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A ROYAL ENGAGEMENT Cincinnati Art Museum and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park collaborate for a joyous celebration of African-American women and their church hats in Crowns CINCINNATI (Feb. 24, 2005) - The Cincinnati Art Museum and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park are collaborating to offer Cincinnati a joyous springtime fusion of faith and fashion that celebrates African-American women and the crowns they wear. The photography exhibition Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats opens March 19 at the Cincinnati Art Museum and will be on view through June 12. At the same time, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will close its 2004-2005 Marx Theatre Season with Regina Taylor’s musical Crowns, which begins public previews on April 26 and continues through May 27. Both events were inspired by the best-selling photographic book of the same name. Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats features 30 black-and-white photographs by Michael Cunningham. Along with the photographs, the exhibition includes vivid commentary on the hats, drawn from interviews by Craig Marberry with hundreds of women. These interviews explore the reasons why women wear hats, why they own so many and what rules of etiquette apply to wearing them. The two men explored the tradition of wearing hats to worship because it is socially, culturally and biblically correct. “When the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians decreeing that a woman should cover her head at worship to symbolize her obedience to God and the church, he could not have imagined the flamboyance with which African-American women would comply,” said Marberry. “This exhibition enables visitors to experience live the best-selling book Crowns,” said Dennis Kiel, associate curator of photography for the Museum. “The vivid photos and text provide a meaningful and entertaining journey through African-American culture.” Playwright Regina Taylor distilled these same interviews to create the national theatrical sensation Crowns. The play features stories of family and faith, love and loss and finding one’s true identity, told through compelling oral histories, gospel music and a generous dose of hattitude. As the play begins, Yolanda has been sent by her mother from her home in Brooklyn to live with her grandmother in Darlington, South Carolina. There, a multi-generational circle of women teach her about the important tradition of hats as crowns within their community. Along the way, Yolanda sheds her role as an outsider and learns to appreciate the path that these women have paved for her and others with their enduring strength and courage. Crowns will be directed by Pamela Hunt and will feature choreography by Mercedes Ellington, granddaughter of Duke Ellington. Cincinnati is one of only a few select cities that will present both the photography exhibition and the musical simultaneously. According to Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern, “I’m so pleased that Cincinnati audiences will have the unique opportunity to visit the Art Museum to see the actual photographs and stories of these amazing women and then come to the Playhouse to see how they inspired the glorious new musical Crowns.” The Playhouse and the Museum are working together on a number of special events to coincide with the collaboration. On May 8 at 5 p.m., Craig Marberry and Michael Cunningham will speak at the Museum as part of the Playhouse’s free pre-show lecture series Playhouse Perspectives. The event is open to the public and no reservations are required. Museum members can save $5 off the price of tickets for the first week of Crowns, and packages are available for groups interested in both events. Admission to Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats is free at the Museum. For general information, call (513) 721-ARTS, or call toll free at (877) 472-4CAM. Visit the Museum’s web site at www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org. Tickets for Crowns at the Playhouse are on sale now through
the theatre’s box office and range from $35-50 depending on day
and seat location. To purchase tickets or for more information, call
(513) 421-3888 or toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at ###
The Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. School tours are available between 9 and 11 a.m. on weekdays. Free general admission to the Museum and its permanent collections every day is made possible by a gift from The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation. Certain featured exhibitions may charge admission. Annual CAM memberships start at $25. The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to the Fine Arts Fund. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati. The Official Airline of the Cincinnati Art Museum is Delta.
The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is now in its 45th
season as one of the nation’s leading professional regional theatres.
Last summer, the Playhouse was honored with the 2004 Regional Theatre
Tony Award®. One of the most coveted awards in the entertainment
industry, it honors a nonprofit professional regional theatre company
that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing
to the growth of theatre nationally. ### |