Actress-writer Charlayne Woodard ignites her Pretty Fire, a celebration of her African-American family, at the La Jolla Playhouse July 23-Aug. 29.
The one-woman Pretty Fire premiered at The Fountainhead Theater in Los Angeles in 1992 and has played regionally ever since. In it, three generations of a family are seen in five vignettes that take Woodard from her premature birth to her first taste of stardom, as an 11-year-old church choir soloist. Woodard grew up to star in Broadway's Ain't Misbehavin', which earned her a Tony Award nomination.
She's appeared in Twelfth Night at the Public Theater and The Good Person of Setzuan at the La Jolla Playhouse, in addition to many other roles.
Neat, her sequel to Pretty Fire, played at Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum.
The Seattle Repertory Theatre will offer the world premiere of Woodard's new piece, Stories, Nov. 29, 1999-Jan. 15, 2000, in the Rep's Leo K Theatre. In it, she'll bring to life the characters she encountered as a young actress in Manhattan. Daniel Sullivan directs. Pretty Fire plays at the La Jolla Playhouse's smaller space, the Weiss Forum. Official opening is July 28, following previews that begin July 23.
For information, call (619) 550-1010.
-- By Kenneth Jones
