Theatre In The X Celebrates 10th Anniversary With New Staging Of ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN

Theatre in the X, which was created in 2013 to provide the people of West Philadelphia and the African American community at large the opportunity to see professional quality theater in their own neighborhood for no cost, is celebrating their 10th anniversary this August by presenting a rarely-staged work by late Philadelphia-born playwright Charles Fuller, who died in October 2022 at the age of 83. The company's production of Zooman and the Sign will be offered to audiences for free at Philadelphia's Malcolm X Park for a limited engagement, August 17-20, 2023.

Set in Southwest Philadelphia in 1979, Zooman senselessly terrorizes his community. When he kills a 12-year-old Black girl on the street, all witnesses refuse to talk. Bereaved and infuriated, the dead girl's father posts a sign accusing the entire community of cowardice in the face of escalating violence. The play was first presented off-Broadway by Negro Ensemble Company at Theater Four in New York City on December 7, 1980, and Theatre in the X company members feel like it is extremely relevant to the issues of community violence currently taking place throughout the city.

"Over the last ten years, we've always curated our productions based on what we see the community needs during each season," noted LaNeshe Miller-White, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Theatre in the X, who also plays the role of Rachel Tate in the show. "With the prevalent nature of community violence in Philadelphia right now, we felt like this was the perfect show to get people talking about what our role as citizens is in stopping the violence."

Director Ozzie Jones, along with the ensemble, will host post-show "epilogues" that will serve as discussions to address the issues presented in the play, with a goal to empower the audience to address the issues surrounding community violence.

"How do we get past having this same conversation around these issues?," added Jones. "After the performance we hope audience members are led to do something."

Fuller, who was born in North Philadelphia, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1982 with his work A Soldier's Play, which debuted off-Broadway in 1981, featuring Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson. The play was later adapted into a feature film with the title A Soldier's Story. Fuller had his Broadway debut in 2020 when The Roundabout Theatre Company presented A Soldier's Play.

Zooman and the Sign features LaNeshe Miller-White, Walter DeShields, Bryce Zenon, T.C Storm Caldwell, Jeffery Scott, Leon Alexander, Richard Bradford, Monet Debose, and Tasha Holmes​.

Admission is free and available to the public at Malcolm X Park (5100 Pine St, Philadelphia). Audience members should BYOC (bring your own chair) and will experience a block-party like atmosphere before the show. The rain location is Holy Apostles & the Mediator Episcopal Church (260 S 51st St, Philadelphia, PA).Shows are August 17 and 18 at 7PM and August 19 and 20 at 5PM. For more information, visit theatreinthex.com.

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