Trouble in Mind

A groundbreaking play by pioneering black playwright Alice Childress, Trouble in Mind examines race relations backstage during rehearsals of an integrated production destined for Broadway. It’s also the result of a collaboration between UW-Madison’s Department of Afro-American Studies and the Kathie Rasmussen Women’s Theatre, with a world-famous lighting designer, Kathy A. Perkins.

press release:

Performances: February 22 – March 9, 2019, at 8 pm Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 pm Sundays, plus 8 pm, 2/27.

Ticket Prices: $20 except Thrifty Thursdays ($15) and Wednesday (donate what you can).

Racism then and now. How different is it? Broadway, 1955. An integrated theater company gathers to rehearse a new play — likely the next big hit on the Great White Way. Wiletta, a veteran African-American actress, must choose between playing a once-in-a-lifetime lead role, and fighting for her principles, as her white refuses to consider objections to the play’s representations of African American lives. The play “is a semisatirical study of racism in the theater world that is a sometimes acrid backstage comedy, a frank look at mid-1950s social attitudes, and also a commentary on the discomfort between blacks and whites that remains relevant . . .” (The New York Times).

Call 608-661-9696 for reservations or more information. Buy Tickets!