BlackStage 2024
Black Stage 2024, A Year in Review is a reflective opportunity to consider the significance of the creative spirit, cultural presence, and historical importance of AFRICANA performance. The function of art, for bell hooks, is to do more than tell it like it is—it is to share what is possible. In 2024 Black theatrical artistry was shown in full abundance with talented playwrights, actors, directors, set and costume designers, technicians and more. They saw possibilities and actualized on stage what is possible.
This Black Stage 2024 review reflects the prominence of seven theatrical performances written by Black playwrights and considers specific categories of edutainment that warrant listing, in addition to remembrances of Africana cultural heritage; currency of issues; critical moments in the fight for social justice; concepts of a spiritual presence in Black life and more.
EDUTAINMENT (education + entertainment)
The Seven for 2024
FANNIE: THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER
You may have left the IRT singing “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around” if you fully engaged with the play Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer. Written by African American playwright Cheryl L. West, the play is emotive, educational and at times intense as it tells the story of Fannie Lou Hamer’s many life roles- wife, mother and most pointedly that of activist, fighting for Black voting rights. The one-woman show stars a dynamic multitalented force, Maiesha McQueen, in the role of Hamer with musicians onstage as part of the storytelling.
Touching every sense, not only through civil rights era songs and spirituals but affective lighting and ever changing historically-imbued arched stage design– high praise must be given to Nathan Garrison for stage management; Henry Godinez for masterful directing, and Morgan E. Stevenson whose musical directing made the show fill our hearts.
Working within a movement Fannie Lou Hamer proved what is possible when there is a collective commitment against social injustices. Her story also captures the importance of including youth in the movement; and the value of lifelong learning. Hamer developed her deep understanding of the challenges of fighting for a democracy that was illusive. FANNIE’s legacy was to remind us to keep our eye on the prize. It is an expression of political activism.
Entirely seen through a Black woman’s lens and convincingly shared through her poignant narrative, Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer is edutainment at its finest consisting of intense lessons—a relevant(even today) curriculum about the fight for a promised, thou unfulfilled democracy; and the unrelenting faith of many Black people who nursed resilience in the face of brutal hatred.
RIVERSIDE
Outside on a July evening, the sun is setting and there are the amplified, sound of breaths surrounding the audience seated on the grass, at tables and on the limestone seats of the Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre. The White River is a witness and one of the main characters of the play. This is the subtext though men and women arise from blankets speaking, honoring the history of the Near West side Indianapolis community of the same name—Riverside.
RIVERSIDE by ML Roberts, adeptly unites the actors with the outdoor environment in a play about the power of the river andits ties to the changing, fluctuating Black community. The storytelling, under the careful direction of Rubi Goblen is historical, revealed via the perspective of a generational, single-family line in 3 different decades, the 1820’s the 1920’s and the 1960’s. Thus resulting in no single character but a lineage reflecting resolve, resilience, and Black community consciousness.
Eight gifted actors form an ensemble cast, each invested in portrayals of multiple characters in the performance–Milicent Wright, Malik James, Terra Chaney, Ed, Gonzalez Moreno, Akili Ni Mali, Kayla Carter, Holiday, and Olamide Asapaola.
A special gift to the audience is Riverside’s sound, scenic, lighting design and stage management. Intersecting these elements shows the White River’s as well as the community’s turbulence, amidst constancy. We experience the depth and violent side of racism ; the amplified sounds of bigoted anger but also the joys and movement of life as it adapts to the larger, social, political milieu of the city.
Again- the breaths (audibly cast throughout the play) captured the imagination and experiences of family and friendship in Riverside, the community and the play. Thank you, producer and Indy Shakes CEO, Ryan Artzberger, for collaborating with key community stakeholders to bring this critical, historically grounded play into existence. Future productions offer possibilities for local playwrights.
TONI STONE
The intersections of patriarchy and white supremacy play themselves out in Toni Stone, the story of not only the first Black woman to be recognized in the Negro League but the struggles and victories of many Black firsts.
On full display were the gifts of performing artist, educator, Ashlee Baskin aka PsyWrn Simone. Through her compelling portrayal of the determined, baseball playin’, stats-memorizin’, Toni Stone, she surfaced what is often covered up and suppressed in our historical text: when extraordinary, highly talented Black women work to break into male dominated spaces they are often unwelcome, seen as intruders or even repudiated. Their unique presence can cause some men to reject them; while others to question themselves and their privilege; or a few may see the woman’s contributions as a valued asset.
Playwright Lydia Diamond captured the rich experiences of Black women and sport in Toni Stone. On the District Theatre stage, under the astute direction of Ben Rose, the Black male cast demonstrated the willingness of a team to, at times embrace, cajole or outright reject, the woman who was to demonstrate a commitment to her dream of playing baseball. The play, set in the early 1950’s, captures the challenges of Marcenia Lyle Stone , Toni Stone, to become the first woman to play as a regular on an American major-level, professional baseball team, the Indianapolis Clowns, in the all-male Negro league.
The Clowns’ distinctive personalities, dispositions and temperaments were depicted by the creative strengths of actors Jamal McCray, Trent Hawthorne-Richards, Xavier Jones, Austin Hookfin, Reno Moore, and Eric Washington, each playing multiple roles throughout the performance. The popular team was skilled at entertaining the game’s White and Black spectators while playing truly competitive ball and the actors pulled it off.
The brilliance of set designer David Orr cannot be understated as it compactly featured a small bar; a moveable Clown’s bus that entered and retreated from the stage; a circular living room set that doubled for different periods in the life of Toni; and a baseball dugout that served to capture the on-field and off-field machinations of the team.
Though the play could have been shortened, there is a scene that depicts the cantankerous legendary Gabby Street, then St. Paul Saints’ baseball team manager trying to get rid of the resolute Stone. Street couldn’t dissuade her, so he gave in and gave her a chance. The play features Stone negotiating and finally being signed by Sydney Pollock, owner of the Indianapolis Clowns. Persistence against the odds. Toni Stone is a celebration of a Black woman’s accomplishments, trailblazing, acting against social norms for her place in opportunity; a woman who loved her sport and when barriers were stacked against her, broke through and realized her ambitions.
SIGN Of THE TIMES
August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. constitution is certified, and women achieve the long-sought right to vote throughout the United States. However, the right to vote in this country was often denied Black women despite the ratification of the 19th Amendment. [The amendment reads: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”]
In this one woman show, Sign of the Times skilled actor, Clarissa Todd, portrays the role of a teacher and champion of voting rights for women, Gwendolyn Harris. Harris educates the audience, corrects historical inaccuracies and demonstrates how through strategic planning, organizing and valuing the power of collective voices, Black women pursued the right to the ballot box. Todd convincingly reveals how Harris, is filled with excitement and is ready to celebrate but confides, telling of the trials and tribulations of her community’s struggles. She shares how women’s right to vote was a necessary tool to gaining rightful protections for Black women and men against continued repression and violence. Todd’s performance was masterful though at times, her reading from the script was distracting.
Considering the 2024 Presidential elections, the staff of Freetown Village, living history museum produced this well-timed play. The District Theatre’s intimate stage captured how women in Indianapolis, like others across the country, fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment. Written by Crystal Rhodes and edited by Ophelia Wellington, the play is located in the fictional Freetown Village community. The production team Alicia Sims, director; Stanley Dumornay and Marriam Umar, executive and production directors, take us through the journey for liberation using the artful lens of Freetown Village’s living history mission.
Among the facts presented in the play: Black women in the suffrage movement continued to experience discrimination from white suffragists who wanted to distance their fight for voting rights from the question of race. Black women experienced cruelty at times, even in their families evidenced by the patriarchal stance of some Black men.
The play is staged in a Freetown Village meeting hall decorated with flags, and protest signs where a victory celebration is to take place. A crowd can be heard on the exterior. Sitting in the audience one could feel the excitement and attendees were given the opportunity to hold up protest signs in union with the women’s movement!
BLACKDADEMICS
Who and how one gets to sit and eat at the proverbial university table is the setting of playwright Idris Goodwin’s Blackademics. The test of this production is to grasp humor and at the same time the trials of faculty life traversed by talented, but under supported, minoritized academics.
Meeting at a restaurant, two Black women professors begin to share their unique experiences at very different post-secondary institutions, a state university and a liberal arts college. Here’s where the real drama/humor comes in and the superb portrayal of the women is staged. Rachelle, played persuasively by Chandra Lynch is fed up and becomes increasingly agitated with well-established-successful-on-the tenure-path Ann, played with assured confidence by AshLee Baskin. Over what is to be a meal at a restaurant, one without the usual accoutrements of flatware set on tables and chairs, they congratulate, lament, and debate, while a white waitress, Georgia (Caroline Sanchez), pleasantly comes and goes with no intention of service. She eventually pits the two academics against each other as they not only contend but argue for a seat, food and drink at the restaurant’s single table. A-a-a-ah the test of acquiring the desired tenured position.
And the audience is set up to grapple with concepts like teaching loads, third year reviews, with colleges and universities’ dissimilar career tracks. All leading to the real issue: What are the tenure track experiences of Black female professors? And where are the supports for Black women in academia?
A sincere thank you director Ansley Valentine who gifted the audience a talk back that surfaced and made plain the differences in types of universities and college -from public, or state research universities to liberal arts colleges. The invited panel discussed the complexities of having a successful career for Black women who are in the minority at these post-secondary institutions.
Bernard Killian’s stark set was what was needed to make tangible the message of the university – it is not designed for the success of those who come to feast at the table. Blackademics, produced by the Fonseca Theatre Company, makes plain what for many is obscure and lacks public transparency–that beyond high school teaching there exists a limited menu for racialized, minoritized educators that can be quite difficult to both understand and digest.
A TOUCH OF GLORY
The year was 1955 and the Crispus Attucks High School basketball team, the Tigers, won Indiana’s state championship! A Touch of Glory tells the story of Oscar Robertson and his teammates historic victory against racially prejudiced atrocities. Their win was made even more remarkable considering it was the first time an all-Black team takes a state championship in any sport across the country. Moreover, the era of the 50s through the 60s is characterized by discrimination; segregation of public facilities based on race; and social policies that blatantly discriminated against Black people as they pursued housing opportunities, careers and equity in education.
Early, 2024 – the timing was perfect as the highly accomplished director Debra Asante and producer Terrance Asante Doyle worked to bring A Tough of Glory on stage during the NBA All Star Weekend. Fittingly staged in the Crispus Attucks High School auditorium, A Touch of Glory reflects playwright Laura Town’s, extensive research including document analysis and interviews. The play captured the significance of integrating Black history, artistic creativity, culture and systems of oppression. The historical Crispus Attucks Tigers were brought to life by the athleticism and ball handling skills of the actors, Jamaal McCray, Asher Young, Trent Hawthorne-Richards, and others who played the roles with high energy.
But the story telling would be incomplete if it did not include the life of Ray Province Crowe, their basketball coach and educator. Crowe, in only seven years as coach at Crispus Attucks High School, guided his teams to four Final Four appearances, a record three consecutive state championship games and back-to-back state titles in 1955 and 1956. In the play, the team complains to Crowe as they face blatant racism, taunting and discrimination from opposing teams, fans and yes–game officials. Yet Crowe taught his players to handle themselves with discipline because achieving the win was the goal. His players learned a fast-breaking style of ball and A Touch of Glory captured the smarts, grace, style as well as the deserved vindication of Crispus Attucks Tigers.
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
“Ma listens to her heart. Ma listens to the voice inside. That’s what counts with Ma.” It was 1927, a recording studio in Chicago, Ma Rainey and her band of jazz and blues musicians attempt to record a handful of songs while dealing with trauma, racism and the struggles of power between white producers and the talented Rainey. Her style was shaped and orchestrated through her experiences across the country and her roots in the Deep South, her lyrics projected the agonies and souls of Black folk.
Powerfully portrayed by Alicia Simms, Ma Rainey (whose given name was Gertrude Pridgett), and her talented band – Slow Drag, on bass (John Singleton), Cutler, on guitar and trombone (Ben Rose), Toledo, the philosophical piano player (Bryan Ball) and brandishing the trumpet, Levee (Xavier Jones). The cast is fully rounded by the two wheeling-dealing, manipulating, white music executives, Studyvant (Patrick Vaughn) and Irvin (Scot Greenwell). And Dussie Mae (Selena Jackson-King)who brings a lusty interest to both Rainey and Levee.
The production brings to the stage several themes worthy of critical reflection– themes of exploitation and power over one’s creative genius; of normed tradition challenged by innovation and change; as well as debates of cultural identity-African, Black American, colored, nigger.
August Wilson’s play was directed by a perceptive Edan Evans and staged with the costumes and set befitting the era. Evans was wise in capturing and fronting the interplay between the musicians yet making it clear how Ma Rainey felt about the white executives and exploitive practices in the music industry. Reflect on her summative statement about them: “They don’t care nothing about me. All they want is my voice. Well, I done learned that, and they gonna treat me like I want to be treated no matter how much it hurt them. They back there now calling me all kinds of names . . . calling me everything but a child of god. But they can’t do nothing else. They ain’t got what they wanted yet. As soon as they get my voice down on them recording machines, then it’s just like if I’d be some whore and they roll over and put their pants on. Ain’t got no use for me then. I know what I’m talking about.”
Consider those times, and now, nearly 100 years later. . . NAATC’s production of this heavily textured play was received with deserved, standing ovations!