Aurora Theatre Company opens its 19th season with Alice Childress' vibrant, humorous, and heartbreaking look at racism through the lens of the theater, TROUBLE IN MIND. Set during the early years of the Civil Rights movement, this disconcerting yet disarmingly funny look at the inequalities of American life in the 1950's highlights the half-truths we tell ourselves about race relations and societal progress in America. More than 40 years after it was written, TROUBLE IN MIND, according to The New York Times, "still has the power to make one feel its anger and humor."
TROUBLE IN MIND follows a cast of black and white actors attempting to mount a production of a "progressive" new play. The play-within-the-play, entitled Chaos in Belleville, an anti-lynching drama set in the South, written by a white writer and directed by a white director, marks the first opportunity for Wiletta Mayer, a gifted African American actress, to play a leading lady on Broadway. But what compromises must she make to succeed? Robin Stanton (Speech & Debate, Betrayed, Permanent Collection) directs this play about race, identity, and opportunity, featuring Bay Area favorite Margo Hall in her Aurora Theatre Company debut.
DATES: Previews: August 20, 21, 24, and 25 at 8pm; August 22 at 2pm
Opens: August 26, 2010
Closes: September 26
SHOWS: Tuesdays at 7pm; Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 2pm and 7pm
WHERE: Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
TICKETS: For single tickets ($34-$55) or subscriptions ($145-$235), the public can call
(510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. Discounts for students, seniors, and groups available.
Aurora Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges Associate Sponsors Gail and Bob Hetler for their support.
Aurora Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the following foundations and government agencies for their support: Actors' Equity Foundation, Alameda County Arts Commission, Berkeley Civic Arts Program & Civic Arts Commission, Dramatists Guild Fund, The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Koret Foundation, Norway House Foundation, Bernard Osher Foundation, The Kenneth Rainin Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, The Tournesol Project, The Wood Foundation, and The Zellerbach Family Foundation.
