Theatrical Outfit reads ‘The Green Book’
Theatrical Outfit stages free readings of a period drama based on a Jim Crow-era travel guide for African-Americans.
On April 11 and 12, Theatrical Outfit has scheduled free staged readings of Calvin Alexander Ramsey’s play The Green Book, which has intriguing source material. The play is based on The Negro Motorist Green Book, an actual travel guide for safe places to eat and lodge for African-American travelers in the Jim Crow era. The original cover includes the warning, “Carry your Green Book with you — You may need it.” According to the press release,
The play is set in 1953 Jefferson City, MO, where a black military officer, his wife and a Jewish holocaust survivor all spend the night only hours before W.E.B. Du Bois is scheduled to deliver a speech in town. The Green Book explores not only the hurdles posed by racial and cultural divisions during a tumultuous time in history, but also the creative and humane ways in which people crossed those social barriers. A finalist in the 12th Annual Last Frontier Theater Conference in 2004, The Green Book also has seen staged readings at Yale University and at the Lincoln Theatre,
Freddie Hendricks directs a cast that includes Donna Biscoe, Taurean Blacque, Betty Hart, Enoch King, Allen O’Reilly, Theroun Patterson and D. Woods. The readings will be held at 7 p.m. Aprill 11 and 2 p.m. April 12 at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s, 84 Luckie St. The Green Book’s world premiere is scheduled to open Theatrical Outfit’s 2011-2012 season this August.