Neergaard, Laurence O'Dwyer, Kevin O'Rourke and Natalia Payne.  

The creative team for Trouble in Mind includes set designer Michael Locher, costume designer Paul Carey, lighting designer Melissa Mizell, and sound designer David Budries.

"Trouble in Mind, which had its premiere off-Broadway in 1955, is about a new Broadway play that has started rehearsals.  The play-within-the-play, titled Chaos in Belleville, is an anti-lynching drama written by a white writer and set in the South.  It marks the first opportunity for Wiletta Mayer, an African American actress who has spent years in parts beneath her intelligence and talent, to play a leading lady.  As the company begins its work, Wiletta and the white director clash over her take on the role.  Set along the fault lines of the early Civil Rights movement, Trouble in Mind offers a disturbing and disarmingly funny look at the half-truths we tell ourselves about race relations and progress in America," explain press notes.

Single tickets range from $35 to $58.  Please visit www.yalerep.org, call (203) 432-1234, or visit the box office.  Yale Repertory Theatre is located at 1120 Chapel Street (at York Street), New Haven.