ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - The acclaimed play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” by Ntozake Shange comes to the Johnson Studio Theatre at Winthrop University. The play opens on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 16. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with the Sunday matinee beginning at 2 p.m.
Directed by senior theatre major Le’ianna Gladden, the play is the story of a sisterhood of seven women told through dramatic prose, poetry, music and movement. Told in vivid language, their experiences resound with fearless beauty and unity, despite exposing the unending challenges and oppression that women of color face every day. Gladden hopes that audiences will identify with the stories told by the characters.
“I'm excited for people, specifically black women on campus, to witness the show,” Gladden said. “I want them to walk away from it feeling seen and empowered knowing their stories matter.”
While studying abroad in Ghana last semester, Gladden had the opportunity to direct the show, which she names as one of her all-time favorite plays. She considers her involvement with the production “an honor.”
“The message of the show is so affirming and necessary,” Gladden explained. “Very often the stories of black women are not handled with care or not shown at all. ‘For Colored Girls’ places our varied and honest experiences front and center, which is crucial for me because my work is dedicated to the honest exploration of black women's experiences.”
The cast includes students Shaniya Simmons, Javia Belton, Leara Dye, Nakia Hartley, Baten King, Alysha Lane and Kalaylah Chisolm.
Tickets are $5 with a Winthrop ID and $10 for the general public on Wednesday and Thursday; and $8 with a Winthrop ID and $15 for the general public Friday through Sunday. All tickets are general admission seating. Purchasing tickets in advance is advised.
Tickets can be purchased online, by e-mailing boxoffice@winthrop.edu or calling the box office at 803/323-4014. Box office hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday during production week.
For more information, contact Whitney Hough, director of communications and community engagement for the College of Visual and Performing Arts, at 803/323-2399 or houghw@winthrop.edu.
