Press Release

 

American Express Corporation Presents Triad Stage’s Musical Journey Black Pearl Sings!, January 25 – February 15, 2009

 

(Greensboro, NC) — Triad Stage continues its 2008-2009 “Season of Spirit” with Black Pearl Sings!, a resonant exploration of song, race and culture in America by Frank Higgins. The song is the story. In the midst of the Great Depression, Susannah Mullally travels the country, recording lost traditional songs for the Library of Congress. Hoping to find the one song that will bring her long-awaited recognition, she discovers Pearl Johnson in a Texas prison. With a soulful voice and a wealth of African-American spiritual songs, Pearl seeks information and a chance at freedom. Now each woman must decide how much of herself she is willing to give to get what she wants in return. Black Pearl Sings! runs January 25 through February 15, 2009. Opening Night is Thursday, January 29.

Black Pearl Sings! is a new drama by Kansas City playwright Frank Higgins and is based on a real event. “I had it in the back of my mind for several years to write a play about Lead Belly [Huddie William Ledbetter] and his 1933 ‘discovery’ in a Louisiana prison by the song collector John Lomax. Though their story was interesting, it didn’t have quite as many fireworks as an audience might want for a play.” Higgins found his dramatic inspiration one day while watching the documentary The Language You Cry In. The film tells the story of a song with apparent nonsense syllables that was captured in a field recording in Georgia in the 1930s. Decades later, an African scholar heard the recording and believed the song contained remnants of words from the Mende language in present day Sierra Leone. The documentary goes on to detail the discovery of a village in Africa where one woman still remembers the song.

Higgins wrote his title character, Alberta “Pearl” Johnson, to be a descendent of slaves who was raised on a small island off the South Carolina coast where she became a living library of long forgotten folk songs. He continues, “It occurred to me that the presence of an African song that came to America on the slave ships was somehow what I had been looking for all along. That piece of the musical puzzle was missing from the Lead Belly/Lomax story. I changed the two characters from two real-life men to two fictional women so the audience could be freed from mere biography, and from that point on, the play seemed to take off.”

Black Pearl Sings! was part of the Barter Theatre 2007 Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, and received its first full production at Houston’s Stages Repertory Theatre, where it received rave reviews.

Frank Higgins is the author of The Sweet By ‘n’ By, which was produced with Blythe Danner and Gwyneth Paltrow. His play Gunplay has been produced across the country and had several scenes read on Capitol Hill prior to Congress’s passage of the Brady Bill. His other plays include: Miracles, WMKS: Where Music Kills Sorrow, The Taste Test, Never Say Die, The Slave Dancer’s Choice and Anansi the Spider and The Middle Passage. He is also the author of The Country of the Blind, an adaptation of the short story by H.G. Wells. Mr. Higgins teaches at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The Triad Stage production of Black Pearl Sings! is directed by Benny Sato Ambush, a veteran director with credits from numerous regional theaters around the country who previously helmed 2006’s “Master Harold”…and the boys. The talented cast includes Bernadette Quigley as Susannah Mullally and Cherene Snow as Alberta “Pearl” Johnson. The creative team includes: scenic designer Robin Vest (Bell, Book and Candle; The Diary of Anne Frank; Brother Wolf), costume designer Kelsey Hunt (over 15 Triad Stage productions), lighting designer John Wolf (over 20 Triad Stage productions), sound designer Gèneva B. Conaway Bennison (Doubt and Bell, Book and Candle) and music director Laurelyn Dossett (Brother Wolf, Beautiful Star and Bloody Blackbeard). The dramaturg is Drew Barker and the stage manager is Eric Tysinger.  

Biographies for the cast and creative team, and more information on the production can be found online at www.triadstage.org.

Tickets for preview performances of Black Pearl Sings!, on January 25, 27 and 28 are all $16 each. From Opening Night, January 29, single ticket prices range from $10 to $42. Prices vary depending on the day of the week and seat location desired.

All performances are at Triad Stage at The Pyrle Theater, located at 232 South Elm Street in historic downtown Greensboro, North Carolina (between Market and Washington Streets).

Show times for Black Pearl Sings! are 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and 8:00 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings. Sunday matinees are at 2:00 pm. There are no matinee performances during previews. Pay-What-You-Can performances are Sunday, February 1, and Tuesday, February 3, at 7:30 pm. Wine Tasting Friday is January 30, prior to the evening’s 8:00 pm performance. A Sign-Interpreted performance is on Tuesday, February 10, at 7:30 pm, with services provided by the Greensboro Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Technically Talking,a behind-the-scenes discussion with playwright Frank Higgins and members of the design team is Tuesday, January 27, immediately following the 7:30 pm preview performance. The InSight Series, the free humanities program that brings a noted speaker to the Triad to discuss the world of the play and its subject matter, will be held Sunday, February 1, immediately following the 2:00 pm matinee performance. PostScript, a lively, open discussion with members of the cast, will be held Thursday, February 5, immediately following the 7:30 pm performance.

About Triad Stage
Triad Stage is a professional not-for-profit regional theatre company based in Greensboro’s downtown historic district. All Triad Stage productions are created in Greensboro using the best of local and national talent. Triad Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of its Season Sponsors: Mitre Agency, the North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The Starring Sponsor of Black Pearl Sings! is American Express Corporation.

Triad Stage’s 2008-2009 MainStage “Season of Spirit” continues with Ghosts, a shocking exposé by Henrik Ibsen, in a world-premiere adaptation by Preston Lane (March 15 – April 5, 2009); The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead, a new comedic thrill ride by Robert Hewett (April 26 – May 17, 2009); and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a counter-culture masterpiece by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey (June 7 – July 5, 2009). Triad Stage also presents theatrical productions in its new UpStage Cabaret with Mad at Miles, a blackwoman’s guide to truth by Pearl Cleage (February 12 – March 7, 2009); and Shakespeare’s R&J, an awakening of youth by Joe Calarco (April 9 – May 2, 2009).

All Triad Stage productions feature the bold acting and breathtaking design that have been nationally recognized by The Wall Street Journal and haveearned the theatre accolades including “One of the Best Regional Theatres in America”, New York’s Drama League; “Best Live Theater”, Go Triad/News & Record and The Rhinoceros Times; and “Professional Theater of the Year”, North Carolina Theatre Conference. 

To purchase tickets or for performance information on Black Pearl Sings!, call the Triad Stage Box Office at 336.272.0160 or toll-free at 866.579.TIXX (8499), or visit www.triadstage.org.

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CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:

Triad Stage presents
Black Pearl Sings!
A Musical Journey
by Frank Higgins
January 25 – February 15, 2009

Performed at the Pyrle Theater
232 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401

The song is the story. In the midst of the Great Depression, Susannah Mullally travels the country, recording lost traditional songs for the Library of Congress. Hoping to find the one song that will bring her long-awaited recognition, she discovers Pearl Johnson in a Texas prison. With a soulful voice and a wealth of African-American spiritual songs, Pearl seeks information and a chance at freedom. Now each woman must decide how much of herself she is willing to give to get what she wants in return.

 

For tickets:
Phone: (336) 272-0160
Toll-free: (866) 579-TIXX (8499)
Box Office hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Online: www.triadstage.org
Ticket prices: $10 – $42, depending on performance date and seat location

Group tickets:
Call (336) 274-0067 ext. 218
Email: groupsales@triadstage.org
Ticket discounts: Groups of 10 – 49, 15% off; Groups of 50+, 20% off

Valentine’s Day “2 for 1” Ticket Special:
Area sweethearts can purchase two tickets for the price of one on a limited number of seats to the Saturday, February 14 8:00 pm performance. Subject to availability. Some restrictions apply.
Call: (336) 272-0160 or toll-free (866) 579-TIXX (Mon – Fri, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Ticket prices: $30 – $42 for two tickets, depending on seat location

Educators’ 20% discount tickets:
Current school teachers and professors receive a 20% discount off regular price tickets to all performances. Must present valid school employee ID or proof of employment to Box Office when picking up tickets. Subject to availability. Some restrictions apply.
Call: (336) 272-0160 or toll-free (866) 579-TIXX (Mon – Fri, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Ticket prices: $8 – $33.60, depending on performance date and seat location

$8 Student Rush tickets:
Current students with valid school ID may purchase tickets for $8. Student Rush tickets are only available at the Triad Stage Box Office one hour before each performance. Subject to availability. Some restrictions apply.
Available at the Box Office for walk-up sales. (Performance days: Sunday, Tuesday – Thursday, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Sunday matinees 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)

$10 Gallery Seats:
A limited number of $10 general admission gallery seats are available for each performance.
Call: (336) 272-0160 or toll-free (866) 579-TIXX (Mon – Fri, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Also available at the Box Office for walk-up sales.

Black Pearl Sings! Performance dates:
Sunday, January 25 7:30 p.m.  1st Preview  
Tuesday, January 27 7:30 p.m.  Preview/“Technically Talking” post-show discussion with playwright Frank Higgins and the creative team
Wednesday, January 28 7:30 p.m.  Preview  
Thursday, January 29 7:30 p.m.  Opening Night with free pre-show lobby party
Friday, January 30 8:00 p.m.  “Wine Tasting” pre-show event
Saturday, January 31 8:00 p.m.  Theatre Club pre-show event
Sunday, February 1 2:00 p.m.  “InSight Series” post-show discussion
Sunday, February 1 7:30 p.m.  “Pay-What-You-Can” performance
Tuesday, February 3 7:30 p.m.  “Pay-What-You-Can” performance
Wednesday, February 4 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 5 7:30 p.m.  “PostScript” post-show discussion with the cast
Friday, February 6 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 7 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 8 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 8 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 10 7:30 p.m.  Sign-interpreted performance
Wednesday, February 11 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 12 7:30 p.m. 
Friday, February 13 8:00 p.m.  
Saturday, February 14 8:00 p.m. Valentine’s Day “2 for 1” Ticket Special
Sunday, February 15 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 15 7:30 p.m. Closing performance