JIMMY & LORRAINE: A MUSING to be Presented at the Austin Arts Center at Trinity College

Austin Arts Center at Trinity College will present a six-performance encore engagement of HartBeat Ensemble's acclaimed production of Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing. Talvin Wilk's poetic and political play focuses on the friendship between two groundbreaking Black American writers and activists, Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin.The production, under the direction of Brian Jennings, will run in the Goodwin Theater located in Trinity College's Austin Arts Center (300 Summit Street, Hartford) from October 10 through October 19. Putting the community first, tickets for HartBeat Ensemble's Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing are free, but advance reservations are required.

Tickets can be reserved by visiting trincoll.edu/austin-arts-center or HartBeatEnsemble.org. The production kicks off HartBeat Ensemble's James Baldwin Centennial Season that will continue with Kyle Bass' Citizen James in early 2025.

Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing is a meditation on the American political climate of the late 50's and early 60's through the lens of two significant artists of the time, James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. Following their impactful careers as artists, their call to social activism and the challenges of wrestling with the balance of an artistic career and politics, their lives give us an opportunity to look at this rich period of political and social upheaval.

Inspired by text from biographies, journals, personal correspondences, plays, novels, interviews, essays, and media clips, Wilks' play paints a revealing picture of this significant period in American history with Baldwin and Hansberry front and center. Significant speeches, television interviews, and political debates all serve as fodder for this meditation. Hansberry and Baldwin were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, but both had arrived through their art, efforts to depict and grapple with the complex lives of African Americans in American society. Together, the lives of these two artists and social activists give a profound perspective on the quandary of the artist in the political struggle and the challenges of a radical life. 

HartBeat Ensemble Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. states, "We are looking forward to reintroducing Jimmy and Lorraine, a production that has become a signature achievement in the history of HartBeat Ensemble. This smart, challenging and lyrical play is a powerful window into two of the greatest Black artists of the 20th century. We are thrilled that Austin Arts Center and Trinity College are hosting us and opening their doors the community to attend the production at no charge. Everyone should be able to access the genius of these two legends, Talvin Wilks' brilliant play, and the incredibly talented cast we have assembled."

Performances of Jimmy and Lorraine will follow a two-week guest artist residency at Austin Arts Center where HartBeat Ensemble's creative team will rehearse on campus and share its process with students and the wider community.

The three-actor play will feature Vanessa R. Butler recreating her performance as A Raisin in the Sun playwright Lorraine Hansberry. Joining Butler will be Jon-Michael Reese as novelist, playwright and poet James Baldwin, a role he played in The Pillsbury House + Theatre production. Nick Roesler rounds out the cast playing various roles including Robert F. Kennedy, Norman Mailer, and Robert Nemiroff. Director Brian Jennings returns as director having staged HartBeat's original 2016 production at its Carriage House Theatre in Hartford and its subsequent remounting at the University of Saint Joseph. The Production Team includes Lynne Porter (scenic design), Margo Caddell (lighting design), Vilinda McGregor (Costume Design), Andrew Reardon (Projection Design) and Kristen L. Kingley (Production Stage Manager). HartBeat Ensemble is led by Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. and Managing Director Rhoda Cerritelli.

The production is 90 minutes with no intermission. The performance schedule is as follows: Thursday, October 10 at 7:30pm; Saturday, October 12 at 7:30pm; Thursday, October 17 at 2pm; Friday, October 18 at 7:30pm; and Saturday, October 19 at 2pm and 7:30pm. Free tickets must be reserved at trincoll.edu/austin-arts-center.

Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing is supported in part by Austin Arts Center and Trinity College, J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, Greater Hartford Council for the Arts, The Roberts Foundation and Travelers. Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing was originally produced by HartBeat Ensemble in 2016 at the Carriage House Theater in Hartford, CT with support by the National Endowment for the Arts, CT Humanities, the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Amistad Center for Arts & Culture. It was subsequently revived at the University of Saint Joseph, the Ko Festival at Amherst, and The Pillsbury House + Theatre in Minneapolis.

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