KCRep Continues Season With FOR COLORED GIRLS...

Kansas City Repertory Theatre continues its season with FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF by Ntozake Shange. Only the second show by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway, FOR COLORED GIRLS was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for Best Play.

In this theater piece, written in a form Shange coined as a 'choreo-poem' and accompanied by music and dance,

seven African American women, each identified solely by a color, traverse class, gender, sexuality, and geography, share highly personal stories of love, empowerment, struggle and loss to create a complex representation of sisterhood. "Remarkable," says The New York Times, "a joyous celebration" that weaves word and dance into something genuinely special, something to "be savored and treasured."

"Our bodies are magnificent. They hold our power and our fragility. Ntozake Shange reminds us that they are ours, a curve that holds a secret, a twerk that celebrates release - all ours to be shared at our will," says Director Khanisha Foster. "Come sit in the theater with us, and we will climb the walls together. Hang from the rafters. Let abandon set us free."

The company of FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF features, alphabetically:

Chioma Anyanwu (Lady in Purple), Celeste M. Cooper (Lady in Red), Ashe Jaafaru (Lady in Brown), Meredith Noël (Lady in Yellow), Amber McKinnon (Lady in Orange) and Teonna Wesley (Lady in Green).

Ntozake Shange, born Paulette Linda Williams, was an American playwright, poet, and Black feminist. The author of many plays, novels, short stories, children's books, poems, and essays, Shange is revered as a pioneer in the Black Arts Movement. She died in 2018.

In addition to direction by Khanisha Foster, the creative team consists of lighting design by Akin Ritchie, scenic design by Sheryl Liu, sound design by Miles Polaski, choreography by Brigette Dunn-Korpela, and costume design by Samantha C. Jones. Tenley Pitonzo serves as production stage manager.

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF previews run Oct. 18 through Oct. 24, opens Friday, Oct. 25 and runs through November 10, at the Copaken Stage (1 H and R Block Way, Kansas City, 64105). Tickets start at just $35 and may be purchased by visiting kcrep.org/show/for-colored-girls or by calling the KCRep box office at 816-235-2700. Groups of nine or more receive discounted tickets by calling Andrew Cotlar at 816-235-6122.

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