Category Archives: Drama

Men on Boats at Clarice Smith, Mar 1-9

Men on Boats at Clarice Smith, Mar 1-9

Men on Boats
By Jacklyn Backhaus

Fri, Mar 1, 2024 . 7:30PM
Sat, Mar 2, 2024 . 7:30PM
Sun, Mar 3, 2024 . 2:00PM
Thu, Mar 7, 2024 . 7:30PM
Fri, Mar 8, 2024 . 7:30PM
Sat, Mar 9, 2024 . 7:30PM

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Presented by Nouveau Riche and Soho Theatre
Written by Jessica L. Hagan
Adapted by Ryan Calais Cameron
Directed by Jessica Kaliisa
Cast: Paisley Billings, Déja J Bowens, Jadesola Odunjo, Muki Zubis
Producer for Nouveau Riche: Sarah Verghese
Producers for Soho Theatre: David Luff and Maddie Wilson
Communications & Marketing: Yasmin Mehboob-Khan
Stage Manager: Marie Angelique St Hill
Vocal Coach: Theo Llewellyn

Men On Boats challenges traditional historical narratives by reimagining John Wesley Powell’s expedition in the American West in 1869. A cast of non-male actors portrays the all-male crew, who navigates the treacherous waters of the Colorado River during their exploration. With humor and banter, the play examines gender, identity and the fraught relationship between humans and the natural world. This “rollicking history pageant” (The New York Times) challenges preconceptions about history, gender roles and the stories that get told.

Tickets: $25 General, or $10 Students. Click here.

Upstage Artists presents A Raisin in the Sun, Feb 23-Mar 3

Upstage Artists presents A Raisin in the Sun, Feb 23-Mar 3

Upstage Artists presents:
A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Rick Bergmann

Show dates: February 23 – March 3, 2024
February 23, 24, March 1 at 7:30
March 2 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm
February 25 and March 3 at 2:00 pm

Location: Upstage Artists, performing at the Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 11416 Cedar Lane, Beltsville MD, 20705

Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking drama, a searing and timeless portrait of a family on Chicago’s South Side, is an American classic. Set on Chicago’s South Side, Lorraine Hansberry’s celebrated play concerns the divergent dreams and conflicts in three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis, and matriarch Lena. When her deceased husband’s insurance money comes through, Mama Lena dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. Hansberry’s portrait of one family’s struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration.

Tickets: $11.50. For more information click here.

Araminta: An American Shero: The Real Harriet Tubman Story at the Bowie CPA, Feb 18

Araminta: An American Shero: The Real Harriet Tubman Story at the Bowie CPA, Feb 18

Araminta: An American Shero: The Real Harriet Tubman Story

February 18, 2024
Sunday, February 18 at 2:00pm
Sunday, February 18 at 7:00pm

Location: Bowie Center for the Performing Arts.

Set in the 1800s in Dorchester County, Maryland, this exciting, drama-filled play follows the life of Harriet Tubman in her formative years of life. It portrays how community was a central component of survival for her as a child and the need to keep community intact.

Born into enslavement, Araminta as a child knew there must be a better life outside of enslavement and set out to ensure life as a slave was no more for her and her community. She keeps returning to steal slaves to keep the support of community intact. Araminta: An American Shero, a story of a community’s love, respect, relationships and tenderness, honors the perseverance of Harriet Tubman.

Tickets: $30 – $50 plus fees. Click here.

Softly Softly The Myth of the Strong Black Woman at Joe’s Movement Emporium, Feb 15

Softly Softly The Myth of the Strong Black Woman at Joe’s Movement Emporium, Feb 15

Joe’s Movement Emporium presents:
Softly Softly The Myth of the Strong Black Woman
Created by Maria Fenton

Thursday February 15, 2024 at 7:00 pm

Location: Joe’s Movement Emporium.

Softly, Softly Expressions is a powerful conglomerate of artistic mediums:film, ballet production, art exhibition, readings, and fashion collection centering Black women’s humanity. It illuminates Black women’s costly, treacherous & seemingly mythic composure as they navigate life. Created by multi-hyphenate artist and Howard University professor, Maria Fenton, it touches on race, gender, suicide prevention, domestic violence, mental health, politics, and more. Softly, Softly is a both a battle cry and love story about the grace, reality, & magic of Black women and their often invisible embattled journey.

Tickets $10. Click here.

Miss Evers’ Boys at Laurel Mill Playhouse, Feb 9-Mar 3

Miss Evers’ Boys at Laurel Mill Playhouse, Feb 9-Mar 3

Laurel Mill Playhouse presents:
Miss Evers’ Boys
by David Fedshuh
directed by Loraine Brooks
produced by Marvin and Maureen Rogers

February 9 – March 3, 2024

Location: Laurel Mill Playhouse

Miss Evers’ Boys tells the story of Nurse Eunice Evers and the men in her charge, who, between 1934 and 1970, unwittingly participated in a US Health Department study on the effects of syphilis in the Negro male. The play was inspired by the book “Bad Blood” by James Jones, which explores the ethics of this clinical study and looks at how ideas about race and the perceptions of racial “differences” affect the quality, availability, and nature of healthcare in the US.

Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: $24
Children 18 and under, Seniors 65 and over, and active duty military: $20

Buy tickets here.

For further information, please call 301-617-9906, or contact Maureen Rogers at maureencrogers@gmail.com or 301-452-2557.

Tags: Laurel Mill Playhouse, Laurel Maryland, Maureen Rogers, Miss Evers’ Boys