Thu 1/9-Sun 1/26
The 1954 play The Amen Corner was written by the great 20th-century American author James Baldwin on the heels of his first major work, his semi-autobiographical novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain, published in 1953, which established his reputation. The Amen Corner deals with many of the wide range of issues that absorbed him including poverty, racism and, especially, the role of the church in the Black community — its conflicts, its shortcoming and its hypocrisy.
Akron’s Weathervane Playhouse is producing The Amen Corner this month, and it’s likely to be a compelling production given that its director is the nationally esteemed Cleveland-based Terrence Spivey, who arrived here to take over the reins of Karamu’s then moribund theater in 2003 and restored its former glory. Since leaving Karamu in 2016, he’s directed in multiple northeast Ohio theaters, as well as in Pennsylvania. Alabama, and recently at The Ohio State University, where he recently staged August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. He has a knack for putting together a strong cast and getting great performances from them.
The play opens with a previous on Thursday January 9 and runs through Sunday January 26. Go here for tickets.
weathervaneplayhouse.com/events/amen-corner
Akron, OH 44313