The Mixed Blood Theatre‘s world premier production of Katori Hall‘s ‘Pussy Valley‘ closed its successful run of this exciting new work on May 10th. The play centered around the lives of four women working in a Mississippi strip club, a world that Hall describes as “the intersection of hip hop and strip club cultures.” Featuring live pole dancing and Hall’s incendiary poetry and prose, the show was well received by local critics and is sure to have a lively regional life. Fingers crossed that this production might lead to another broadway run for this innovative artist.
The motley cast of characters included Jasmine Hughes, Joetta Wright, Megan Rippey and Tatiana Williams as Mercedes, Miss Mississippi, Get em’ Gidget and Autumn Night, who twerked and twirled through the performance while allowing a glimpse into the lives of dancers at the Pink Pony. Not least was the performance of Nicco Annan as Uncle Clifford, a pre-op trans man who watches over the girls of the club. In Hall’s capable hands, these characters rise above being stereotypical depictions and instead shed light into the beauty and the heart break of their lives.
Hall, best known for her award winning play ‘The Mountaintop‘ about the final days of Martin Luther King Jr, was the first African American playwright to win the Olivier Award. Since her rise on the Broadway scene, Hall’s work has been produced at acclaimed theatre’s across the nation, bringing her signature style to the forefront of the theatre scene. Her play Hurt Village had its off-broadway premier at the Signature Theatre and starred Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins.
The Women of Mixed Blood's Pussy Valley from Mixed Blood Theatre on Vimeo.
