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Event
The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe
THE COLORED MUSEUM is a play that demonstrates the common stereotypical misconceptions of the African American experience. Written in the 1980s, the author, George C. Wolfe examines the portrayal of African Americans over time. The play presents dynamic characters that harness the heart and soul of pride in their culture. Comprised of 11 scenes or "exhibits," the audience is taken on a journey of oppression and racism in a comedic yet thought provokingly impactful fashion.
In the first of 11 sketches, Git on Board, Miss Pat is a perky flight attendant for Celebrity Slave Ship who prepares her passengers and audience members for the journey across the middle passage by giving them instructions on how to fasten their shackles. Please refrain from call-and-response singing as that sort of thing can lead to rebellion.
Upon arrival, the slave passengers are greeted by Aunt Ethel who wears a bandana and stirs up a mysterious batch of colored cuisine in her big black kettle.
The set dissolves to reveal a glamorous couple who could not resolve yesterdays pain and now live inside The Magazines where they get to be black and fabulous all the time.
No dramatic stereotype is left untouched in the sketch The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play, which parodies Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 Raisin in the Sun, Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf and Tyler Perrys many plays. A world-weary Mama clutches her Bible and tells her angry 30-year-old son Walter-Lee-Beau-Willie-Jones to let God settle his grievances with The Man. The take-no-prisoners scene tears into the typecasting of African-American actors and the preconception of black theater as minstrel shows and feel-good musicals.
The characters in The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe show signs of wear-and-tear left by the legacy of slavery. Human vessels to the pain, anger and struggle of African American identity, they are ready to pour it all out and leave audiences laughing through their tears.
Although funny on its surface, The Colored Museum attempts to engross black and white audiences as witnesses, accomplices and participants in the proceedings. The characters, as prized vessels, display their time-worn layers when they pour out their fears, loathing and pain to be absorbed by visitors to The Colored Museum.
Date: Friday, November 5th
Time: 7pm & 9:30pm
Venue: Jazz Cafe at The Music Hall 350 Madison St Detroit MI
24/7 Ticket Hotline: 1-800-838-3006
Online Ticket Outlet: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/128382
Playwright: George C. Wolfe
Director: Bernard L. Causey
Co-Directors: Angela Roberts & Wyldchild L. Chemist
Cast:
Christina Benjamin
Kennie "KB" Bowles
Jennifer Cole
Alanna Gentry
Lulu Love
Angela Roberts
Sean Rodriguez
About 4Theatrsake:
The 4TheatrSake collective acts as a progressive tool for entertaining social change. We as theatre artists are given the role and responsibility as community organizers to present art that speaks to the trials and tribulations of our people.
We use drama as a social tool to raise awareness, enhance leadership development, to entertain, and to explore the human condition in areas undergoing revitalization. We facilitate the dialog that inspires change. 4TheatrSake is a collective of actors dedicated to the following principles:
1) Theatrical Experimentation
2) Urban Networking
3) Social Justice
4) Environmental Consciousness
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LocationJazz Cafe at the Music Hall
350 Madison St
Detroit, MI 48226
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 13 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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