The season in New Brunswick, NJ, will begin Oct. 1-18 with the world premiere of Fly by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan. It's billed this way: "With a focus on hope, endurance, and accomplishment, Fly is a vivid play that brings to life the famed African-American Army Air Corp fighters known as the Tuskegee Airmen who flew over the skies of Europe and North Africa during World War II. Originally commissioned by Lincoln Center Institute as an educational play, Fly premieres as a full length play that dramatizes the historic contributions made by the Tuskegee Airmen to the desegregation of the American military and furthering civil rights."
The season also boasts the following:
3 Mo' Divas, conceived and directed by Marion J. Caffey, Nov. 19-Dec. 6: "A theatrically staged concert that showcases the extraordinary versatility of African-American female performers spanning some four hundred years of music. These classically trained and gifted divas move easily from the opera of Puccini to the jazz of Ellington while maintaining the integrity of each musical style. Billed as a celebration of 'sass, class and style,' 3 Mo' Divas is a musical journey that exhilarates with jazz, soul, R & B, blues, gospel and opera along with Broadway showstoppers that appeal to a diverse audience not bound by age, race or gender."
Through the Night, a world premiere written and performed by Daniel Beaty, Feb. 11-21, 2010: "A health food store is the setting for Daniel Beaty's new play that explores how the lives of African-American males intersect when the stakes are high. A series of events brings together six males who span the ages from ten to sixty and who are in different life stages across American society. Beaty first came to Crossroads with his highly acclaimed Emergence-SEE! and continues on his artistic journey with the Theatre in this latest provocative and powerful play."
The Last Fall, a world premiere by Stephanie Berry, April 15-May 2, 2010: "Set in New York, this romantic comedy uses a series of dramatic flashbacks to follow the relationship of two fifty-somethings and the difficult truths they must face. Obie Award winner Stephanie Berry presented The Last Fall as a reading at the 2009 Crossroads' Genesis Festival where this exceptional and charming story was a rousing success." CommonGround: Festival of the People 2010: "Making its debut in 2008, CommonGround serves as a spotlight for extraordinary community talent and features selected works by organizations of the central New Jersey community as a means of providing them a creative outlet."
Genesis Festival of New and Emerging Voices, Spring 2010: "The Genesis Festival began in 1990 as the brainchild of artistic director Ricardo Khan and then new play development director Sydne Mahone as a means of giving voice to young writers and new, cutting edge forms of theatre in a nurturing and creative environment. Among plays that have found their way from Genesis to the world's stages are George C. Wolfe's Spunk, Anna Deveare Smith's Dream, Linda Nieves-Powell's Yo Soy Latina and original works by Ntozoke Shange, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis"
Single ticket prices are $40-$65. A new membership program was also announced, at three levels: Basic Membership — annual fee of $50 gets you 50 percent discount on up to four tickets, 25 percent discount on an additional four tickets; Opening Night Membership — annual Fee of $275 get you tickets to all opening night performances and 25 percent discount on four additional tickets; Premium Membership — annual fee of $325 gets you 50 percent discount on four tickets, 25 percent discount on four additional tickets, and exclusive entry to Premium Lounge.
Membership forms can be found at the website www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org.
Crossroads Theatre is located at 7 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ.
Crossroads won the 1999 Tony Award for Regional Theatre.
