The season will kick off with the life-affirming Swimming Upstream, under the direction of Leon. Set to appear in the True Colors staging are Jasmine Guy, Shirley Knight and Kerri Washington.
Created in partnership with the Ashé Cultural Arts Center and V-Day with Eve Ensler, Swimming Upstream allows audiences to "experience New Orleans before, during and after our nation's worst natural disaster, Hurricane Katrina, through the stories of women who lived to tell about it." (Nov. 5-18).
The Nov. 6 benefit performance of Swimming Upstream will feature a post-performance reception with Leon, Ensler and the Upstream cast; the evening will honor the women of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The holidays arrive with Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, which will feature direction by Patdro Harris and musical direction by J. Michael. "A testament to the power of gospel music, the story of the Nativity is told through the combination of scripture, poetry, dance and song that connects a contemporary church revival to the time of managers and swaddling clothes." (Dec. 19-Jan. 9, 2009).
David Feldshuh's Pulitzer Prize-nominated work, Miss Evers Boys, will follow. Told through the voice of a public health nurse, Miss Evers Boys is described as "an eye-opening drama about the Tuskegee Study, a scar on American history where 339 African-Americans were denied treatment for syphilis and deceived by the United States Public Health Service from 1932–1972." (March 1-29, 2009). Next up is the world premiere of the big-band era musical Ivory Joe Cole. Leon directs the piece, which has a book by Kelly Ward and Todd Kreidler, music by Michael Tavera and lyrics by Steven Santoro. "Joe and his brother Henry are working to cut a fresh new album with their band, but jealousy threatens to tear these two brothers apart. When Ivory Joe finds an unlikely and forbidden love, he discovers that with love, none of us stand alone in the world." (July 12-Aug. 2, 2009).
The final offering of the season will be Alice Childress' Wedding Band, under the direction of Andrea Frye. "In the summer of 1918, a young African-American woman moves to a community in a small seaside town in South Carolina, hoping for a quiet life. When her long-standing love affair with a white man is discovered, town tensions explode." (May 3-17, 2009).
For tickets phone (404) 588-0308 or visit TrueColorsTheatreCompany.
