For Immediate Release
GOODMAN THEATRE CONCLUDES ITS 2005/2006 SEASON WITH REGINA TAYLOR'S IMAGINATIVE SPIN ON THE STORY OF MADAM C.J. WALKER, THE DREAMS OF SARAH BREEDLOVE
***CHICAGO NATIVE L. SCOTT CALDWELL OF ABC'S LOST LEADS A CAST INCLUDING CHERYL LYNN BRUCE, KEITH RANDOLPH SMITH, NIKKI E. WALKER***
(Chicago, IL) Goodman Theatre proudly presents the Chicago premiere of The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove, playwright and director Regina Taylor's (CBS' The Unit, Crowns) dramatic rendering of the financial gains and emotional losses of African American hair culturist Madam C.J. Walker. Acclaimed stage and screen actor L. Scott Caldwell-who won a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone and who currently appears as Rose on ABC's Lost-portrays Madam Walker (née Breedlove), America's first female self-made millionaire. Taylor's cast also includes Goodman favorites Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Trojan Women), Keith Randolph Smith (Jitney) and Nikki E. Walker, who makes her Goodman Theatre and Chicago debut. The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove runs June 17 through July 23, 2006 in the Albert Theatre. The Major Corporate Sponsors for the Goodman's production of The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove are LaSalle Bank and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Additional support is provided by the Goodman Director's Society.
"Regina Taylor's storytelling savvy has inspired, delighted and challenged audiences with such productions as Crowns, Oo-Bla-Dee and Drowning Crow," said Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. "I'm thrilled to present her dynamic portrait of Madam C.J. Walker to Goodman audiences."
The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove received its world premiere production in 2004/2005 at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. For the Chicago premiere at the Goodman, Taylor has returned to the script to revisit the characters and revise the ending. Sarah Breedlove, the first freeborn child of emancipated slaves, had a mind for business and an aching for success. When her miracle hair salve not only won over the hearts and heads of African Americans in the United States, but also the heart of an astute businessman, "Madam C.J. Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower" took flight.
"Madam C.J. Walker changed the way people saw black women-and the way black women saw themselves in the early 1900s. The tragedy of Madam was that she ultimately couldn't see herself," said Taylor. "She said, 'I can make hair grow; I can't make love grow.' For as much as she had a vision for her race and women, she couldn't see what was right in front of her, her basic relationships with husband and daughter."
Regina Taylor is an artistic associate of Goodman Theatre, where her past credits include the world premiere of Oo-Bla-Dee (2000 American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award), Urban Zulu Mambo (an evening of plays by Adrienne Kennedy, Ntozake Shange, Suzan-Lori Parks and Kia Corthron), Drowning Crow and the award-winning Crowns (first produced at the McCarter Theatre and at Second Stage in New York), both written and directed by Taylor. Drowning Crow, her adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull, was produced on Broadway at Manhattan Theater Club's Biltmore Theater. Her other plays include Escape from Paradise, Watermelon Rinds, Inside the Belly of the Beast, Mudtracks and Love Poem #97. Taylor is currently the writer-in-residence at the Alliance Theatre, where she is working on the new play Magnolia, set during the beginning of desegregation in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1961. Taylor's acting credits include roles on and off-Broadway and at numerous regional theaters. Her film credits include Clockers, Losing Isaiah, Lean on Me, A Family Thing, Courage Under Fire with Denzel Washington and The Negotiator with Samuel L. Jackson. For her role as Lilly Harper on the television series I'll Fly Away, Ms. Taylor won an NAACP Image Award, was nominated for an Emmy Award and received the Golden Globe Award for best leading dramatic actress. Other television credits include Cora in Cora Unashamed for PBS's Masterpiece Theater American Collection, Judith Bryant on CBS's The Education of Max Bickford, FEDS, Law & Order, Crisis at Central High, The Howard Beach Story, Children of the Dust with Sidney Poitier and Strange Justice, a Showtime original film in which she portrayed Anita Hill. She currently portrays Molly Blane on CBS' The Unit, written by David Mamet.
Taylor's cast includes Chicago native L. Scott Caldwell (Sarah Breedlove), who makes her Goodman debut. She made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-nominated Home, and won a Tony Award for her performance in August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Last season, she received an Obie Award for her critically acclaimed performance in Lee Blessings' Going to St. Ives. Film credits include Gridiron Gang, The Fugitive, Dragonfly, Waiting to Exhale, Down Came a Blackbird and Soweto Green. Television credits include Queens Supreme and recurring roles on Judging Amy, E.R., City of Angels and Lost. Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Nola) returns to the Goodman stage after appearing in Trojan Women. Other Chicago credits include the title role in Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams at Victory Gardens; Will the Circle Be Unbroken as part of Steppenwolf's Traffic series, as well as their productions of Intimate Apparel, The Grapes of Wrath and Nomathemba and Race at Lookingglass. Film credits include Stranger than Fiction, Daughters of the Dust, Music Box, The Fugitive and The Second Voyage of the Mimi. Television credits include Prison Break, There are No Children Here and Crime of Innocence, for which she received an Emmy Award for best ensemble work. Bruce is a former Goodman Theatre artistic associate and currently heads the Dearborn Homes Youth Drama Workshop. Rolando Boyce (Freeman) returns to the Goodman after recently performing in Lobby Hero, for which he received a Black Theatre Alliance Award nomination for best featured actor. Other theater credits include Fences at Court Theatre; Topdog/Underdog at Madison Repertory; A Soldier's Play at Congo Square; 2 at Eclipse Theatre (Jeff nomination for best play); Unforgettable: The Story of Nat King Cole; and The Jackie Wilson Story with Black Ensemble Theatre in Washington, D.C. Libya Pugh (Mae) makes her Goodman debut in The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove. Other Chicago credits include The Bluest Eye and Wedding Band at Steppenwolf; The Piano Lesson and Mississippi Delta at Congo Square; For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf at Journeyman; Macbeth at Chicago Shakespeare; Looking for a Good Thing at ETA Creative Arts Foundation; and Amistad Voices at Chicago Theatre Company. Keith Randolph Smith (C.J. Walker) most recently appeared at the Goodman in Jitney, directed by Marion McClinton. His Broadway credits include Salome and August Wilson's King Hedley II and The Piano Lesson. Off-Broadway, he has been seen in Lynn Nottage's Fabulation Or, the Re-Education of Undine at Playwrights Horizon; Cheryl West's Holiday Heart at Manhattan Theatre Club and Wilson's Jitney at Second Stage. Other theater credits include The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Charles Smith's Les Trois Dumas at Indiana Repertory; Keith Glover's In Walks Ed at Cincinnati Playhouse; Wilson's Gem of the Ocean at McCarter Theatre and Jitney at the National Theatre in London. Film credits include Malcolm X, Girl 6, The Warrior Class, Dead Dogs Lie and Path to Paradise. Television credits include Law & Order, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Law & Order SVU and I'll Fly Away for NBC and The Cosby Show for CBS. Nikki E. Walker (A'lelia) makes her Goodman and Chicago debut in The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove. New York credits include the role of Ginger in Jamaica at the New York Theater; Sandra in Building a Popera in Starfish Theatreworks' production at Lincoln Center; Sandra in God, the Crackhouse and the Devil at La Mama Theatre; Kate in The Taming of the Shrew; and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing with New York Classical Theatre in Central Park.
The design team for The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove includes Scott Bradley (Set Design); Jacqueline Firkins (Costume Design); Scott Zielinski (Lighting Design) and Richard Woodbury (Sound Design).
Tickets are $20 to $65 and may be purchased online at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office, 170 North Dearborn Street, or charged by phoning 312.443.3800. See calendar below for specific dates, times and prices. Tix at Six are half-price tickets available day of performance, subject to availability. For groups of 10 or more, call 312.443.3820. The Goodman Theatre hosts "Theater Thursday" on June 22 from 6pm - 7pm (prior to 7:30pm curtain). The League of Chicago Theatre's "Theatre Thursday," one designated evening per production, features specially-priced tickets and a pre-show cocktail reception.
Special Events for The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove
Stage Door Series:
The Legacy of Madam C.J. Walker
Monday, June 19 at 7pm
Owen Theatre
$10 Subscribers/$15 General Public
In The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove, playwright and director Regina Taylor chronicles the story of America's first female millionaire, Madam C.J. Walker. The daughter of slaves, Walker (née Breedlove) built an empire by manufacturing and selling hair goods and preparations. She went on to become an important philanthropist and tireless advocate for civil rights. This discussion gathers together some of Chicago's top female and African American entrepreneurs to reflect on Walker's example, assess what progress has been made since her time and discuss what obstacles to success continue to exist.
Theatre Thursday
June 22, 6pm - 7pm (prior to 7:30pm curtain)
Tickets: $40, includes pre-show reception and performance
The League of Chicago Theatre's "Theatre Thursday," one designated evening per production, features specially-priced tickets and a pre-show cocktail reception with a special guest speaker.
American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of the Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the free Student Subscription Series. The Renaissance Hotel is the Exclusive Hotel of Goodman Theatre.
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May 16, 2006