Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 19, 2007|Volume 36, Number 7

‘Trouble in Mind,’ the Yale Rep’s next play, examines issues of race, identity

As its next play of the season, the Yale Repertory Theatre will stage “Trouble in Mind,” Alice Childress’ drama about race, identity and opportunity in the American theater.

The production will run from Oct. 26 to Nov. 17. Opening night is Nov. 1.

Irene Lewis, artistic director of Baltimore’s CENTERSTAGE, will direct “Trouble in Mind,” which is the first play by Childress to be produced at the Yale Rep. Childress (1916-1994) is best known as the author of the young adult novels “Rainbow Jordan” and “A Hero Ain’t Nothin, But a Sandwich.”

“Trouble in Mind,” which had its premiere off-Broadway in 1955, is about a new Broadway play that has started rehearsals. The play-within-the play, titled “Chaos in Belleville,” is an anti-lynching drama written by a white writer and set in the South. It marks the first opportunity for Wiletta Mayer, an African-American actress who has spent years in parts beneath her intelligence and talent, to play a leading lady. As the company begins its work, Mayer and the white director clash over her perception of the role. Set during the early years of the civil rights movement, the play offers a “disturbingly and disarmingly funny look at the half-truths we tell ourselves about race relations and progress in America,” according to the Yale Rep announcement of the production.

Childress, who was born Louise Henderson in Charleston, South Carolina, was an actress, director, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, essayist and activist. She was raised in Harlem by her grandmother, who was the daughter of a freed slave. Childress’ failed marriage to actor Alvin Childress — famous as one of the television stars of Amos & Andy — provided her with her professional name. She was a founding member of the American Negro Theatre in Harlem, which staged her early plays. In 1965 she wrote “Wedding Band,” which had its first major staging in 1972 at the New York Shakespeare Festival in a production co-directed by Childress and Joseph Papp. Childress also wrote the screenplay for her best-known novel for youth, “A Hero Ain’t Nothin, But a Sandwich,” (about a 13-year-old heroin addict), which was released on film in 1978.

“Trouble in Mind” was a critical and popular success from the beginning of its run Off-Broadway at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in Harlem in 1955. Her first play to be presented outside the auspices of the American Negro Theatre in Harlem, it immediately drew interest from producers seeking a Broadway run. But in a twist echoing the tribulations of the characters in the play itself, the producers wanted to make changes to the script to make it more palatable to a commercial audience. Childress refused to compromise her artistic vision, and the play was never transferred, ending her chances of being the first African-American playwright to have a work produced on Broadway. The play was revived Off-Broadway in 1998 by the Negro Ensemble Company and was produced under the direction of Lewis at Baltimore’s CENTERSTAGE earlier this year.

Heading the cast as Wiletta Mayer is five-time Joseph Jefferson Award-winner E. Faye Butler. Also featured are Starla Benford, Tony-nominee Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Don Guillory, Daren Kelly, Garrett Neergaard, Laurence O’Dwyer, Kevin O’Rourke and Natalia Payne.

The creative team for “Trouble in Mind” includes set designer Michael Locher, costume designer Paul Carey, lighting designer Melissa Mizell and sound designer David Budries.

A number of special events will take place during the run of the play. “Talk Back,” a post-performance discussion with members of the creative team, will take place on Nov. 3 at 2 p.m., and at 8 p.m. on Nov. 6 and Nov. 8. An open-captioned performance will be offered Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. and an audio-described performance will take place on Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.

The Yale Rep is located at 1120 Chapel St. (at York Street). Tickets for “Trouble in Mind” are $35-$48. For tickets, visit www.yalerep.org, call (203) 432-1234 or visit the Yale Rep box office.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Gifts provide funding for financial aid at Yale Divinity School

Gift provides funding for financial aid at Yale School of Nursing

Garden honors scholar who sought to improve Japanese-U.S. relations

Newly renovated and renamed library reopens

Sustainability is on the menu at new Library Café

Yale to create ‘think tank’ for improving public health

Horwich appointed to Sterling Professorship

Stockholder honored for ‘extensive and ongoing’ artistic achievements

Color, ‘stuff’ and ‘moving through the world’ inspire artist

Leadership program for Indian government officials is launched

Laurie Santos is named a ‘Brilliant Ten’ scientist

New multimedia online journal will examine major . . .

The architecture of contemporary sacred spaces is the focus of events

Company will use Yale research to create treatments for eye disease

YSN’s new associate dean for scholarly affairs . . .

‘The Veiled Monologues’ offers a look at the lives of Muslim women

In ‘Making Do,’ artists will create with a specific limitation

‘Trouble in Mind,’ the Yale Rep’s next play, examines issues of race, identity

Life science technologies to be highlighted in Yale BioHaven series

Walpole Library also opens after renovations

Carolyn Mazure is recognized for her contributions to . . .

School of Music student wins top conducting awards

From the United Way: ‘A Story of Finding Peace’

Campus Notes