another great play by Alice Childress: Wedding Band

 

Of all the fine plays I saw last year, Trouble in Mind, by the late, great Alice Childress, was my favorite, so I was thrilled to learn that another play of hers, Wedding Band, was being revived by Theater for a New Audience.

I saw Wedding Band last weekend and found it, if anything, even more brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable than Trouble in Mind. Directed by Awoye Timpo, it's performed by a terrific cast, with the extraordinary Brittany Bradford in the lead role of Julie, a black woman in love with a white man she can't legally marry. Though set in 1918, the play feels as timely as ever.  

Wedding Band has just been extended until May 22. Catch if if you possible can.

https://www.tfana.org/current-season/weddingband/overview

Meanwhile Trouble in Mind has just received several well-deserved Tony nominations, including best play revival, lead actress (LaChanze), and featured actor (Chuck Cooper). I hope that more Childress revivals are in the works--I'd like to see everything she wrote. She's one of the greats.

my favorite play this year: Trouble in Mind

After a successful run off-Broadway in 1955, Alice Childress's first full-length play was scheduled to open on Broadway.  But Trouble in Mind had some tough things to say about racism in the theater, so the author was asked to asked to tone it down.  She refused--and the run was canceled.  Now, a mere 66 years later, you can catch Childress's masterpiece on Broadway with an excellent cast led by the brilliant LaChanze, Tony Award winner for The Color Purple. Produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, it's running through January 9 at the American Airlines Theatre.  Don't miss it!