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| Stick Fly playwright Lydia Diamond w/ Kenny Leon & Alicia Keys |
The Mountaintop? Black Women in Theatre–2011
by Lisa B. Thompson | special to NewBlackMan
We are living through a remarkable moment in American theatre history. As 2011 draws to a close, three productions by black women playwrights are currently on Broadway. Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning Mountaintop, Lydia Diamond’s Stick Fly and Pulitzer Prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks’s adaptation, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, have altered the theatrical landscape in ways I never imagined. This is a joyous occasion for theatre lovers, black feminists and those who simply hunger for more diverse voices on the American stage. While we are far from achieving parity, black women theatre artists are enjoying remarkable success and it’s imperative that we mark this unprecedented moment. I never thought I would live to see this happen, but then again, I never thought I would see a black family living in the White House either.
In 2008 I was thrilled when Playbill announced that Shirley Jo Finney would direct the revival of Ntozake Shange's Tony Award-nominated For Colored Girls. When I was a young girl in San Francisco, Shange’s words opened my soul and gave me license to dream of my own work on stage. When the play came to the Bay Area my mother kept me from seeing it; she feared that the show was too advanced, even for her precocious pre-teen. I pouted for weeks, and then I began to I carry a worn copy of the choreopoem in my backpack. I memorized the monologues and tortured my homegirls with my renditions after school.
A 21st-century revival of Shange’s iconic play meant I would finally have my chance to see For Colored Girls on Broadway. The fact that it would be directed by an African American woman whose work and vision I deeply I admire made it all the more special. My hopes were soon dashed. The economy soured and the production has yet to make it to the stage.
Yet despite such setbacks, Black women theatre artists continue to thrive; the success of Hall, Diamond and Parks are not the only theatrical triumphs that deserve recognition. Audiences were dazzled by the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage’s bold and imaginative new play, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark at Second Stage Theatre.
Other notable productions of 2011 include the Fulcrum Theater inaugural production (and world premiere) of Kara Lee Corthron's Julius by Design; Kirsten Greenidge’s Milk Like Sugar at Playwrights Horizons; Premiere Theatre’s production of Dominique Morisseau’s Follow Me to Nellie’s; Esther Armah’s Savior? at the Dwyer Cultural Center; Radha Blank’s Seed at the Classic Theatre of Harlem and Elaine Jackson’s Puberty Rites produced by Woodie King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre. In Johannesburg, Shirley Jo Finney directed the critically acclaimed debut of Winnie: The Opera at the South African State Theatre. The rich diversity of these shows and the strength of this critically acclaimed work reflect the tremendous talents of black women working in theatre today.
A review of this past year in African American theatre must also acknowledge a moment of communal organizing. On June 20, 2011 seventeen African American theatres participated in a national benefit staged reading of Alice Childress's 1955 play, Trouble in Mind. I find it remarkably poignant that the artistic directors selected a show by a black woman playwright in order to sound the alarm that black theatrical institutions desperately need support. Childress's backstage drama delivers a scathing critique of the ways racism circumscribes opportunities for African-American theatre artists.
Trouble in Mind remains such a vital work that in September, the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. mounted a full production. It is essential for audiences to support the work of institutions, performers, writers and directors that create the kind of plays that reflects not only the struggles of black people, but also the diversity, complexity, and beauty within the African American community. As we ring in the New Year, let’s celebrate the richness of African American theatre both on and off-Broadway. The theatre is a magical space. We are all enriched by the new work by black women theatre artists.
I pray that the For Colored Girls revival will happen soon, but until that day, we can anticipate other productions. In January 2012 Danai Gurira’s The Convert will premiere at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, and as a part of Great PerformancesPBS will broadcast Anna Deavere Smith’s latest one-woman show, Let Me Down Easy. While we challenge Broadway and other cultural institutions to be more inclusive, we must also challenge ourselves to support the careers of talented black theatre artists–actors, directors and playwrights—as engaged, enthusiastic audience members and, if we can afford it, as season ticket holders as well.
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Lisa B. Thompson is Associate Professor of English at SUNY Albany. She is the author of Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle Class & the play Single Black Female, which will soon be published by Samuel French, Inc. Follow her on Twitter @playprof.
