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VOL 3. NO. 15 Friday, March 30 - Thursday, April 12, 2001
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Blues for an Alabama Sky
Dreams Deferred and Dreams Realized
by Avonie BROWN

Courtesy photo, Phylicia Rashad in the original production of "Blues for An Alabama Sky."

Editor's Note: Originally schedule for April 4-8 & 11-15, the production of "Blues for an Alabama Sky" at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, has been postponed because of the untimely death of company member Wally Griffith (sp). The theater will be dark for one week but reopens April 11-15 with an addition week added to the run April 18-22.

The drama "Blues for an Alabama Sky" draws breathe from the men and women who helped to define the Black Intelligentsia of the Harlem Renaissance or the "Niggerati" as it was termed by writer Zora Neale Hurston (one of the few women included in the Harlem Renaissance literary group).

"Blues for an Alabama sky" invokes the names of Josephine Baker, a U.S. émigré who became famous performing in La Revue Nigre at the Follies Bergere in France as well as Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., pastor of New York City's Abyssinian Baptist Church and outspoken U.S. congressman. There was also Langston Hughes, poet, playwright, novelist whose themes focused on black urban life and Marcus Garvey, advocate of black nationalism, economic empowerment and the "back to Africa" movement. Without leaving the brownstone apartments of Guy and Delia, the audience is immersed in the exciting turbulence of 1920s Harlem.

The great migration from the South to Harlem, New York and the influx of new immigrants from the Caribbean stimulated a fertile intellectual ground. It has been suggested that by 1923 there were over 300,000 blacks living in New York City and two-thirds of that black population lived in the five-and-a-half Mile Square of northern Manhattan-Harlem, USA.

The arts and literature flourished as black musicians, singers, dancers, writers, composers and advocates for civil rights merged to redefine the black experience in America. The pictures they painted were not always glamorous; instead they are dynamic as they delved in to expose some of the beauty that sustains and some of the grit and the grim that stifles. And white America became an active consumer of this vibrant celebration of black culture.

The "sassy, feline, shoot from the lips" lead character Angel, is reminiscent of Dorothy Dandrige's Carmen in the 1954 film, "Carmen Jones." Angel possesses the same aggressive desire to succeed; she places high value in the material and will selfishly attach herself to people or things if she believes they can do something for her. In the process she loses herself and the people who care about her most. This kind of dramatic self-destruction comes from a heart that knows pain and is bent on self-preservation even if it means losing herself in the process. In the process Angel disintegrates into an aging, drunk, recently dumped mistress and out of work blues singer.

Guy Jacobs is the comic foil to Angel's tragic dilemma. Guy, a gay costume designer is driven by the dream of joining friend Josephine Baker in Paris. He believes that only in Paris can people truly appreciate his sense of style. Dr. Sam Thomas joins Guy and Angel in their search for the "good times". The good doctor never misses an opportunity to "let the good times roll," that is, until he meets and falls in love with Guy's neighbor, Delia Patterson the naive though pro-choice advocate for women's rights.

Rounding out the team is Leland Cunningham. Recently arrived in Harlem from Alabama, Leland falls prey to Angel's charms and manipulations and this ultimately leads to his own irrational and deadly response.

Pearl Cleage's moving story about dreams denied, homophobia, women's rights, and race allow each actor's natural cadence to flow. And while the drama climaxes with tragedy, the audience is not left feeling hopeless. Instead we are reassured that while some dreams may remain unfulfilled, others can be realized. Cleage reminds us that it is in trying that we succeed.

Tickets are $15-$25. To purchase tickets or to receive more information call Everyman Theatre's box office at 410-752-2208.

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