Actor's Express presents: Choir Boy

CRITIC’S PICK:
Sun., Aug. 9 - Sun., Aug. 30

Choir Boy, Actor’s Express — A prep school boy named Pharus is trying to figure what life is about and where he fits in. His talent for music gets noticed and he’s asked to lead a choir of his peers. Things get complicated. Writer Tarell Alvin McCraney based the piece on an autobiographical project titled ‘In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue’ that was never published; it did however lead to the screenplay of the film ‘Moonlight’ (2016) that won Academy Awards for both McCraney and co-writer/director Barry Jenkins. ‘Choir Boy’ first opened in London in 2012 and was staged at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta the following year. The new Actor’s Express production is helmed by the group’s Associate Artistic Director Amanda Washington, who says the story takes place at a pivotal moment in these characters’ lives. “It is a moment of revelation — revelations found through song, friends, and in quiet moments, self. For those of us long past our high school days, it is a reminder of how it felt to step into our own.” — Kevin C. Madigan