Song for Coretta (West Coast Premiere)is written by Pearl Cleage and directed by Victoria Evans Erville.
January 22-February 7, 2009 at 8pm
Tickets $10-$30
...a lovely, image-soaked testament to the civil rights icon...The big news is that Cleage has created a joyful and affectionate tribute to one of the great women of our time" - Wendell Brock, Atlanta Journalt
On February 6, 2006, people began lining up at dawn outside of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church to pay their respects to the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose body lay in state in the small sanctuary. By mid-morning, the crowd wound down the street and around the corner of the old red brick building. When a cold rain began to fall at sunset, those who had thought to bring umbrellas shared them with those whose resolve was the only thing not dampened by the drizzle. At close to midnight, the crowd had dwindled to a determined few. The five fictional characters in this play are at the end of that long line of mourners. Tickets $10-$30
Mrs. King said that "the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of it's members." In celebration of the presidential inauguration and Black History Month, Brava's theatrical season continues with its third Shout Out Loud production of A Song for Coretta written by Pearl Cleage's, a Regional Premiere. This play discusses the contribution and emotional impact Mrs. King made on other women for generations to follow. The story begins with five African-American women that are very different in age and background, standing in line to pay their respects to the late Coretta Scott King in Georgia.
When you wait in line for several hours you find out a lot about people. In A Song for Coretta, the multi-generational characters discover that although their struggles are not the same, they all have come in hope that somehow the spirit of Mrs. King will inspire them. What they find instead that they must learn to inspire themselves and to help others. The play, utilizing multi-media and a radio play style, will be directed by Artistic Director of African-American Shakespeare Company Victoria Evans Erville.
Actors
Ashanna Andrews, Khamara Pettus, Shanique S. Scott, Marjorie Crump-Shears, Jocelyn Truitt
Production Team
Victoria Evans Erville, Steven Lamont, Will McCandless, Cathie Anderson, Alanna Coby, Lisa Edsall Giglio
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