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Thursday, November 18, 2021
LaChanze Takes the Lead in Alice Childress’ Trouble in Mind
Playbill: When LaChanze walks onstage in the first few moments of Trouble in Mind, two things happen simultaneously. The first is a thunderous applause from audiences seeing the Tony winner (looking radiant in a gorgeous purple coat) in the spotlight. The second is a wide smile that grows grandly on the face of Wiletta, the character played by the Tony winner, as she arrives backstage for the first day of rehearsal, reveling in the splendor of the theatre she’s just entered before her castmates arrive.
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It's saddening to think that Alice Childress won't be able to see her production finally make it to the stage unfiltered. It's also frustrating that it took almost 70 years for her commentary to be accepted as true and poignant and important enough to be heard. The idea that these issues have existed for so long and have changed and been resolved so little is very telling of where priorities in our industry and society as a whole have been. A play that should have premiered on Broadway in the 50s still stirs and points to industry wide issues that exist in 2021. It's amazing that this commentary is finally being seen by an audience that will be receptive and feel the need to spark further change but it's crazy it took this long to get here. Hopefully they will find success in this production of Trouble in Mind and it will genuinely educate and force those watching to think about where we are in portraying black lives and their experiences and where we should be.
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