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CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK CLOSES MARX THEATRE SEASON WITH REGIONAL DEBUT OF REGINA TAYLOR’S MUSICAL CROWNS (CINCINNATI) – The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will close its 2004-2005 Marx Theatre season with a joyous celebration of black women and their church hats, Regina Taylor’s Crowns. Based on the best-selling photography book of the same name, Crowns begins public previews on April 26 and continues through May 27, 2005. Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, Crowns moves audiences to stand, cheer and dance to the music as it celebrates a cherished custom that fuses faith and fashion: black women and their church hats. The book chronicled the lives and stories of 54 hat queens, ranging in age from 22 to 78, who were photographed in the hats they wore to church each Sunday: wide-brimmed, pillbox, fussy, furry and feathery alike. Playwright Regina Taylor distilled those individuals into one male and six female characters. Adding glorious gospel and traditional music, she maintains the essence of their compelling oral histories. As the story begins, Yolanda has been sent by her mother from her home in Brooklyn to live with her grandmother in Darlington, South Carolina. There, an amazing circle of women — Wanda, Mabel, Jeanette, Velma and Mother Shaw — teach her about the important tradition of hats as crowns within their community. The hats are used in times of baptisms and funerals, in periods of both sorrow and celebration. Along the way, Yolanda sheds her role as outsider and learns to appreciate the path that these women have paved for her and others with their enduring strength and courage. The stories they share are universal tales of family and faith, love and loss and learning to find one’s true identity, all told with a generous dose of “hattitude.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Crowns as “a soul-stirring, hip-swaying spectacle … a made-to-order crowd pleaser.” Regina Taylor is best known for her portrayal of Lilly Harper in the television drama I’ll Fly Away. Her other film and television credits include The Negotiator, Courage Under Fire, Losing Isaiah and Lean on Me, while her Broadway roles have included Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It and MacBeth. Ms. Taylor won the American Theatre Critics Association’s Steinberg New Play Award for Oo-Bla-Dee, and her most recent play Drowning Crow, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, was produced on Broadway in 2004. Ms. Taylor currently is adapting Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple into a musical. The cast for Crowns includes Chaundra Cameron as Mabel, Erin Cherry as Yolanda, Darryl Reuben Hall as Preacher/Man, Jannie Jones as Velma, Stacie Precia as Jeanette, Gayle Samuels as Wanda and Denise M. Thimes as Mother Shaw. Understudies for the show are Ashanti Johnson (Yolanda, Jeanette and Wanda) and Kathy Wade (Mabel, Mother Shaw and Velma). Crowns is directed by Pamela Hunt, who previously helmed the Playhouse productions of Jaques Brel ... , The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Chaps and Beehive. The show features choreography by Mercedes Ellington. Other members of the production team include Timothy W. Carpenter (Musical Director), Hugh Landwehr (Set Designer), Reggie Ray (Costume Designer), Phil Monat (Lighting Designer) and Frederick W. Boot (Sound Designer). Music is provided by Timothy W. Carpenter on keyboards and James A. Jackson II on percussion. The first stage manager is Suann Pollock and the second stage manager is Bruce E. Coyle. Cincinnatians also have a unique opportunity to view 30 of the photographs included in the book on which the musical is based. From March 19 to June 12, the Cincinnati Art Museum features a special exhibit, Crowns: Portraits of Black Women. The exhibition includes black-and-white images that explore the rich tradition of wearing hats to worship. Text by author Craig Marberry accompanies the photographs by Michael Cunningham. The exhibition is free, but Playhouse patrons can bring their Crowns ticket stub to the Art Museum to receive 10 percent off purchases in the Museum Shop and Terrace Café. Prices for Crowns range from $38-$50, depending on day and seat location. All tickets are $35 for the preview performances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27. The official opening night is Thursday, April 28 at 8:00 p.m. All Saturday matinee performances of Crowns take place at 4 p.m. Please note the earlier time. Any unreserved tickets are half-price every day when purchased at the Playhouse between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the day of the show (for performances Tuesday through Saturday) and from 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Playhouse is fully accessible. Audio enhancement receivers, large print programs and complete wheelchair access are available. Tickets to Crowns are on sale now. For more information,
call the Playhouse box office at 513/421-3888 or toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky
and Indiana at 800/582-3208. Call 513/345-2248 for TDD accessibility.
For single tickets purchased by telephone through the Playhouse box office,
there is a $3 convenience fee per call. Tickets also can be purchased
on the Playhouse web site at www.cincyplay.com. |
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Meet the Artists Audio Described Performance Playhouse Perspectives Dining Options Karlo's Bistro at the Playhouse offers full-service dining prior to most evening performances. Dinners include salad, entrée and dessert. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. The price is $21. Karlo's Casual Fare offers busy theatre patrons an alternative light, quick bite prior to the show. Options include salads, sandwiches, soups, pasta and desserts. No reservations are required. Sponsors Hat
Sponsor: Fine Arts Fund Partner: The 2004-2005
Marx Theatre Series is presented by The
Marx Season Design Sponsor is the |