Center Theatre Group has announced a Black Out Night for the Friday, April 8, 2022, 8 p.m. performance of “Blues for an Alabama” at the Mark Taper Forum. Actress Wendy Raquel Robinson will begin the night with a pre-show address welcoming the audience into the theatre for this special performance of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” intended for Black-identifying theatregoers. In order to continue the conversation and celebration of Black artists, the performance will be followed by a reception in front of the Taper on the Jerry Moss Plaza (formerly Music Center Plaza) featuring live music.
Set in 1930’s Harlem, this revival of Pearl Cleage’s rich and beautiful work runs at the Mark Taper Forum April6 through May 8, 2022, with opening night set for April 13, 2022.
Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad, who originated the role of Angel in the world premiere of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” more than 25 years ago returns to direct this timeless piece that was first presented in 1995 by Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. She leads a cast that features Joe Holt, Nija Okoro, Dennis Pearson, Greg Alverez Reid and Kim Steele.
The creative team includes John Iacovelli (scenic design), Wendell C. Carmichael (costume, wig and hair design), Elizabeth Harper (lighting design)and Jeff Gardner (sound design), with original composition by Dontae Winslow. Casting is by Kim Coleman, CSA and Michelle Blair is the production stage manager.
Angel is a free-spirited Cotton Club singer who’s out of luck but never out of dreams. Guy is a costume designer waiting for Josephine Baker to invite him to join her in Paris. Delia, a young activist, is trying to give the women of Harlem a choice about their future. Sam, a prominent physician, is either delivering babies or out at the club letting the good times roll. And Leland, who recently arrived in Harlem from Alabama, is haunted by the wide-open skies and lost love he left behind. The lives and dreams of these men and women converge with passion and politics as the art and celebration of the Harlem Renaissance give way to the harsh realities of the Great Depression.
Tickets for all other performances of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” are currently on sale at Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum and start at $30. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 628-2772or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012).
Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Call for exceptions.
Center Theatre Group’s first Black Out Night was created in February of 2022 for Jeremy O. Harris’ “Slave Play” and was based on the event he created in 2019 during the Broadway engagement to provide a freeing environment for Black-identifying audience members to experience the unflinching new work free from the white gaze.
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