CCCT Shows Off Its 'Hattitude' With The Gospel Musical CROWNS, April 15- May 15

Contra Costa Civic Theatre concludes its live, in-person Main Stage season with the musical Crowns by Regina Taylor, adapted from the book "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Directed by Kimberly Ridgeway, with music direction by Branice McKenzie and choreography by Jennifer Frazier, Crowns plays for 15 performances from April 15-May 15.

Called "a crazy quilt of music and movement and storytelling" by its author, Crowns celebrates the role of hats in Southern black culture, of the endurance of black women in the South, and of the unconquerable urge for self-expression. Filled with gospel music and dance underscore with a little hip hop added for good measure, the six women and one man of Crowns use hats to tell tales concerning everything from the etiquette of hats to their historical and contemporary social functioning. There is a hat for every occasion, from flirting to churchgoing to funerals to baptisms, and the tradition of hats is traced back to African rituals and slavery and forward to the New Testament and current fashion.

"Crowns honors the history and identity of Black people from ancestral narratives through modern-day stories highlighted by their hats, or crowns," says director Kimberly Ridgeway. "As a director, I love to help tell stories that give voice to women, especially Black women, as they tell their truth of accomplishment, independence, conquering hardships, intersectionality, and differences that celebrate sisterhood. Audiences will rejoice in the beautiful music, the vibrant history, and the astounding journey these characters take."

Regina Taylor (Playwright) Regina Taylor is an actress, director, playwright, educator, and activist. Taylor is currently serving as the playwright-in-residence at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This is a three-year appointment through the National Playwright Residency Program established by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the HowlRound Theatre Commons. Theatre of St. Louis. Taylor is also writing new plays for Audible and the Old Vic.

Her playwright credits include Crowns (One of the country's most-produced plays/ four Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Director); Oo-Bla-Dee (Steinberg-ATCA award); Drowning Crow (Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club); The Trinity River Plays (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award) stop.reset. (Signature Theatre Residency 5) Bread (Edgerton Award, WaterTower Theatre). Regina Taylor is currently serving as the playwright-in-residence at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This is a three-year appointment through the National Playwright Residency Program established by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the HowlRound Theatre Commons. Theatre of St. Louis. Taylor received the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theatre at Fordham University at Lincoln Center. An artistic associate of Goodman Theatre, (Taylor is its most produced playwright), Signature Theatre Residency 5. Taylor is featured in HBO's Lovecraft Country (producers Jordan Peele, J. J. Abrams and Misha Green), Netflix's All Day and a Night starring Jeffrey Wright and Ashton Saunders and directed/written by Joe Robert Cole (writer for Black Panther), and guest stars on Council of Dads (NBC), The Red Line (producer Ava DuVernay, CBS), The Good Fight (CBS). For her television role as Lily Harper in I'll Fly Away, Taylor received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress, three NAACP Image Awards, and two Emmy Award nominations. Her other television roles include The Unit. Taylor was the first African American lead in Masterpiece Theatre's Cora Unashamed, starred as Anita Hill in HBO's Strange Justice (Gracie Award), and was featured in A Good Day to Die starring Sidney Poitier. She has co-starred in USA Network's Dig and guest-starred in Elementary and The Black List. Taylor's film credits include Saturday Church, The Negotiator, Courage Under Fire, Clockers, and Lean on Me. Taylor was also the first Black woman to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet on Broadway.

Kimberly Ridgeway (she/her)(director) wrote, produced, and directed the stage plays No More Secrets, Prospect Place, Heavy Burdens and The Gigolo Chronicles. She has directed projects for Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Altarena Playhouse, Ubuntu Theatre Project, Bay Area Performing Arts Collective, SF Playhouse, Playwrights Center of San Francisco, Theatre Rhinoceros, 3Girls Theatre, and TheatreFirst. Some notable acting roles include Wonderland (World Premiere]), The Human Ounce (World Premiere), The Piano Lesson, and CCCT's Doubt (2015), All the Way (2019), and The Mountaintop (2016) for which she won the BroadwayWorld San Francisco Award for Best Leading Actress in a Local Play.

The cast includes both veterans and newcomers to CCCT's stage. Juanita Harris, voted "Best Jazz Singer" by KDFC's "Best of the Bay" in 2018 and 2019, makes her CCCT debut as "Mother Shaw." Also appearing are TBA Award-winner (for The Color Purple) Leslie Ivy as Velma, Pam Drummer-Williams, last seen at CCCT in Ragtime, as Mabel; Brittany Nicole Sims, most recently seen in NCTC's Dot, as Wanda; Alana Wagner, who appeared in Pinole Player's She Loves Me and Lucky Stiff, as Jeanette; Angelina Williams, Dance Artist with Savage Jazz Dance Company, as Yolanda; and Chris Poston, National Anthem singer for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service Oath Ceremonies held monthly at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, as Man.

The creative team includes Branice McKenzie, music director; Jennifer Frazier, choreographer; Nia Jacobs, costume designer; Brittany Mellerson, lighting designer; Devon LaBelle, props designer, and Daniel "Techno" DeBono, sound designer. Tajianna Okechukwu is the stage manager.

Tickets for Crowns are $40 for adults and $20 for youth up to age 16, available online at www.ccct.org. All performances take place in-person at the theatre, 951 Pomona Ave (cross street Moeser) in El Cerrito. Free parking is available in the adjoining lot and on the street.

Masks and proof of vaccination and booster are required for everyone attending or working on in-person performances at CCCT. Detailed information on the theatre's COVID protocols is available on the theatre's website at www.ccct.org/safety, and will be updated as necessary.

Celebrating its 62nd season in 2021-22, Contra Costa Civic Theatre (CCCT) embraces the idea that theatre is a vital part of a healthy community and serves its citizens best when it provides a welcoming home for all people who value the power of storytelling. Established in 1959 by Louis and Bettianne Flynn and a group of dedicated volunteers and under the artistic direction of Marilyn Langbehn for the past nine years, CCCT is proud to provide entertainment and education to the El Cerrito and East Bay communities that help it to thrive.

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