Blackfriars Theatre Opens The 21-22 Season With Two Productions In Rep

Blackfriars Theatre returns to live, indoor performances this October with two beautiful and heart-warming productions to kick off its 72nd Season in downtown Rochester. Pretty Fire by Charlayne Woodard is a one-woman tour de force and is the recipient of the NAACP Theatre Awards for Best Play and Best Playwright. Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson tells the true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt and is written by one of America's most produced living playwrights.

PRETTY FIRE

The stage is bare except for a wooden loveseat and a young African-American woman. Then the lyrical, lifting words of Charlayne Woodard begin weaving stories of two young sisters in the small world of Albany, New York; of summers spent at their grandparents' home in Georgia; and other tales of three generations of love, struggle, and triumph. Suddenly that empty stage becomes crowded with the authentic, mesmerizing experience of contemporary African-American life. Winner of the NAACP Theatre Awards for Best Play and Best Playwright, this humorous and touching one-woman tour de force takes audiences on a universal journey through a world in which family bond is as strong as steel.

Director J. Simmons reflects on this powerful piece, saying, "American Playwright George C. Wolfe said it best when talking about Pretty Fire. He said 'In the oral traditions of West Africa and the African diaspora, Charlayne Woodard is a modern day griot. A magnificent storyteller, this smooth lyricist of life's harmonic complexities weaves a tapestry of Spanish moss, mother wit, and tales of family life that speak dignity, survival, humor, and strength in a world in which beauty, promise, and opportunity walk hand in hand with pain, hostility, and the "pretty fire" of adversity. Her story is a rich gumbo redolent with wit and humor, spiced by trials and epiphany of a young girl's journey into selfhood. Pretty Fire is a symphonic poem challenging the reader to listen, feel, and soar in joy, joined as one with Ms. Woodard.'"

Mr. Simmons continues, "I truly couldn't agree more and was drawn to this piece because of its unconventionally conventional approach to the old style of "storytelling." Pretty Fire breaks the mold, using multiple theatrical techniques to weave various storylines, creating numerous environments and characters in real time to impart a thrilling and heart-warming journey for any audience."

Pretty Fire is performed by Adryanna Elmendorf (Charlayne Woodard), and the production is directed by J. Simmons.

SILENT SKY

When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn't allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women "computers," charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in "girl hours" and has no time for the women's probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman's place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women's ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.

"When I read Silent Sky I discovered the story of these marvelous women - Henrietta Leavitt, Annie Cannon and Williamina Fleming - whose (mostly unheralded) work in measuring and cataloging the stars led to our modern understanding of the unimaginable vastness of the universe," says Director Patricia Lewis Browne. "I've always been drawn to stories about discovery in science and art and how those discoveries help us understand what it is to be human. This play blends those elements with humor and irreverence and reminds us that in uncertain times there is value in insisting that there is much more beyond us."

The Silent Sky cast includes Mary Tiballi Hoffman (Margaret Leavitt), Erin-Kate Howard (Annie Cannon), Colin Pazik (Peter Shaw), Jill Rittinger (Henrietta Leavitt), and Kerry Young (Williamina Fleming). The production is directed by Patricia Lewis Browne.

To post a comment, you must register and login.