2024 SEASON
Join us this summer for our 4th Annual Season as we present 6 new productions
June 27-30 in Detroit, and streaming online.
THE MAIN STAGE
the Boll Family Theatre, 1401 Broadway, Detroit, MI 48226
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Saturday, June 29, 2024
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Written by
Aaron Mays
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BLACK SANTA
Before Abbott Elementary, there was Patrice at Dartmouth Day School....Shortly before Christmas break, a third grader named Sharifa stands in front of her class and says, “Santa Claus is a black man from Detroit," sending the school into an uproar. To quell the storm, Patrice Patterson, the school's only black teacher, is asked to create an ad campaign within the school to make Santa white again. As events unfold, Sharifa’s enrollment is placed in jeopardy, and Patrice must decide how to protect Sharifa and ultimately herself. This absurdist comedy examines how race and racial bias can have a foothold on one of the most benign figures—Santa Claus.
THE GOLDEN LOC
"The Golden Loc" is a TYA (Theater for Young Audience) play inspired by African Mythology. The story centers on a little Black girl (Zia) who learns to embrace her unique locs, beauty, and magic within. The show explores Aziza Faires which are magical African Fairies who have elemental abilities. The Aziza Fairies also offer spiritual and emotional guidance to young Zia as she trains to become a Fairy protector. Will she succeed and learn to harness her power from within? We shall see. The play explores themes of Afrofantasy, Afrocentricity, Self Love, Healing, and sisterhood.
Friday, June 28, 2024
Sunday, June 30, 2024
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Written by
Prentiss Matthews III
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Friday, June 28, 2024
Sunday, June 30, 2024
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Written by
Azure D. Osborne-Lee
CROOKED PARTS
"Crooked Parts" is a family dramedy set in yesterday and today. Freddy, a Black queer trans man, returns to his family home in the South after his fiancé breaks up with him. Once there, Freddy must navigate the tension created by his transition and his brother’s serial incarceration. Meanwhile, in his past, 13 year-old Winifred struggles to balance her relationship with her mother with her desire to better fit in with her peers. Crooked Parts is poignant, queer, funny, and definitely definitely Black.
THE SISTERS GREY
The Sisters Grey is a comedic drama that tells the story of two sisters in law – one Black and one Jewish, who both believe that their family histories of racial oppression require retribution and sacrifice from others. A funeral sets the stage for turmoil when the true ownership of an heirloom ring which survived the Holocaust comes into question. As the family members grieve, old secrets begin to brew and controversy boils over in this play that investigates why we still question love outside our own tribe and argue over anguish.
The Sisters Grey, provides a true illumination of the relationships among African American and Jewish people. In addition to an honest discussion about race, The Sisters Grey unveils the unspoken complexities within female relationships; especially those which are interracial - while embracing the clever role that humor can have in healing old wounds.
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Sunday, June 30, 2024
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Written by
Lori Roper
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THE MUSICAL THEATRE SHOWCASE
the Detroit Opera House (Chrysler Black Box) 1526 Broadway, Detroit, MI 48226
TI'MON
"Ti'mon" is a dystopian musical about young Haitian boy, left orphaned in France for 5 years, now sent to America to be reunited with a woman who calls herself mother. With his new life frighteningly foreign, Ti'mon turns to his doll Eshleem to help him devise a plan to escape.
Friday, June 28, 2024
Saturday, June 29, 2024
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Book and Lyrics
Ashlee K. Thomas​
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Music
Ziyan Yang
THE OBSIDIAN CABARET
GEM Theatre. 333 Madison Street, Detroit, MI 48226
BACK TO BLACK:
an obsidian cabaret
Back to Black: An Obsidian Cabaret
The 4th Annual Obsidian Theatre Festival kicks off this season with a one-night only Cabaret and Fundraiser on Opening night. Don’t miss this special night filled with hits from the best of Broadway’s Black writers and musicians.
Music Direction by Brian E. Buckner
Thursday, June 27, 2024