Gee's Band

Northlight Theatre continues its 33rd season and its celebration of Artistic Director BJ Jones’ 10th Anniversary season with the Midwest premiere of Gee’s Bend, by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder. The production will run January 30 to March 9, 2008 at the Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

This epic yet intimate play spans more than sixty years, following the lives of Sadie Pettway and the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who sing hauntingly beautiful gospel melodies as they create magnificent- and now, world-famous hand-made quilts. Sadie emerges as both a great artist and greatly admired human being after a lifetime of abuse, racial indignities and the hardships that face the working poor. Inspired by a true story, this piece of Americana has already touched millions who witnessed the women’s stunning quilt work and riveting life stories through a national exhibition tour, through a series of U.S. postage stamps, and in Newsweek, House and Garden, and Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine.

“In choosing the third production of the season I wanted to find a work that examined the African American experience, and what we find in Gee’s Bend is also the Black artist’s experience,” comments Artistic Director BJ Jones. “The exquisite folk art created by the women of Gee’s Bend was born of necessity and carried forward with artistic inspiration- its imperative is unique and quite moving. Consider the life experience stitched into each item, the time and consideration spent in threading the scraps of material together, connecting patches of color and texture, the art mirroring the lives of its creators in subtle and nuanced ways.”

Playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder comments, “In the play, the women talk about ‘if you leave your door open for others, they’ll leave theirs open for you.’ This play was written because the women in this community left their door open and allowed me into their lives. I think we all need to be reminded of that these days. We live in a closed world. There is a universality that draws people into this story I think people see in Sadie a piece of who they are and perhaps a piece of who they want to be.”

Gee’s Bend runs January 30- March 9 and tickets range in price from $35-$55 and are available by phone, 847-673-6300 or online at www.northlight.org.