Constant Star at Hartford Stage
Ida B. Wells (photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Library)
The fourth production of Hartford Stage's 2001-02 American Season, the New England premiere of Constant Star, a new play with music written and directed by Tazewell Thompson, opens on April 20. This powerful bio-drama is a bold look at the life of civil rights pioneer, suffragette and outspoken activist Ida B. Wells. Thompson creates a dynamic examination of the life of this often overlooked African-American leader in a production filled with classic Negro spirituals sung by five actresses who portray Wells in different times and situations.
Over 70 years before Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on the bus, Ida B. Wells was a passionate, fiery champion of equality for women and black Americans. The daughter of freed slaves, Wells was a newspaper editor and publisher, co-founder of the NAACP, mother, wife, and the single most powerful leader in the anti-lynching campaign in America. Her outspoken nature, tenacious spirit and refusal to assimilate often put her at odds with other leaders of her day, including Susan B. Anthony, Booker T. Washington and President William McKinley.
Playwright Thompson states, "She was a seminal figure in Post-Reconstruction America. Yet her formidable contributions to the Civil Rights movement have until most recently been under-appreciated. My play with song is an answer to her insistent promptings." The Washington Post states that the writer-director paints "a crowd-pleasing portrait of the tart-tongued Wells." Variety raved, "Thanks to both its historical heft and its unfamiliarity, the life story of Ida B. Wells is a gripping and sturdy topic for Tazewell Thompson's stirring new bio-drama with music."
To encapsulate the many facets of this dynamic and controversial figure, five actresses play Wells in various ages and circumstances—Tina Fabrique, Cheryl Freeman, Janeece A. Freeman, Gail Grate and Shona Tucker. Tina Fabrique has appeared on Broadway in Ragtime, Savion Glover's Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and appeared at Hartford Stage in Spunk opposite Keb'Mo and LaChanze. Cheryl Freeman is the recipient of nominations for both the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critic's Circle Award for The Civil War. She appeared to great acclaim on Broadway in Play On! and created the role of the Acid Queen in The Who's Tommy. Gail Grate's theatre credits include appearances on Broadway in The Kentucky Cycle and A Month in the Country. She has appeared at the Kennedy Center and at New York's Public Theatre in world premiere productions of Suzan Lori-Parks' In the Blood. Shona Tucker has appeared in six previous productions directed by Tazewell Thompson, including Having Our Say and Ma Rose. She has performed in many of America's foremost regional theatres, including Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville and ACT-San Francisco. Joining this cast of Constant Star veterans is Janeece A. Freeman, who has appeared in New York productions of the musicals Warm and Tragedy in South Central.
Constant Star begins previews on Saturday, April 20 and runs until Sunday, May 19 with performances on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Matinees will be held on selected weekdays at 2 p.m. and on selected weekends at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $22-$60 and can be ordered by calling the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151, or by visiting <www.hartfordstage.org.>
Hartford Stage is located at 50 Church St. in downtown Hartford and is easily accessible from I-84 and I-91. Secure parking is available directly adjacent to the theatre in the MAT Garage.
