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Use Code: NOBARRIERS to waive all fees. This performance is dedicated to inviting Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color (BIPOC) to experience this piece together.

MacArthur Award-winner Tony Award-nominee Anna Deavere Smith continues her residency after Fires in the Mirror  with a powerful reimagining of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992  featuring an ensemble cast, exploring racial and cultural conflict in America through Anna’s trademark documentary lens.  

Performances begin Oct 12th, 2021, and will continue until November 14th. The ensemble cast includes Elena Hurst, Wesley T. Jones, Francis Jue, Karl Kenzler, and Tiffany Rachelle Stewart.

The creative team includes Riccardo Hernández (Scenic Designer), Linda Cho (Costume Designer), Alan C. Edwards (Lighting Designer), Darron L West (Sound Designer), David Bengali (Projection Designer), Michael Leon Thomas (Movement Coach), Dawn-Elin Fraser (Dialect Coach), Ann James (Sensitivity Specialist), Charles M. Turner III (Production Stage Manager) and casting by Caparelliotis Casting and X Casting.

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GET TICKETS BY CLICKING HERE

One verdict can change the course of history. The news of the police officers’ acquittal in Rodney King’s police brutality case reverberated throughout the streets of Los Angeles. Variously called a “riot, a revolution, or a social explosion,” the events that followed the verdict drew worldwide attention. Playwright, actor and scholar Anna Deavere Smith responded artistically by dissecting the anatomy of the unrest. She interviewed over 350 Los Angelinos in preparation for the performance. Declared a “rich, panoramic canvas of a national trauma” by The New York Times, Smith’s transformative study of the 1992 L.A. civil unrest reveals the fault lines that set the city ablaze. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is equal parts meticulously researched reportage and stirring cry for reform. 

We ask that if you do not identify as BIPOC, you look for a different performance to attend, and allow this to remain a space for the shared experience of BIPOC communities.

This production contains footage of extreme racialized violence and instances of racialized and discriminatory language, which some may find disturbing.

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and masks are required for all who enter the Center, both audience and staff. Learn more in their COVID-19 Updates.

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The post <em>Twilight Los Angeles, 1992</em> BIPOC Theatre Night Oct 15 at Signature Theatre appeared first on Broadway Black.

“Christmas With Nova Y. Payton and Friends,” which opened December 8, is filled with some of Payton’s holiday favorites, including “This Christmas,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Santa Baby,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and many more. Music director Darius Smith, along with a chorus and band, join Payton during the evening.

Payton is known for her powerhouse voice. For years, she sang backup for legendary songstress Roberta Flack, joining Flack’s international tour to over 150 major cities across the U.S, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. She also has toured with shows such as the blues-to-classical showcase Three Mo’ Divas with Laurice Lanier and Jamet Pittman as well as Smokey Joe’s Café, the juke joint-set musical revue of the songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Payton made her Signature Theatre debut as “Motormouth Maybelle” in Hairspray for which she won a 2012 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Resident Musical. She also received the 2005 Barrymore Nomination for Best Actress for her role as “Effie White” in Dreamgirls at Prince Music Theatre. Payton recently reprised her role in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater production of the musical. The DC native also has appeared in regional productions of The Happy Elf, and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

Payton’s musical chops are clearly genetic as her mother is singer Thomascena Nelson, widely considered to be the “First Lady of Gospel Jazz.” According to Payton’s biography, it was Nelson who exposed Payton to “all things creative and artistic.”

Payton’s cabaret runs through December 24 and tickets can be purchased here.

Nova Y. Payton singing “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

The post Christmas with Nova Y. Payton & Friends At Signature Theatre appeared first on Broadway Black.

Through Residency Five and Signature Theatre, Regina’s first offering will be a play titled, “stop. reset.” 

I had the pleasure of speaking with Regina about “stop. reset.” and her residency at Signature Theatre. She shared that in her play, we follow ‘Alex Ames,’ the owner of Chicago’s oldest African-American book publishing company, on a day in which he is conducting interviews with all of his employees in an effort to see where he can “cut the fat.” In this constantly advancing technology-based generation, ‘Alex’ is forced to take stock of the publishing company he runs, as e-books seem to threaten to knock him out of the game. In an effort to keep his business afloat, he decides to interview his workers to see which of them are obsolete as he figures out how to adapt to the changing landscape. ‘Alex’ meets tech-savvy 19 year-old ‘J,’ a janitor at his company. ‘J’ is the youngest employee, by far, and from there the wheels begin to turn.

Regina informed me that identity is the central theme to “stop. reset.” and that she is honored to have had the opportunity to create this piece especially for Signature Theatre, in an attempt at drawing audiences with a story that “lives both on stage and online.” Over at StopReset.com the dialogue surrounding the play continues.When asked how her Blackness influenced her work, she made it clear that it wasn’t the sole influencing descriptor, and that it, coupled with her being female among other things influences her work because she “writes with (her) whole self.” She also talked about the group of actors cast to give life to her words, and beamed about how they reflect “the community I walk in,” what with them being African-American, Asian-American, white, Latino, etc.

I asked Regina how involved she was with the casting process and whether she liked it or not. She replied that as the writer and director the piece she is very hands on with the casting process, and enjoys it. The cast of “stop. reset.” includes Carl Lumbly (‘Jitney,’ TV’s’ ‘Alias’ and ‘Cagney and Lacey’), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,’ ‘The Fighting Temptations’), Teagle Bougere (‘Wings,’ ‘A Raisin in the Sun’), and Ismael Cruz-Cordova (‘Sesame Street’).

“stop. reset.” is set to begin previews at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre (at Signature Theatre) on August 20th, open officially on September 8th, and run (for now) until September 29th! This is a must see show! Make some time to head to the theatre and see this piece.

The post In Conversation: With Regina Taylor, Award-Winning Playwright And Actress appeared first on Broadway Black.