SpeakEasy Announces New Dates For TJ LOVES SALLY 4 EVER

Due to its ongoing discovery of the technical needs of producing virtual theatre, and to ensure the best possible production for its audience, SpeakEasy Stage Company is delaying the streaming dates for its production of TJ LOVES SALLY 4 EVER by one week. The show will now stream from Friday, April 30 through Thursday, May 13.

Written by James Ijames, and produced in partnership with Boston Conservatory at Berklee, TJ LOVES SALLY 4 EVER is a wildly irreverent and whip-smart satire that dissects a sordid slice of American history - the story of President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings - with the goal of reimagining the future. The play centers on Sally, a young Black student, who when faced with unwanted advances from TJ, her college's white Dean of Students, sets out to dismantle the legacies that bind us all.

Content advisory: TJ LOVES SALLY 4 EVER contains scenes involving strong language, sexual harassment, slavery, and Black trauma. Viewer discretion is advised.

Author James Ijames is a playwright, performer, director, and educator based in Philadelphia, where he also serves as a co-artistic director for the Wilma Theatre. A graduate of Morehouse College (BA, Drama) and Temple University (MFA, Acting), Mr. Ijames has had his plays produced coast to coast. His playwriting accolades include a 2015 Pew Playwriting Fellowship; a 2015 Terrance McNally New Play Award for White; a 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize for ....Miz Martha; a 2017 Whiting Award; a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise; and a 2020 Steinberg Award. Mr. Ijames is also a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia's first playwright producing collective, and an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University.

Pascale Florestal will make her SpeakEasy directorial debut with this production. Her directing credits include La Divina (Opera Del West); Deferred (Northeastern University); Dwelling Codes (Company One); Virtual Attendance (Huntington Theatre); House Arrest (Theatreworks, Colorado Springs); Tam's Two Dads (The Theatre Offensive); and others. Pascale is also the Education Director for The Front Porch Arts Collective and an Assistant Professor of Theater at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Most recently, she was awarded the inaugural Greg Ferrell Award for her contributions in making Boston Theatre more inclusive.

The cast for this New England Premiere is Dru Sky Berrian, Jordan Pearson, Tah-Janay Shayone, Sadiyah Dyce Stephens, and Jared Troilo.

The creative team is Daniel Cafarella (Audio Engineer); David Freeman Coleman (Sound Design and Original Music); Madeline Hartrich (Props Master); Aja M. Jackson (Lighting Designer);

Sam Layco (Production Stage Manager); Amanda Ostrow Mason (Wardrobe Supervisor); Miranda McLean (Assistant Stage Manager); Dwayne P. Mitchell (Assistant Director); Rachel Padula-Shufelt (Costume Design); Kira Cowan Troilo (Choreographer); and Wesley Verge (Video Production).

Ticket prices are $30. Discounts are available. For tickets or more information, the public is invited to visit www.SpeakEasyStage.com.

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