Thu 4/20-Sat 5/13
Cape Verdean-American playwright and Boston native Francisca Da Silveira earned writing degrees from New York University and the University of Edinburgh, and has had her plays produced all over the U.S. and Great Britain.
Her play can i touch it? debuted at the National New Play Network’s 2020 National Showcase of New Plays and is slated this year for a so-called “rolling world premiere” at theaters in Boston, Los Angeles — and Cleveland. This week it opens at Cleveland Public Theatre’s James Levin Theatre.
The plot summary reveals that “Shay Solomon’s got a lot going on between trying to find funding for her daughter to go to college, trying not to fire an opinionated rogue employee who happens to be her niece, and dealing with the white banker who’s trying to touch her hair — that is, her Black beauty supply store which is on the brink of foreclosure in the midst of ongoing neighborhood gentrification.”
The play is an often humorous take on the ins and outs of the Black hair-care industry as well as the issues faced by entrepreneurs dealing with business inequities and community gentrification.
There’s an art exhibition by Ryan Harris called Hairitage: Don’t Touch my Hair on view through the run of the show. And following the April 21 performance, theatergoers will have the opportunity to meet and hear from the playwright.
The play runs through May 13. There will be post-show discussions after All performances are “choose what you pay.” Go here for more information and tickets.