Penumbra: The Premier Stage for African American Drama

PRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE PENUMBRA THEATRE COMPANY

163 PRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE PENUMBRA THEATRE COMPANY 1976–77 The Hairy Falsetto, by J. I. Rodale, directed by Lou Bellamy Little Nell, by Wilbur Braun, directed by Lou Bellamy 1977–78 Eden, by Steve Carter, directed by Claude Purdy The Taking of Miss Janie, by Ed Bullins, directed by Horace Bond Heartland Louisiana, written and directed by Horace Bond (world premiere) The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom, by William Wells Brown, directed by Philip Blackwell The Odd Couple, by Neil Simon, directed by Horace Bond The Offering, by Gus Edwards, directed by Claude Purdy 1978–79 The Life and Theatre of Ira Aldridge, written and directed by Horace Bond (world premiere) 1979–80 Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death, by Melvin Van Peebles, directed by Claude Purdy Deadwood Dick, Legend of the West, by W. B. Burdine Jr., directed by Horace Bond Soul Alley, by Staddie Jackson, directed by Lou Bellamy 1980–81 Songhai, by Gregory Awosika, directed by Claude Purdy Raisin, musical adaptation by Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg, directed by Horace Bond 164 PRODUCTION HISTORY 1981–82 Black Bart and the Sacred Hills, by August Wilson, directed by Claude Purdy (world premiere) Ages American, written and directed by Horace Bond (world premiere) 1982–83 Zooman and the Sign, by Charles Fuller, directed by Marion McClinton Sunnyside A&M, written and directed by Horace Bond (world premiere) 1983–84 Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, by Vinnette Carroll and Micki Grant, directed by Horace Bond Home, by Samm-Art Williams, directed by Claude Purdy Short Eyes, by Miguel Piñero, directed by Lou Bellamy 1984–85 Purlie, musical adaptation by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Harvest the Frost, by Nubia Kai, directed by Lou Bellamy (Cornerstone play development award) Jitney, by August Wilson, directed by Claude Purdy (Cornerstone play development award) Suspenders, by Umar Bin Hassan, directed by Dawn Renee Jones The Resurrection of Lady Lester, by Oyamo, directed by Marion McClinton 1985–86 Bubbling Brown Sugar, by Loften Mitchell, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Prince and Cinderella, by Sara Berg, directed by Brian Grandison A Soldier’s Play, by Charles Fuller, directed by Marion McClinton Selma, by Tommy Butler, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Jelly Belly Don’t Mess with Nobody, by Charles Smith, directed by James A. Williams (Cornerstone play development award) PRODUCTION HISTORY 165 Split Second, by Dennis McIntyre, directed by Claude Purdy 1986–87 Ain’t Misbehavin’, by Richard Maltby Jr., directed by Lewis Whitlock III Fool for Love, by Sam Shepard, directed by Marion McClinton Poison Tree, by Ronald Ribman, directed by Marion McClinton The Little Tommy Parker Celebrated Colored Minstrel Show, by Carlyle Brown, directed by Lou Bellamy (Cornerstone play development award) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, by August Wilson, directed by Claude Purdy 1987–88 Po’, by Rufus Hill, Philip Erskine Brown, and Keithen Carter, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Tracers, by John DiFusco, Vincent Caristi, Rick Gallavan, Richard Chaves, Eric Emerson, Merlin Marston, and Sheldon Lettich, directed by Marion McClinton Black Nativity, by Langston Hughes, adapted and directed by Lewis Whitlock III The African Company Presents Richard III, by Carlyle Brown, directed by Lou Bellamy (Cornerstone play development award) Every Night When the Sun Goes Down, by Phillip Hayes Dean, directed by Claude Purdy 1988–89 Lost in the Stars, by Maxwell Anderson, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Brown Silk and Magenta Sunsets, by P. J. Gibson, directed by Beverly Smith Dawson Black Nativity, by Langston Hughes, adapted and directed by Lewis Whitlock III Major Changes, by Karen Jones Meadows, directed by Marion McClinton (Cornerstone play development award) 166 PRODUCTION HISTORY Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, by Lonne Elder III, directed by Horace Bond 1989–90 Tambourines to Glory, by Langston Hughes, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Les Blancs, by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Horace Bond Black Nativity, by Langston Hughes, adapted and directed by Lewis Whitlock III Who Causes the Darkness? by Marion McClinton, directed by Terry Bellamy (Cornerstone play development award) Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage, by Aishah Rahman, directed by Marion McClinton Fences, by August Wilson, directed by Claude Purdy 1990–91 Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, by Vinnette Carroll and Micki Grant, directed by Lewis Whitlock III Playboy of the West Indies, by Mustapha Matura, directed by Horace Bond Black...