Keith Randolph Smith. Photo by Lia Chang
Joniece Abbott-Pratt, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Keith Randolph Smith are currently starring in City Theatre’s Pittsburgh premiere of Sunset Baby in the Hamburg Studio Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, PA through December 13, 2015. The play is written by Dominique Morisseau and is directed by Jade King Carroll. Sunset Baby began preview performances on November 7th and opened on November 13th.
Keith Randolph-Smith and Joniece Abbott-Pratt in Sunset Baby. Photo by Kristi Jan Hoover
The New York Times called Sunset Baby “a smart and bracing new play about two generations of urban outlaws struggling to stay afloat.”
Joniece Abbott-Pratt and J. Alphonse Nicholson in Sunset Baby. Photo by Kristi Jan Hoover
The play follows Nina, a smart and sexy hustler who has rejected everything her parents fought for in the black liberation movement. When her estranged father wants to reconcile-but then tries to run a hustle of his own-negotiating her past and present becomes a revolutionary act. From one of the most exciting young voices in the American theatre, this dynamic new play about fathers and daughters sears with wit and wisdom and the brutal politics of freedom.
Jade King Carroll recently served as Associate Director of The Gin Game on Broadway, directed by Leonard Foglia and starring Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones. She will direct August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at the McCarter Theatre in January 2016.
Jimmy Keys and his wife 2015 Steinberg Playwright award winner Dominique Morisseau at the 2015 Steinberg Playwright Awards in New York on November 16, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
Dominique Morisseau is an alumna of the Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, Women’s Project Lab, and Lark Playwrights Workshop. Credits include: Skeleton Crew (Sundance; Lark Barebones); Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem/NBT); Sunset Baby (Gate Theater; LAByrinth Theater); Follow Me to Nellie’s (O’Neill; Premiere Stages). She has produced other original works with the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Penn State University, American Theatre of Harlem and The New Group. Her 3-play cycle, entitled The Detroit Projects includes Detroit ’67, Paradise Blue (developed with Voice and Vision, Hansberry Project, NYTW, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the Public Theater), and Skeleton Crew. Awards: Steinberg Playwright Award, Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, two-time NAACP Image Award, Primus Prize commendation, Stavis Playwriting Award, Spirit of Detroit Award, U of M Emerging Leader Award, Weissberger Award, PoNY Fellowship, Sky-Cooper New American Play Prize, and the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama.
The creative team includes Tony Ferrieri (scenic design),Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting design), Angela M. Vesco (costume design), Joe Pino (sound design), and Calleri Casting (casting).
New community partnerships for Sunset Baby include Kente Arts Alliance and Vibrant Pittsburgh. Partner 1Hood Media will host a post-show discussion, “What We Do for Love: Black Mothers & Their Daughters,” following the Wednesday, December 2 performance. City Theatre is also partnering with The Alumni Theatre Company and other youth groups to provide subsidized student tickets to select performances.
City Theatre offers special ticket pricing for persons under 30, seniors 62 and older, groups, and military families. Select shows offer pay-what-you-want pricing. For more information on tickets and the play, click HERE.
Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an award-winning filmmaker, a Best Actress nominee, a photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek, which will screen at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival on November 21st. She is profiled in Examiner.com, FebOne1960.com Blog, Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
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