DRAMA
February 3 - 26, 2023
Purlie
Admission: $22+
Look Out World! Purlie is Back! When preacher Purlie comes to town, he brings with him all kinds of trouble, from conspiracy to deceit, along with other identity and love absurdities. A musical in the black tradition based on the original film by Ozzie Davis and starring himself and Ruby Dee.
Pure Life Theatre in the Historic Royal Bakery Building
3801 Hillsborough St. Suite 113, Raleigh NC 27607
(919) 839-9505
purelifetheatre.com
February 4, 2023 at 7:30 PM
A Walk in August
Free Admission
“A Walk in August” is a journey of self-reflection and friendship between Broadway actor, director, and educator James A. Williams and Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright August Wilson. Williams explores his life experiences mirrored with the many roles he has portrayed in Wilson’s plays. Wilson is best known for his series of ten plays, collectively called the “Pittsburgh Cycle,” which chronicles the experiences and heritage of the African American community in the 20th century. Wilson is considered by many as “theater’s poet of Black America.” Presented by the Carolina Theatre in conjunction with the Hayti Heritage Center.
Hayti Heritage Center
804 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701
carolinatheatre.org
February 7-12, 2023
Dreamgirls
Admission: $34.29+
Dreamgirls is about a time in American musical history when rhythm and blues blended with other styles of popular music to create a new American sound. Spanning from gospel, R&B, and smooth pop to the arrival of disco, this musical mirrors the glamorous and electrifying rise of groups like The Supremes, The Marvelettes, The Temptations and The Shirelles. Through exploring themes of ambition, hope and betrayal, Dreamgirls reveals the behind-the-scenes reality of the competitive entertainment industry, and how women not only survived but redefined the phenomenal “dream.” Dreamgirls was the winner of six 1982 Tony Awards, including Jennifer Holliday for Best Actress, and winner of the Academy Award for Jennifer Hudson.
North Carolina Theatre
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 East South Street, Raleigh
www.nctheatre.com
February 25 - 26, 2023
Omar
Admission: $10+
What does it mean to tell a story? How do we reckon with the gaps in our history? These questions animate the North Carolina premiere of Omar, an opera from Southern Futures at CPA Artist-in Residence Rhiannon Giddens and acclaimed composer Michael Abels. This sweeping new work draws inspiration from the 1831 autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, beginning long before the West African scholar was forced to board a ship bound for Charleston, South Carolina — the site of his initial enslavement. Pulling from a wealth of sources—including historical texts found in Carolina’s Louis Round Wilson Library--Omar tells a profound story of strength, resistance, and religious conviction in the face of harrowing circumstances. And, according to Giddens, it goes beyond a simple retelling to tackle issues that will resonate with a wide range of contemporary audiences.
Carolina Performing Arts
Memorial Hall
114 E Cameron Ave, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 843-3333
www.carolinaperformingart.org
March 1 - 19, 2023
They Do Not Know Harlem
Admission: $20+
Bear witness to an extraordinary, immersive performance by artist, dancer and storyteller Tristan André, who summons the spirit of James Baldwin in an excavation of a Black and queer life lived in a not always welcoming world.
PlayMakers Repertory Company
(919) 962-7529
120 Country Club Rd, Chapel Hill, NC
www.playmakersrep.org
April 14 - 16, 2023
Gershwin Porgy and Bess
Admission: $23.46+
The unlikely love of Porgy and Bess is challenged by both Crown and Sportin’ Life, but the real protagonists are the people of Charleston’s Catfish Row. Gershwin’s music indelibly tells their story in the great American opera.
NC Opera
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 E South Street, Raleigh, NC
(919) 792-3853
www.ncopera.org
April 22 - 30, 2023
The Color Purple
Admission: $35
A teenage Celie is torn from her beloved sister and forced into an abusive marriage. Over the next forty years, while Celie encounters repression, despair, and heartbreak, she also discovers hope in a group of friends who inspire her to find her voice, discover her beauty and change her life.
North Carolina Theatre
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 East South Street, Raleigh
www.nctheatre.com
May 12 - 21, 2023
The Face of Emmett Till
The Face of Emmett Till is a true-to-life dramatization of the death of 14-year old Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager who, while visiting relatives in Money, Miss., in August 1955, was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by two white men who claimed they wanted to teach him a lesson for “allegedly” whistling at a local white woman.
Pure Life Theatre
3801 Hillsborough St. Suite 100, Raleigh
www.purelifetheatre.com
June 23 - July 10, 2023
Crowns
A moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of history and identity as seen through the eyes of Yolanda, a young African-American woman who has been sent South to stay with her aunt after her brother is killed in a northern city. As strong women tell the stories of their lives through stories of their hats, Yolanda witnesses a tradition tracing back to African rituals and slavery and forward to the New Testament and contemporary fashion.
Agape Theatre Project
Durham Arts Council (June 23 – 25)
Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh (June 30 – July 10)
www.agapetheatreproect.org
February 3 - 26, 2023
Purlie
Admission: $22+
Look Out World! Purlie is Back! When preacher Purlie comes to town, he brings with him all kinds of trouble, from conspiracy to deceit, along with other identity and love absurdities. A musical in the black tradition based on the original film by Ozzie Davis and starring himself and Ruby Dee.
Pure Life Theatre in the Historic Royal Bakery Building
3801 Hillsborough St. Suite 113, Raleigh NC 27607
(919) 839-9505
purelifetheatre.com
February 4, 2023 at 7:30 PM
A Walk in August
Free Admission
“A Walk in August” is a journey of self-reflection and friendship between Broadway actor, director, and educator James A. Williams and Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright August Wilson. Williams explores his life experiences mirrored with the many roles he has portrayed in Wilson’s plays. Wilson is best known for his series of ten plays, collectively called the “Pittsburgh Cycle,” which chronicles the experiences and heritage of the African American community in the 20th century. Wilson is considered by many as “theater’s poet of Black America.” Presented by the Carolina Theatre in conjunction with the Hayti Heritage Center.
Hayti Heritage Center
804 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701
carolinatheatre.org
February 7-12, 2023
Dreamgirls
Admission: $34.29+
Dreamgirls is about a time in American musical history when rhythm and blues blended with other styles of popular music to create a new American sound. Spanning from gospel, R&B, and smooth pop to the arrival of disco, this musical mirrors the glamorous and electrifying rise of groups like The Supremes, The Marvelettes, The Temptations and The Shirelles. Through exploring themes of ambition, hope and betrayal, Dreamgirls reveals the behind-the-scenes reality of the competitive entertainment industry, and how women not only survived but redefined the phenomenal “dream.” Dreamgirls was the winner of six 1982 Tony Awards, including Jennifer Holliday for Best Actress, and winner of the Academy Award for Jennifer Hudson.
North Carolina Theatre
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 East South Street, Raleigh
www.nctheatre.com
February 25 - 26, 2023
Omar
Admission: $10+
What does it mean to tell a story? How do we reckon with the gaps in our history? These questions animate the North Carolina premiere of Omar, an opera from Southern Futures at CPA Artist-in Residence Rhiannon Giddens and acclaimed composer Michael Abels. This sweeping new work draws inspiration from the 1831 autobiography of Omar Ibn Said, beginning long before the West African scholar was forced to board a ship bound for Charleston, South Carolina — the site of his initial enslavement. Pulling from a wealth of sources—including historical texts found in Carolina’s Louis Round Wilson Library--Omar tells a profound story of strength, resistance, and religious conviction in the face of harrowing circumstances. And, according to Giddens, it goes beyond a simple retelling to tackle issues that will resonate with a wide range of contemporary audiences.
Carolina Performing Arts
Memorial Hall
114 E Cameron Ave, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 843-3333
www.carolinaperformingart.org
March 1 - 19, 2023
They Do Not Know Harlem
Admission: $20+
Bear witness to an extraordinary, immersive performance by artist, dancer and storyteller Tristan André, who summons the spirit of James Baldwin in an excavation of a Black and queer life lived in a not always welcoming world.
PlayMakers Repertory Company
(919) 962-7529
120 Country Club Rd, Chapel Hill, NC
www.playmakersrep.org
April 14 - 16, 2023
Gershwin Porgy and Bess
Admission: $23.46+
The unlikely love of Porgy and Bess is challenged by both Crown and Sportin’ Life, but the real protagonists are the people of Charleston’s Catfish Row. Gershwin’s music indelibly tells their story in the great American opera.
NC Opera
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 E South Street, Raleigh, NC
(919) 792-3853
www.ncopera.org
April 22 - 30, 2023
The Color Purple
Admission: $35
A teenage Celie is torn from her beloved sister and forced into an abusive marriage. Over the next forty years, while Celie encounters repression, despair, and heartbreak, she also discovers hope in a group of friends who inspire her to find her voice, discover her beauty and change her life.
North Carolina Theatre
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 East South Street, Raleigh
www.nctheatre.com
May 12 - 21, 2023
The Face of Emmett Till
The Face of Emmett Till is a true-to-life dramatization of the death of 14-year old Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager who, while visiting relatives in Money, Miss., in August 1955, was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by two white men who claimed they wanted to teach him a lesson for “allegedly” whistling at a local white woman.
Pure Life Theatre
3801 Hillsborough St. Suite 100, Raleigh
www.purelifetheatre.com
June 23 - July 10, 2023
Crowns
A moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of history and identity as seen through the eyes of Yolanda, a young African-American woman who has been sent South to stay with her aunt after her brother is killed in a northern city. As strong women tell the stories of their lives through stories of their hats, Yolanda witnesses a tradition tracing back to African rituals and slavery and forward to the New Testament and contemporary fashion.
Agape Theatre Project
Durham Arts Council (June 23 – 25)
Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh (June 30 – July 10)
www.agapetheatreproect.org