Crossroads Threatre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_Theatre

Ricardo Khan on Sheila’s Day

This show was on Apr 16, 2009, Crossroads Theatre Company presents Sheila’s Day www.CrossroadsTheatreCompany.org.

History – Crossroads Theatre Company is an African American theater.

Crossroads’ primary effort has been its four-play main stage season, where the many timbres of the African American experience have been given voice in full productions. Since its founding in 1978, Crossroads has produced over 100 works, many of which were premiere productions by African and African American artists. Crossroads’ world premieres include: The Colored Museum, which originated at Crossroads in 1986 and was then seen by millions on national public television when it was produced for WNETs “Great Performances,” and Spunk, both by Tony Award@ winner George C. Wolfe.

Additional Crossroads world premieres include: The Love Space Demands, Ntozake Shange’s choreo­poem; Black Eagles by Leslie Lee, an historic chronicle of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II; Sheila’s Day, the cultural collaboration of six South African and six African American women written by Sarafina! creator Mbongeni Ngema that toured the US. Britain and South Africa after its run on the Crossroads stage; Ruby Dee’s stage adaptation of the novel, The Disappearance; Vernel Bagneris’ worldwide hit musical, And Further’Mo; fonner U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove’s first play, The Darker Face of the Earth; the award-winning Lost Creek Township by Charlotte A. Gibson; Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues; Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song and History of the Word.

Other noteworthy productions by Crossroads include: celebrated American playwright August Wilson’s reworked play, Jitney; Flyin’ West, written by Pearl Cleage and starring Ruby Dee (Kennedy Center) and Trazana Beverly and Olivia Cole (Crossroads); Nomathemba, a musical by Ntozake Shange and Joseph Shabalala, founder and leader of Grammy Award-­winning South African recording artists Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Marian X’s The Screened-In Porch; and Two Hah Hahs and a Homeboy, written by Ruby Dee and starring Ms. Dee, Ossie Davis and their son, musician Guy Davis.

Legacy

The American Theatre Critics Association together with the American Theatre Wing and the Lauge of American Theatre and Producers presented the 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre to Crossroads in recognition of twenty years of artistic excellence.

Over 50 new plays have premièred at Crossroads, including works by such artists as August Wilson, Anna Devere Smith, George C. Wolfe, Ntozake Shange, Migdalia Cruz, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Linda Nieves-Powell, former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove and South African writer/composer Mbongeni Ngema.

Productions

Since its founding Crossroads has produced over 100 works including many premiere productions by African and African American artists. Crossroads’ productions include:

• The Colored Museum (by George C. Wolfe), (world premiere) originated at Crossroads in 1986 and later appeared on television as one of WNETs “Great Performances”
• Spunk, also by George C. Wolfe, (world premiere). Mr. Wolfe is himself a winner of multiple Tony Awards.
• Jitney by American playwright August Wilson.
• Fly by Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan October, 2009 (World Premiere)
• Sheila’s Day by South African writer, Duma Ndlovu
• It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues by Ron Taylor and others.