Once again excitement looms in the air as Chicago's fall theater season begins. But for some of these groups, the fall marks the annual opportunity to showcase plays written, directed and/or performed by people of color. And as one would expect, the themes and issues presented in these plays often focus on race matters. Some of the area's Black and Latino/Latina theater ensembles are still confirming shows to round out their 2003-2004 season, but here are a few plays and actors that you don't want to miss.
Still reveling in their coup at the recent Black Theater Alliance Awards, where they received six Alliance Awards for their stellar work last season, including Best Production, Best Ensemble and Best Director, all for Cut Flowers, the Chicago Theatre Company (500 E. 67th St.) is one of the hottest ensembles in the city—race notwithstanding.
Unlike some ensembles that put on at least a half dozen shows throughout the season, CTC usually performs three plays per season. But what a three shows they offer—as is evident from their recent awards. When the new season began Sept. 26 with Sundown Names and Night Gone Things, Douglas Alan-Mann, the company's artistic and production director, will once again be at the helm. And with a best director award in hand, he promises even greater things for the ensembles audiences this year. Look for the young and talented heartthrob James T. Alfred, fresh off a great performance in eta's Killing Me Softly, for which he received a Black Theatre Alliance nomination for best leading actor, who will star in CTC's season opener.
CTC's remaining two shows are still in final contract negotiations, but Mann says an announcement will come very soon. But one thing is for certain—CTC will offer professional productions with compelling and universal themes from an African-American perspective, with talented Black artists showcasing their skills on and off the stage.
The Chicago Theatre Company was founded in 1984 and since than has produced 50 productions—many being new works premiering in Chicago, like Cut Flowers.
And for a bit of trivia: Train is Comin' made history as the longest running play (a musical by local playwright McKinley Johnson) in CTC's 17-year history. We hear that Johnson has another production that he is fine tuning. He won't tell us if it's a musical or not, but we can't wait to see it.
Congo Square Theater, 1201 W. Randolph, is back for more of its magic after pulling off a purely electrifying production of A Soldier's Play last season for its opener. Last year it was a joining of several of Chicago's premier theatrical talents, with Chuck Smith, resident director of the Goodman Theatre directing the opener and Derrick Sanders (artistic director, Congo Square Theater) starring on stage along with other ensemble members who gave memorable performances including Will Simms II and Aaron Todd Douglas.
Douglas will join fellow ensemble member Monifa Days Sunday, Oct. 5 in Spunk: Three Tales by Zora Neale Hurston, in an adaption by George C. Wolfe and directed by Chicago's acting 'phenom' Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Fans of Chicago theater may recall Bruce's riveting performances in Pearl Cleage's Bourbon at the Border (Victory Gardens) and in Stud Terkel's Race (Looking Glass Theatre Co.), both presented earlier this year.
Collaboration is nothing new for CST—last year they joined forces with Steppenwolf in Wedding Band, a story that confronts the ugliness of racism and the attitudes of both Blacks and whites, who stand for separation of the races. And while CST is still a rookie (founded in fall 2000) when compared to other Black theater ensembles, it continues to improve with every season.
Rounding out the 2003-2004 season will be the Chicago premier of King of Coons, based on the life of Steppin Fetchit and the world premier of The House That Jack Built, written by ensemble member Javon Johnson and directed by Sanders. Johnson's piece has all the makings of a Black Theatre Alliance award in the story of five ex-convicts searching within themselves for truth and forgiveness while hoping to conquer the self-denial that burdens them with the sins of their past. With performances by Simms and Douglas, joined by TaRon Patton and Ann Joseph, this one sounds like a don't miss.
Some ensembles just get better and better —and with a woman like Jackie Taylor, founder and artistic director of the Black Ensemble Theater, who founded the company 27 years ago so she could 'take control of some of the images that African-American people were being offered'—it isn't surprising.
While we hate to use trite phrases, Taylor is unarguably one of the 'hardest working directors in show business.' The new season began Sept. 18 with Mama Said There'll Be Days Like This (The History of the Girl Groups) in a world premier and the first work commissioned as part of the Black Ensemble Playwright's Initiative. The Initiative is designed to give local Black playwrights a forum in the community.
'As the company continues to grow, we must make room for new directors and playwrights to have a forum for their work,' Taylor said. 'They are the future and should have a voice in our community.'
Do you remember the sounds of those '50s and '60s groups like The Shirelles, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Chiffons or The Crystals? Taylor hopes you do—and that you'll want to walk down memory lane or take a wonderful lesson in America's musical history.
'Marsha Estell (playwright) has created a wonderful piece that addresses not only the joy and exuberance of this great movement in music, but also the pain and the exploitation that unfortunately marked the girls' careers,' Taylor said.
The season will continue with the return of The Other Cinderella in October, followed by two world premiers, The Way We Were (The History of Colored Entertainment) and The House That Rocked. The season concludes with a return of the rousing Great Women In Gospel.
Chicago has several Hispanic theatre troupes including the Latino Chicago Theatre Company, with most of its shows written by Latino playwrights but mostly performed in English. However, we recommend that you also check out Teatro Luna (556 W. 18th Street)—a theater that explores a range of Latina perspectives. Teatro Luna was founded in the spring of 2000 by Tanya Saracho and Coya Paz, who met while at an audition.
'We hoped that we would create evidence that there is a vibrant and talented community of Latina performers in this city—it's our way of responding to the way mainstream companies often shrugged off concerns about diversity in their casts,' Paz said. 'It is a thing in and of itself, a way for us to explore issues within our communities and take pride in our individual experiences as women and Latina women.'
Paz added that performances are primarily in English because their experiences, immigrant or not, are specifically American. 'However, we feel entitled to use Spanish in our performances when it best represents what we are trying to communicate.'
Saracho recently returned from a conference-style artist retreat that was part of the Future Aesthetics: Hip Hop & Contemporary Performance Project in San Francisco. She says as an all-Latina ensemble, the company has dedicated itself to expanding the range of Latina/Hispana roles visible on the Chicago stage and beyond.
'Our stories became a piece we called Probadita (Little Taste), which premiered at Victory Gardens Theater Oct. 16, 2000,' she said. 'After that we were hooked on telling our own stories—our mother's stories, our sister's—we were hooked.'
Teatro Luna produces original works about the Latina experience, which according to Saracho is sometimes colorless and merely based on gender. 'At other times it's dictated by race, religion or national background.' Their season will open Friday, Oct. 3 with The Maria Chronicles, which runs through Nov. 23. Cast members past and present have come from Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
'We will be producing an evening of two one-woman shows in the spring and will premier an ensemble-built project in the summer of 2004,' Saracho said.
Paz and Saracho are energetic, talented and bring a perspective that is sorely needed in a city like Chicago, where the fastest growing community is one that speaks Spanish. Don't miss out on this opportunity to broaden your horizons and see some great theater.
In other notes, we recommend the always-entertaining eta Creative Arts Foundation Inc. (7558 S. South Chicago Ave.), now in its 33rd season and in the midst of an exciting project that will expand both their facilities and programs.
'As long as we endure to provide for the next generation, we will survive and even prosper,' said Abena Joan Brown, president/producer. 'Eta's very presence and its expansion is a testament of faith. And there are still so many stories which need to be told.'
The season began Sept. 18 with It's Showdown Time—a romantic comedy about a persistent man and his attractions to a woman who insists on living her life on her own terms. We look forward to two later pieces which hold much promise—Why Black Men Play Basketball, directed by Derrick Sanders, which tackles the bravado of Black men who equate their skills on the court with how they play the game of life, and Eyes, a tribute to Zora Neale Hurston based on the book and music by the wonderful poet, Mari E. Evans. It's a musical love story based on Hurston's classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Artistic director Runako Jahi is slated to direct this highly anticipated piece but you'll have to wait until next summer to see it on stage.
Stay tuned—there's great theater ahead!
See www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com for comprehensive theater listings.
