Lisa Langford's RASTUS AND HATTIE Audio Play Begins This Month

16th Street Theater announces the audio play of Lisa Langford's RASTUS AND HATTIE directed by Lanise Antoine Shelley showing remotely on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights September 24 - October 24, 2020 with a press opening of Thursday September 24 at 7:00 PM. Ticket buyers will receive a password protected link to Vimeo one hour before showtime that will be good for anytime that evening. Moderated Zoom talkbacks will take place after Thursday and Friday performances. For press release as a Word Doc and for links to photos, please click here to access Google Drive

Needra and Marlene enjoy a perfect post-racial friendship until two problematic robots walk into their christening celebration. These automatons, based on Westinghouse's 1930 brown-skinned robots, plus a glitch in the time-space continuum, place them at opposite ends of society in an alternate past. This provocative comedy jumps from the outrageous to the profound as it delves into our traumatic legacy and explores new ideas about moving forward. Recorded at Chicago's Classick Studios, this audio play will be paired with illustrations created by artist Roy Thomas.

Voiceover actors for the audio play are Kate Black-Spence, Jasmine Bracey, David Goodloe, Daniel Houle, Colin Jones, Ryan Kitley and Krystel McNeil as Needra. Lanise Anthoine Shelley is the director and adaptor of the audio play. Olanrewaju Adewole is the sound designer, Nathan Cox-Reed is the post-production audio engineer, Mildred Marie Langford is the dramaturg, and Peter Marston Sullivan is the video editor animating the work of Illustrator Roy Thomas.

Content Warning: Rastus and Hattie includes racist caricatures, racism, and violence.

This production is the final offering in 16th Street Theater's 2020 Season Thirteen.