Saturday: The Billie Holiday Theatre– 50in50: Letters to Our Daughters

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Marsha Stephanie Blake.

Curated by 2018 MacArthur “Genius” Dominique Morriseau in partnership with Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop.

50 in 50: Letters to Our Daughters is the third annual installment of what’s become a highly anticipated, and sold-out, theatrical reading event. This year, a new group of 50 women “consider both the world they inherited and the one they’d like to create.” It’s an evening sure to be filled with emotion, unique points-of-view, and love.

Live music will be performed by Maritri Garrett.

Performances will take place March 9 at 3 PM and 7 PM at the Kumble Theater at LIU, Brooklyn. Location: Kumble Theater, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

THE CAST: Marsha Stephanie Blake (“Orange is the New Black,” The Merchant of Venice on Broadway), Ebony JoAnn (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Broadway, “Grown Ups”), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Hamilton on Broadway, Dog Days, Mistress America), LaChanze (The Color Purple and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway), Terria Joseph (“Empire,” Autumn at The Billie), Celestine Rae (No More Mr. Nice Guy, Boardwalk Empire), Angelica Ross (Her Story, “Pose”), Michele Shay (Seven Guitars and A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway) Phyllis Yvonne Stickney (How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Women of Brewster Place), and Pauletta Pearson Washington (She’s Gotta Have It, The Old Settler and Autumn at The Billie).

THE PLAYWRIGHTS: Amanda Graham, AriDy Nox, Arielle C Knight, Ashley Thomas, Benja Thomas, Bridget Doman, Camika Spencer, Colette Boston, Courtney Mericle, Cynthia L Dorsey, Daphne Busby, Debra Bramlett, Desiree Rucker, Dietra Kelsey, Donna Walker-Kuhne, Elisabeth Giffin Speckman, Eraina Ferguson, Felicia Fitzpatrick, Franceli Chapman, Geraldine Ezigbo, Ife Basim, Jackie Torres, Jameelah Nasheed, Jorjina Amefia-Koffi, Kaypri, Kendra Ann Flournoy, Kim Brandon, La’Needra “Lulu” Cornelious, Lexis Green, Lisa B. Thompson, Lola Cooper, Lyndor Jackson, Marcelle Davies-Lashley, Marcia Pendelton, Marleen Jasper, Marlow Wyatt, Paula Gillison, Penny Middleton, Renee Joshua-Porter, Robin Turner, S. Pearl Sharp, Safiya Bandele, Samantha Godfrey, Shalewa Mackall, Sharlee Taylor, Shemetra Carter, Sylvia Gail Kinard, Tajh, Terria Joseph, and Yoreel Fraser Trumpet.

The AUDELCO and Obie Award-winning Billie Holiday Theatre is devoted to the discovery of world-class storytelling with a focus on stories for, by and about people of African descent. The Billie presents, promotes and sustains art that reflects the definitive issues of our time in and through all of its forms of expression. The Billie Holiday Theatre has been a significant platform for many Black theater artists, including Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Dee, Omari Hardwick, Debbie Allen, Wendell Pierce, Roger Robinson, John Amos, Sonia Sanchez and more.

The Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop was founded in 1973 by playwright/director Garland Lee Thompson, along with famed actor/director Morgan Freeman, director/actress Billie Allen Henderson and journalist Clayton Riley, as a living memorial to the late actor, director, teacher and producer, Frank Silvera (1914-1970). The Workshop was based in the heart of Harlem, New York for over 30 years and is now located at RestorationART.

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