Review: SINGLE BLACK FEMALE at Crossroads is a Theatrical Gem

"It is the role of the black middle class to integrate."

From Single Black Female

Crossroads Theatre Company opens the 2016/2017 Season with Single Black Female. Now onstage through October 23rd, the play is wonderfully written by Lisa B. Thompson and superbly directed by Shirley Jo Finney. This very entertaining production will appeal to broad audience of men and women. We attended a matinee with groups that included local college students, groups of friends, and members of community organizations who enjoyed it thoroughly. Get your tickets, sit back, relax and have a good time.

Single Black Female is set in the present day in a stylish Brownstone in Harlem. In the play, two successful, thirty-something African American women explore their lives in captivating vignettes. The lifestyle scenes are totally relatable as they depict the women creating an online dating profile, celebrating holidays, attending a college reunion, shopping at GAP, dealing with family elders and much more. The discourse is spirited, laced with humor and touching moments. The play is a fascinating view of the women's viewpoints, dilemmas and aspirations.

The two talented actors make Single Black Female captivating. Their timing is impeccable as they deliver the clever, well-crafted dialogue. Daphne Gaines plays the college professor and Stephanie J. Weeks plays the attorney. Gaines and Weeks seamlessly assume multiple roles to develop the scenes that include people they have dated, family members, and professional contacts.

The Design Team brings Single Black Female to full life with scenic design by Yee Eun Nam; costume design by Dana Rebecca Woods; lighting design by Victor En Yu Tan; sound design by David Wright; projection design by Yee Eun Nam. The Props Master is Sadae Hori, Production Stage Manager by Brian Westmoreland and Casting by McCorkle Casting Ltd.

Single Black Female is a theatrical gem on the Crossroads Theatre Company Stage. Gather your group and see it. It is an outstanding show to open the exciting season ahead.

Marshall Jones III, Producing Artistic Director of Crossroads Theatre has announced that the 2016-2017 season will pay homage to the power, glory and struggles of women in the upcoming season by connecting the season's four new and reprised productions with the theme, "A Woman's Gift." The season ahead includes Black Nativity; Harriet Tubman: I See Freedom; Sarah Sings a Love Song and the annual Genesis Festival of new plays.

Single Black Female runs for 90 minutes with no intermission. It will be produced at Crossroads Theatre Company through October 23rd. The theatre is located at 7 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick in the heart of the city's vibrant entertainment and dining district, convenient to mass transit and local parking. For ticketing and more information call 732.545.8100 and visit http://www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org/.

Photo Credit: Sherry Rubel

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