Mr. Joy
By Daniel Beaty
October 1 to 3, 2020 at 7:30PM
Starring Debra Walton ArtsEmerson presented by Central Square Theater
What happened to Mr. Joy? A Harlem community is shaken when Mr. Joy, a Chinese immigrant whose shoe repair shop has been a neighborhood pillar for decades, is the victim of an attack. Through the lens of Mr. Joy’s customers, from the bubbly eleven-year-old Clarissa to the sincere and savvy “gangsta granny” Bessie, we learn the profound yet unassuming impact the shop owner has had on each of their lives. Mr. Joy is a moving reflection on transforming pain into power through a virtuosic performance by Debra Walton.
This production is subject to the approval of Actors’ Equity Association’s (AEA) requirements for the COVID-19 pandemic. AEA is the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
Reservations will be available on Monday, September 21.
Nina Simone & Hip-Hop Created and Produced by Valerie Stephens August 21 & 22 at 8PM Presented by Central Square Theater
Nina Simone earned her title of the High Priestess of Soul with songs spanning jazz, folk, R&B and gospel. A civil rights activist, she said “An artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” And today, she is one of the most sampled artists in hip-hop. The Project Artists’ Ensemble includes Valerie Stephens (vocals), Art Collins (spoken word), Yuki Monolog Kanesaka (keyboards, turntable beats), Zayra Pola Ocasio (drums), and Daniel Day (bass).
Judy Punches Back
written, directed, and performed by Sarah Nolen, Puppet Showplace Theater
August 13 & August 14 at at 8PM at Starlight Square Puppet Showplace Theater presented by Central Square Theater
After being pushed around for over 400 years, the famous hand puppet heroine Judy has had enough! Cheer her on as she goes on a quest for respect, justice, and a well-deserved nap. Puppeteer Sarah Nolen delivers an astonishing one-woman performance in this modern feminist interpretation of the traditional “Punch and Judy” puppet show. Audiences young and old will laugh, cry, yell, and gasp in response to this highly-interactive, hilarious, hand-crafted farce.
On April 21, we had hoped to gather with you for our Spring Gala to celebrate Central Square Theater and YOU. While our stages must be dark during this unsettling time, we continue to create theater and education programming that will change our perspectives, and move us to action — now and through the coming year.
Join us everyday through Sunday for new performances with guest appearances, songs to make you joyful and programs to inspire you. There is much to do. And, with your help – we can do it.
Ulysses Lincoln, a Gulf War veteran lost at sea and presumed dead, fights to find his way back home to his wife and son. The meddlesome Gods, Great Grand Daddy Deus and Great Grand Paw Sidin have other plans in mind as they battle for control of Ulysses’ fate. Presented in October 2017 in the God’s Closet Reading Series by The Front Porch Arts Collective, black odyssey melds together Greek mythology, African-American oral history and music in this visionary new take on Homer’s classic tale.
Come see the beautiful quilts created by Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth, now featured in the Central Square Theater lobby. SISJBTC have exhibited their work in galleries, colleges, churches, and craft shows thoughout New England, and we are thankful to have them on view at CST through the run of black odyssey boston, closing May 19.
“The Guild meets every third Saturday of each month at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Arlington to sew, share ideas and techniques and to celebrate our love of quilting. SISJBTC guild members reside in the greater Boston area, Southshore, Metrowest including Springfield and Worcester. We are joined together by our shared experience in quilting which focuses on the African American group’s perspective.
The art of quilting has traveled across oceans, survived 400 years of slavery and has been carried down by generations of our family and friends. Now it’s up to us to keep the tradition going and to pass it along. Over the centuries, we of African descent have joined together to make quilts as a way of sharing our joys, sorrows, traditions and to celebrate our history. Quilting connects us to our ancestry, preserves our memories and gives us a way to connect with generations to come. Sisters In Stitches Joined by the Cloth celebrates our heritage and reinforces the link that binds us to our collective history and is our way of contributing and participating in our traditions.”
Debra Walton. Photo: Randall Garnick.
ppened to Mr. Joy? A Harlem community is shaken when Mr. Joy, a Chinese immigrant whose shoe repair shop has been a neighborhood pillar for decades, is the victim of an attack. Through the lens of Mr. Joy’s customers, from the bubbly eleven-year-old Clarissa to the sincere and savvy “gangsta granny” Bessie, we learn the profound yet unassuming impact the shop owner has had on each of their lives. Mr. Joy is a moving reflection on transforming pain into power through a virtuosic performance by Debra Walton.
The Artists of Nina Simone & Hip Hop
Sarah Nolen with puppets
Brandon G. Green & Johnny Lee Davenport. Photo: Nile Scott Studios. Design: Bird Graphics.
