Page 2
March 1, 2000
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Blues for an Alabama Sky Tackles
B h ,,,; m .„„„ HQmQggxuaijty, Abortion and Racism
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T he P ortland O bserver
Blues fo r an Alabama Sky. by
aw ard-w inning playw right and
novelist Pearl Cleage, plays at
PORTLAND CENTER STAGE
th ro u g h S atu rd ay , M arch 18.
Performances will be taking place
in the graceful Newark Theater at
the Portland Center for Performing
Arts, 1111 SW. Broadway at Main.
Tickets range from $10-$39; box
office: 503/274-6588; group sales:
5 0 3 /2 7 4 -6 5 9 8 .
G eneral
inform ation: 503/248-6309 or
www.pcs.org. Corporate sponsors
for this dynamic production, with
issues relevant ot Black History
Month as well as W omen’s History
M onth, are W ells Fargo and
Pacificorp Foundation.
Talk Back, a post-perform ance
opportunity to discuss the play with
the cast, Tuesday, March 7, Sunday
March 12 and Thursdays, March 2,
9 & 16; and G allery T alk, a
backstage view from a member o f
the company, Wednesday, March
15.
Director Jackie Moscou comments,
“ P earl C leag e has c re a te d a
powerfully emotional story with
characters rich in their ideas and
passions and com plex in their
diversity and needs.” Set in the
summer o f 1930, Blues fo r an
Alabama Sky resonates with issues
- such as homosexuality, abortion
and racism - w hich rem ain
unresolved in the winter o f 2000.
These issues are played out in the
everyday lives o f the playwright’s
fully draw n c h a ra c te rs, G uy
(Tim othy McCuen Piggee), an
openly gay costume designer for
the Cotton Club; Angel (Cynthia
Jones), a free-spirited blues and jazz
singer; Delia (Tania Richard), an
earnest crusader for birth control;
Sam (Eddie A ldridge), a well-
re sp e c te d
but
h ig h -liv in g
obstetrician; and Leland (Adrian
B eth ea), a w e ll-m e a n in g but
ignorant new com er from back
home.
T h is tig h t k n it gro u p o f
interdependent friends finds itself
in a difficult period of transition as
the glory o f Harlem Renaissance
fades and the cold reality o f the
Great Depression begins to affect
each o f them in profound, life­
changing ways. People fall in and
out o f love, jobs are lost and gained,
violence and death taint their lives.
The action unfolds in real-time
meetings, misunderstandings and
conflicts among Cleage’s complex
characters as well as their lively
off-stage interactions w ith the
leading lights o f the day such as
Guy (Timothy McCuen Piggee) and Angel ( Cynthia Jones) in the 2000
Portland Center Stage produuction o f Blues for an Alabama Sky
Featuring Famous Cajun Flavor!
(Please see 'A la b a m a ' page 8)
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1 « The Portland Obeerver
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