Jubilee Theatre previews Blue this weekend

by PegNews wire

Jubilee Theatre continues its successful 2007-2008 season with Blue, a play by Charles Randolph-Wright with original music by pop composer, Nona Hendryx. Internationally renowned director, Akin Babatunde, will direct Jubilee Theatre’s production. Blue was originally commissioned and produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2000, which led to productions at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City and the Pasadena Playhouse in California.

Blue uses the mesmerizing music of fictional jazz singer Blue Williams, played by the talented Cavin Yarbrough of the 1980s band, Yarbrough and Peoples, to chronicle the lives of the affluent African-American Clark family in rural South Carolina. The social ambitions of matriarch, Peggy Clark, played by Cynthia Jackson, clash with her sons’ wishes to leave home and follow their own dreams. There is also a private side of Peggy that she keeps well hidden until a visit from her mother, played by Dallas’ Liz Mikel, exposes her secret. The show abounds with tenderness and acceptance in this humorous family portrait, which introduces an African-American family the likes of which is seldom portrayed on stage or screen.

Blue previews May 16, 17, 18, and 22 for $10. The show opens May 23 and through June 15, 2008 for $14-20. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 817-338-4411.

Posted by Shawn