Dallas Theater Center previews world premiere of The Good Negro this week

by PegNews wire

Dallas Theater Center proudly presents the world premiere of The Good Negro by the award-winning playwright Tracey Scott Wilson from October 15 - November 9.

Directly inspired by Diane McWhorter’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Carry Me Home, Wilson’s new play viscerally depicts the struggles of three civil rights leaders fighting for equality while trying to hold together their community and personal relationships against the racially-charged backdrop of 1963’s Birmingham, AL. With the FBI and Ku Klux Klan working against them, Wilson’s characters must face themselves and each other to decide what they’re willing to risk for a greater cause.

“I always knew I wanted to write a play about the civil rights movement,” Wilson said. “Something always seemed to be missing from the history books we read; it seemed there were noble Negroes and bad white people, there was a march, and somehow we got our rights. I wanted to show the full humanity and the complexity of the movement leadership and of those around them as well.”

After receiving its world premiere in Dallas, The Good Negro, directed by Liesl Tommy, will continue on to the esteemed Public Theater, where the play was developed in part at The Public LAB. With Wilson currently in residence in Dallas, The Good Negro continues to develop into a living, breathing play as the playwright observes rehearsals and involved artists interact throughout the process.

“Premiering The Good Negro in Dallas during such a vibrant time in the arts for the city is a tremendous honor,” Wilson said. “Around every corner Dallas feels so alive with the explosion of all the exciting things going on like the State Fair and the construction of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. It’s the perfect stage for a world premiere.”

The Good Negro is the first world premiere at DTC during Kevin Moriarty’s tenure, but it carries on a tradition of producing engaging new work that dates back to the theater’s founding artistic director, Paul Baker.

“Tracey is one of the most dynamic and compelling emerging playwrights in America,” said Kevin Moriarty, DTC’s artistic director. “In The Good Negro, she has written a play that opens a window into a vital moment in our past, but which also, as great history always does, shines new light on the world we live in today, including posing critical questions about great leadership in times of crises and about the struggle between the forces of progress and those who would stop them at any price.”

From its inception in 1959, DTC was dedicated to the notion of producing new plays specifically for Dallas audiences which would spark conversation here and then go on to impact a broader national dialogue.

Moriarty explains, “Our goal as a theater is to spark meaningful dialogue amongst our audience with plays that speak directly to us through compelling stories. By developing and producing new work here in Dallas, we can ensure that our productions are directly and immediately relevant and engaging.”

Dallas born-and-raised actor Billy Eugene Jones returns to DTC’s stage in The Good Negro His local work includes ten previous productions at DTC, including A Raisin in the Sun, as well as productions at Theatre Three and the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas. He has also acted in multiple productions on Broadway, and in film and television.

Jones is joined onstage by Dallas-based actors Joe Nemmers (DTC’s As You Like It, A Christmas Carol) and Steven Walters (Friday Night Lights and Second Thought Theatre). Making their DTC debuts are Joniece Abbott-Pratt (Claudette), Francois Battiste (Pelzie), J. Bernard Calloway (Henry), LeRoy McClain (Rutherford), Roslyn Ruff (Corinne) and Brian Wallace (Steve).

The design team includes Clint Ramos (Scenic and Costume Designer), Lap Chi Chu (Lighting Designer), Daniel Baker (Sound Designer) and Jon Carter (Hair and Makeup Designer).

All performances of The Good Negro will be held at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Preview performances are October 15-19 and opening night is Tuesday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m. Purchase tickets online or by calling 214-522-8499.

Posted by Shawn