CHICKEN STORIES to Have World Premiere At Broadwater Main Stage in August

Playwright/director Marcus Folmar describes his new play Chicken Stories this way: "A collection of hilarious and at times biting vignettes that examine the culture and times through the unexpected yet undeniably relatable (and historically relevant) lens of chicken." Some of the stories are fictitious. Some of the content is based on real events. Folmar is African-American, and his show to some extent is about the important place that chicken occupies in considerations of Black American cuisine, in terms of its history and its centrality in Black culture. The vignettes that comprise the Chicken Stories lean in the direction of humor, yet deal substantively with significant themes like Black entrepreneurship and empowerment, the generational shifting of values, loss, cultural appropriation, modern dating, and more.

Chicken brings people together: families, friends, neighbors, schoolmates, coworkers. It is comforting, nourishing, and delicious. It can also spark tensions (e.g., My mother's chicken is better than your mother's chicken. Which local establishment makes the better wings?)

Chicken Stories is, above all, a comedy, and it is very funny.

The cast includes Lavel Schley ( CBS' East New York), Darien Sills-Evans (Third Watch, Superior Donuts, Cosby), Maurice G. Smith (Meet the Browns), Lanett Tachel, Colin McGurk, JP Payton, and LaVonna Miller.

Special guest star: John Marshall Jones (All American; Homecoming, For All Mankind, In the Cut, The Troop, Melrose Place). In Chicken Stories, Jones portrays Papa Creole, who cheerfully shares wisdom that is "Good for the Chicken. Good for Life."

Playwright-director-co-producer Marcus Folmar graduated with honors from Northwestern University and proceeded to Hollywood, His screenwriting credits include A Dark Way Out (co written by producing partner Reggie Currelley), The List (ABC Family), Deitrick Haddon's The Fallen, and a web series, Alley Way. Also an actor, he appeared on Blackish, Brooklyn Nine- Nine, Frasier, The Big Bang Theory, and more. An accomplished improviser, he frequently appears on stage at Upright Citizens Brigade.

Original score; Stan Seymour. Scenic design: David Offner.

Now, are you ready for some chicken? Taste and see, there's more to talk about than which came first.

Chicken Stories, a World Premiere comedy

Written and directed by Marcus Folmar.

Produced by Marcus Folmar and Reggie Currelley.

Location: Broadwater Main Stage, 1076 Lillian Way, Hollywood, CA 90028.

Dates: Previews August 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. Opens Saturday, August 3, 2024 at 7:30 p.m., preceded by a chicken reception and red carpet at 6:00 p.m. Runs through Sunday, August 18. Performances Thursdays through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets: Previews $25. August 3 Opening Night, $50 (includes pre-show chicken reception and red carpet). Regular performances $35.

ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes, one intermission.

For tickets, visit the button below or click here.

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