My Thoughts on “Crowns”
2 Apr
I was contacted by David Dower, Associate Artistic Director at Arena Stage about the public dress rehearsal for Regina Taylor’s hit musical Crowns. Barely making it there after attending a lecture at the Smithsonian, I arrived a little after the show had started. (I’m not sure how the actors can concentrate with people coming in the door late at the Lincoln Theatre as the theatre doesn’t have a light lock – for that alone they get credit.)
The basic story line is that of a teenage girl Yolanda who is sent to live with her grandmother in South Carolina after her brother is tragically killed. She spends a lot of time with her grandmother and her friends who tell her stories of their lives and the importance of their hats, their crowns. And the hats, practically full-fledged characters, range from elegant to downright outrageous.
I thought it was interesting that only two of the actors had performed at Arena Stage before. As someone who does a lot of DC theatre, I see many of the same actors at the various theatre companies. Notable cast members for me were Marva Hicks who I remember from Cuttin’ Up and The Women of Brewster Place at Arena; NaTasha Yvette Williams who played Sofia in Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple on Broadway; and Howard University student, Zurin Villanueva who makes her professional theatre debut in Crowns.
The musical contains some powerful voices with some good gospel music. I did not arrive at the theatre in a good mood thanks to the rain, traffic and attempts to find parking, but somewhere in the middle I found myself singing out loud and clapping to the beat with the rest of the audience. I ran into several people after the rehearsal who had nothing but good things to say.
Crowns runs through April 26 at the Lincoln Theatre. Read more about Crowns and listen to samples of the music at http://arenastage.com/season/08-09/crowns.
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