At a small Catholic school in 2017, Florence has just been banned from all school related activities thanks to her hair, and is forced to decide how she will make her stand. Inventor Annie Malone’s hair products at the turn of the 20th century revolutionized mobility for Black women, but her biggest supporter and critic, […]
Ibsen in Chicago
The world premiere of Ibsen’s controversial play Ghosts took place in Chicago, performed by a group of Scandinavian immigrants: a little known fact. Grimm’s play spins a yarn based on this ‘great reckoning in a little room’ and explores the immigrant experience and opportunities for self re-invention against the backdrop of changing artistic and social […]
In The Upper Room
A play about family secrets, gossip, colorism, voodoo and the magic of the stories we grow up hearing. Meet the Berrys, a multi-generational Black family living under one roof in the 1970s. Their lives orbit around Rose, a strong-willed matriarch whose superstitions and secrets drive her relatives nuts. Through pointed wit and playful sarcasm, the […]
H*tler’s Tasters
Three times a day, every day, a group of young women have the opportunity to die for their country. They are Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. And what do girls discuss as they wait to see if they will live through another meal? Like all girls, throughout time, they gossip and dream, they question and dance. […]
Foxes
FOXES follows Daniel, a young black man trying to keep up with his life, which is moving fast. When his relationship with best friend Leon brings an unexpected change it creates turmoil, bringing a taboo into his family home that has the power to tear the closest and most loving relationships apart. Shortlisted for the […]
How To Steal A Picasso
A comic-drama set against the bankruptcy of the Motor City. The Smith family doesn’t agree on much, but when their son Johnny comes home for the first time in four years, they reluctantly reconvene to celebrate the father (a failed painter) winning the Yoko Ono Lifetime Achievement Award for Non-Objective Art. In fact, tonight, Sean […]
Les Deux Noirs
Set in the legendary Parisian café Les Deux Magots in 1953, LES DEUX NOIRS reimagines the meeting between Native Son author Richard Wright and essayist/activist James Baldwin. It explores the tension between Baldwin’s searing critiques of Native Son and Wright’s unbridled indignation in response—a confrontation between two mighty African-American artists, with echoes of a present-day […]
The Great Jheri Curl Debate
Veralynn Jackson knows hair, she knows her neighborhood, and she also knows that the invention of the Jheri Curl marks the end of the world. When she takes a job in Mr. Kim’s Korean-owned Black beauty supply store and the posters start talking to her, Veralynn might finally come to know her true calling.
Lickety Split
Women and men in outrageous shorts! This fast-paced, rollicking collection of short plays combines some of the best scenes from BUDDY BRO BUBBA DUDE and HONEY SUGAR LADY DOLL into a laugh-out-loud adventure for all. You’ll encounter women who are brilliant, baffling and know a conscience is what hurts when other parts feel sooo good. […]
Honey Sugar Lady Doll
Women in bodacious shorts! This sparkling and raucous comedy offers fast-paced tales about—and starring—strong and sassy females. Women who are intelligent, eccentric, mysterious, baffling, bullheaded and brilliant. As these short plays unfold, you’ll meet Vivacia, a Southern social media star, on a quest to elevate the mediocre standard of American funeral foods. Drop by a […]
A Hit Dog Will Holler
A HIT DOG WILL HOLLER centers around a popular online political & social commentator who is forced to examine her legitimacy when agoraphobia prevents her from physically engaging in the very activism she boasts about on the internet. When a boots-on-the-ground community organizer invades her space, they must both deal with manifestations of fear arising […]
Dracula
When your survival is at stake… will you be able to distinguish the monster from the man? Both terrifying and riotous, Kate Hamill’s imaginative, gender-bending “feminist revenge fantasy” is like no Dracula you’ve ever seen—exploring the nature of predators and reinventing the story as a smart, disquieting, darkly comic drama. Hamill’s signature style and postmodern […]