TimeLine Theatre Company season continues with Trouble in Mind
TimeLine Theatre Company will continue its 2022-23 season this fall with Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind. The classic play will be directed by Ron OJ Parson and is scheduled to run from November 2 - December 18, 2022.
Trouble in Mind, written by the first Black woman to have a play professionally produced in New York City, is a funny and honest portrayal of the interracial politics that can often be difficult and emotional to navigate. The play highlights the importance of open and honest communication about race in order to create a more understanding and tolerant world.
The setting is the mid-1950s on a stage at a Broadway theater in New York City, where a group of actors has gathered for their first day to rehearse a new play called Chaos in Belleville, an anti-lynching Southern drama. But as the cast rehearses, tensions flare between Wiletta, the Black actress in the starring role, and her white director about his interpretation of the play.
Childress' groundbreaking drama recently enjoyed an acclaimed Broadway production that was nominated for four Tony Awards. The critics raved that her backstage satire of egos and attitudes is a "masterpiece of astonishing power," "the play of the moment," and "will take your breath away."
Under the direction of Parson, TimeLine's new production of Trouble in Mind in Chicago is bound to be a volatile discussion about equality, power, and how race is depicted in American theater. The cast features Shariba Rivers (she/her) as Wiletta Mayer, Tim Decker (he/him) as Al Manners, Charles Stransky (he/him) as Henry, Guy Van Swearingen (he/him) as Bill O'Wray, Tarina J. Bradshaw (she/her) as Millie Davis, Kenneth D. Johnson (he/him) as Sheldon Forrester, Jordan Ashley Grier (she/her) as Judy Sears, Vincent Jordan (he/him) as John Nevins, and Adam Shalzi (he/him) as Eddie Fenton.