Imagine being haunted by four generations of ancestors, all during one sleepless night.   That's what lies behind Blue Door, acclaimed playwright Tanya Barfield's Pulitzer-Prize nominated journey through four generations of black history. 

Victory Gardens Theater will introduce local audiences to Barfield's work with its Chicago premiere of Blue Door, a riveting exploration of family and identity, sure to resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to live with - or escape - the past.  Veteran Chicago actor Bruce A. Young co-stars with Lindsay Smiling, who also is making his Chicago debut in a production directed by Victory Gardens Resident Director Andrea J. Dymond.    

In Blue Door, a soul-searching journey begins when Louis (Young), an African-American math professor, is left by his wife due to his reluctance to embrace his identity.  The night of their break, Louis is visited by the spirits of the insistent ghosts of his great-grandfather, his younger brother and others entwined in his life (each portrayed by Smiling), whose stories illuminate and guide his way.  

Encompassing more than a century of history on a very personal level, Blue Door is fueled by poetic riffs that define the past, and, according to the Los Angeles Times, "pose sharp questions and counter-questions on contemporary black identity."   The San Francisco Chronicle added "Barfield's dialogue, with its curiously muscular lyricism, is full of unexpected rewards - sly turns of phrase, choice metaphors and well chosen bits of African and African American lore (such as the significance of a blue door.")

Trained at Juilliard, and dubbed "one of the 21 Young Women to Watch for in the 21st Century" by Ms. Magazine, Barfield's play Blue Door was featured in American Theatre magazine and played to critical acclaim around the country as well as at Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe.  When asked by American Theatre about her use of musicality and humor in Blue Door, Barfield responded, "I did a lot of research until I felt I could write songs that were authentic to each period.  (And) humor is so important in the black community.  Humor and songs have both been major coping methods for oppression."

For tickets and more information, visit victorygardens.org.