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Thursday Kicks Off Lively 'Crowns' Gospel Musical

2/25/2020

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By Face Off Theatre Company

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – You might have heard how people couldn't get enough of Face Off Theatre Company's last gospel musical, Mahalia! Now we're back with another one, and it opens Thursday, Feb. 27 to coincide with Black History Month!

The award-winning Crowns by Regina Taylor is a moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of Black history and identity as seen through the eyes of a young Black woman who has come down South to stay with her grandmother after her brother is killed in Brooklyn.

Each hat holds a story of a wedding, a funeral, baptism and more as women share their stories of how they moved through life's struggles. It features some rap but predominantly gospel music underscore and support the narratives. 


Showtimes are: 7:30 p.m. Thursday,Feb. 27 - Saturday, Feb. 29 and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1 at the Judy Jolliffe Theatre in the Epic Center, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall in downtown Kalamazoo. For tickets, visit faceofftheatre.com. 

The show is the first of four plays in the 2020 season of the Black Arts & Cultural Center's Face Off Theatre Company. 

"Crowns is a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old girl,” says Director Marissa Harrington. “Yolanda is on a self-destructive path running the mean Englewood streets of Chicago. Her mother sends her down South to live with her Grandma Shaw after Yolanda’s brother is shot and killed. Grandma Shaw introduces Yolanda to her circle of 'Hat Queens.' Each woman owns at least 100 hats!”

The vocally-delightful cast includes: 
  • Denetta Diamond ("Yolanda")
  • Khadijah Brown ("Jeanette")
  • Zaynee Hobdy ("Mabel")
  • Jeannie Jones ("Wanda")
  • Brenda Earvin ("Mother Shaw")
  • Shauntrece Stokes ("Velma")
  • Chan Pratt ("Man")

​Khadijah was in our last gospel show, "Mahalia," staged a year ago this same time. Zaynee was in our November production, "eLLe," about relationships and belonging.


Face Off Theatre’s entire new season is devoted to stories like this about African-American youth. Their voices will be illuminated through works by new and established playwrights.
 
It reaches a fever pitch in November when the company closes the season with esteemed playwright Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline, a poignant piece about the hot-button topic of the school-to-prison pipeline in the black community.
 
2020 Season At-A-Glance
Click here for tickets!
  • FEB. 27-March 1, 2020 – Season Opener: Crowns by Regina Taylor
  • MAY 20-23, 2020 – Youth Series: Smoldering Fires by Kermit Frazier about two boys who want to clean up their often violent, drug-riddled neighborhood
  • JULY 9-12, 2020 – Summer New Play Series: Local playwright Vickie G. Hampton’s I Am Grace comes to the Black Arts Festival. It’s a beautiful story of forgiveness and redemption that occurs when a family experiences an unspeakable violent event.
  • NOV. 12-15, 2020 – Season Closer: Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau
======================
About Face Off Theatre Company
Face Off Theatre Company launched in 2015 as the theatrical arm of the Black Arts & Cultural Center in Kalamazoo. It is devoted to thought-provoking Black theater and the development of playwrights of color, drawing audiences from throughout Southwest Michigan to its performances at the Epic Center’s Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre and nearby artistic venues. Tickets may be purchased online about a month before the show, or at the door. For more: faceofftheatre.com
 
About the Black Arts & Cultural Center
The Black Arts & Cultural Center, headquartered at downtown Kalamazoo's Epic Center, is widely known for its annual Black Arts Festival since founding in 1986. The organization develops the potential and creativity in Blacks in the Kalamazoo area, advances the awareness of Black artistic ability, helps to preserve Black cultural heritage and enhance interactions among diverse groups. For more: blackartskalamazoo.org
 
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  • Home
  • About
    • Meet The Company >
      • Marissa
      • SheaLin
      • Khadijah
      • Ynika
      • Zaynee
      • Betty
    • FOTC BOARD
    • Past Shows >
      • 2022 SEASON >
        • Yellowman >
          • Yellowman Program >
            • MEET THE CAST >
              • Tanisha L. Pyron
              • Yasir Muhammad
              • Camriss Brown
            • PRODUCTION TEAM
            • DAEL ORLANDERSMITH
        • Dirt, Ash, Dead Tree >
          • PROGRAM-DADT >
            • MEET THE CAST >
              • Gregory Miller
              • Ryan Stapleton
              • Jessica Krolik
              • Adam Nyhoff
              • Teddy Huff
            • PRODUCTION TEAM
            • Jarrett McCreary
        • Jar the Floor >
          • PROGRAM-JAR THE FLOOR >
            • PRODUCTION TEAM
            • DIRECTOR
            • CHERYL L. WEST
        • Youth New Play Project >
          • Program: Youth New Play Project >
            • About the Cast and Crew
      • 2021 Season
      • 2017-2018 Season
      • 2016-2017 Season
      • 2015-2016 Season
      • Been Lovin You-July 2015
      • CHAIN-Oct. 2015
      • The Mountaintop-JAN 2016
      • Dreamgirls-2016
      • 2016-TK New Play Festival
      • THE COLORED MUSEUM
      • Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine 2021 >
        • Fabulation Program >
          • MEET THE CAST >
            • Ynika Yuag
            • Khadijah Brown
            • Jerome M. Jones
            • Zaynee Hobdy
            • Ron Ware
            • Jayla Smith
            • Charles Curtis Sanders
            • Elizabeth J. Taylor
            • Michael David Arnold
          • PRODUCTION TEAM
          • LYNN NOTTAGE
      • I AM GRACE >
        • PLAYWRIGHT
        • DIRECTOR
        • MEET THE CAST >
          • Aija Hodges
          • Khadijah Brown
          • Marc Wilson
          • Derek Miller
          • Michael David Arnold
          • Nicki Poer
          • Bri Edgerton
        • SHOW SPONSORS
      • PIPELINE PROGRAM >
        • DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU
        • CREATIVE TEAM
        • MEET THE CAST >
          • SHEALIN
          • DELANTI
          • MICHAEL
          • MIKAELA
          • SANDY
          • YASIR
      • SMOLDERING FIRES PROGRAM >
        • MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT
        • MEET THE DIRECTOR
        • MEET THE CAST >
          • Zaynee Hobdy
          • JAHLEEL
          • MELINDA
          • LARS
  • 2023 SEASON
    • Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea
    • What to Send Up When It Goes Down
    • Exception to the Rule
    • Exit Strategy
  • TICKETS
  • Contact
    • PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP
    • APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM