celebrates the stories of Black women \u2014<\/strong>
April 26-28<\/span><\/span> at Muhlenberg College<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n
Allentown, Pa. (April 9, 2018<\/span><\/span>) \u2014 Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance presents Ntozake Shange\u2019s \u201cfor colored girls who have considered suicide \/ when the rainbow is enuf,\u201d\u00a0a spiritual \u2014 and deeply personal \u2014 celebration of black womanhood, directed by Sharrell D. Luckett.<\/p>\n \u201cBlack people consider the piece a rite of passage for black actresses,\u201d Luckett says. \u201cThere\u2019s a sense that you\u2019re not in the club until you do \u2018for colored girls\u2026\u2019 You have to do \u2018for colored girls\u2026\u2019 to feel like you\u2019ve arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cfor colored girls\u2026,\u201d playing in the Baker Theatre April 26-28<\/span><\/span>, has been breaking barriers since its 1976 Broadway curtain \u2014 it was only the second Broadway production ever written by a black woman, following Lorraine Hansberry\u2019s \u201cA Raisin in the Sun\u201d in 1959.<\/p>\n \u201cShange\u2019s work foregrounds the joys of being a Black woman, and even the Me Too movement in one piece,\u201d Luckett says. \u201cShe takes us through a journey of love and happiness, even while she manages to address the abuse that Black women have experienced at the hands of racial oppressors, and even from folks in their own circles. Black women have been saying this for a long time. It\u2019s not new.<\/p>\n “That\u2019s why it\u2019s no surprise that the Me Too movement was started by a Black woman. We\u2019ve been screaming this for decades. And Shange has been talking in the genealogy of the Me Too movement, the Time\u2019s Up movement, for that long.\u201d<\/p>\n Performed entirely by women, \u201cfor colored girls\u2026\u201d offers a narrative of self-discovery, coming-of-age stories, self-love, and a familial bond between Black women who share both joyous and painful experiences. The play is a choreopoem \u2014 a term Shange herself invented for this piece, which combines heightened poetic language, movement, music, and theatre.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people will ask \u2014 is this musical theatre? And it\u2019s not,\u201d Luckett says. \u201cIt\u2019s a culturally Black piece, because we don\u2019t separate it. We don\u2019t separate dance from acting, from song. It\u2019s all together.\u201d<\/p>\n The show stars ten women who share poetic narratives of Black girlhood and womanhood \u2014 and, in the process, share something of themselves as well. For many, this is the first time performing in a cast consisting entirely of Black women.<\/p>\n \u201cI love knowing that I am going into a room full of women who understand me in particular ways,\u201d says Bree Ogaldez \u201918, a senior cast member marking the end of her Muhlenberg theater career. \u201cI\u2019m lucky to have had the unique chance to work with a cast full of Black women, and I learn so much from my cast mates every day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is, essentially, the first time in my performance experience at Muhlenberg where I have been asked to play myself,\u201d says Cameron Silliman \u201918, another senior cast member. \u201cThis show has allowed me to explore elements of myself and Black women in general. Being able to share those discoveries and share a very personal story is very fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckett says the abstract, intimate nature of the show\u2019s poetry easily lends itself to integrating movement and music.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have Rahbi creating and playing music for us. He\u2019s an underground superstar,\u201d Luckett says. \u201cHe\u2019s opened for Maroon 5, Janelle Mon\u00e1e, SZA, Erykah Badu. We are catching him just before he becomes super-famous. Between him and Randall, the cast has gotten to work with professionals who are truly doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Muhlenberg faculty member Randall Anthony Smith provides the choreography.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a choreographer, I can say this has been the most uplifting, rejuvenating, and experiential process I\u2019ve been a part of in a long time,\u201d Smith says. \u201cI am who I am because of the female body, and I stand in the arenas I inhabit because the Black women before me moved mountains, stirred oceans, and created life with love. Just being able to be in the presence of so many beautiful Black women is a gift. It\u2019s humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckett says it has meant a lot to her to work with this cast. This is a unique experience at a predominantly white institution like Muhlenberg, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cThis particular community should understand that when we advocate for diversity \u2014 that doesn\u2019t mean that you lose your culture,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you include me, that doesn\u2019t mean I assimilate, and vice versa. It means we work together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018for colored girls\u2026\u2019 allows us to tell the perfect amount of our story to a community who has never had to wonder what it means to be young and Black in a predominately white-centered culture,\u201d says cast member Gabrielle Hines \u201918. \u201cThe piece was written long before we were born, but the same ideals and struggles are more than relevant now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a strong Black female community here,\u201d Smith says. \u201cI hope \u2018for colored girls\u2026\u2019 reminds the audience that there\u2019s more than one story present within Black communities \u2014 that the story you see is not the only story that is available.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the play is universal, and also definitely for Black women. It\u2019s Black and universal at the same time,\u201d Luckett says. \u201cIt\u2019s a classic, I can tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cfor colored girls who have considered suicide \/ when the rainbow is enuf\u201d plays April 26-28. Showtimes are Thursday<\/span><\/span> through Saturday<\/span><\/span> at 8 p.m.<\/span><\/span>, Sunday<\/span><\/span> at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.<\/span><\/span> Regular admission tickets are $15. Tickets for youth and LVAIC students and staff are $8.<\/p>\n Dr. Shirlene Holmes will offer a response and discussion of the play following the performance on Friday, April 27<\/span><\/span>. Holmes is an award-winning playwright and scholar, and a professor at Georgia State University. Her play \u201cSince \u201976,\u201d a followup to \u201cfor colored girls\u2026,\u201d will also be presented in a staged reading Friday<\/span><\/span> at 2:30 p.m.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The production addresses themes of a sensitive nature, and is appropriate for audiences ages 14 and up.<\/p>\n Tickets can be purchased online at muhlenberg.edu\/theatre<\/a> or by phone at 484-664-3333. Performances are in the Baker Theatre in Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Muhlenberg College, 2400 West Chew St., Allentown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is a highly selective, private, four-year residential college located in Allentown, PA., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, sciences, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.<\/p>\n Muhlenberg offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in theater and dance. The Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg\u2019s theater program in the top twelve in the nation for eight years in a row, and Fiske Guide to Colleges lists both the theater and dance programs among the top small college programs in the United States. Muhlenberg is one of only eight colleges to be listed in Fiske for both theater and dance.<\/p>\n Information Provided By: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nScott Snyder
\nMarketing Manager
\nMuhlenberg College Department of Theatre & Dance<\/p>\n
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