Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company has announced an abbreviated 2014-15 season, kicking off in October with August Wilson’s "How I Learned What I Learned," co-conceived and directed by longtime Wilson collaborator Todd Kreidler.
Leon is currently preparing Kreidler's "Holler If Ya Hear Me," a musical inspired by the lyrics of the late Atlantan Tupac Shakur, for its Broadway premiere.
Here's the True Colors lineup (all shows presented at Southwest Arts Center) ...
Oct. 7-Nov. 2: "How I Learned What I Learned," written by Wilson, co-conceived and directed by Kreidler. In this solo show created and performed in 2003 at Seattle Repertory Theatre by Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright shares personal stories about his encounters with racism, music, love, a stint in jail, his first kiss, and life-changing friendships as a young poet in Pittsburgh's Hill District. Eugene Lee, a veteran of Wilson productions, plays the playwright.
Feb. 10-March 8, 2015: "Detroit '67," written by Dominique Morisseau, directed by Kamilah Forbes, artistic director of New York's Hi-Arts hip-hop theater troupe. In 1967 Detroit, Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning the basement of their late parents' house into an after-hours club. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives, the siblings clash over more than the family business. As their pent-up feelings erupt, so does the city around them, and they find themselves caught in the middle of Motor City riots.
July 7-Aug. 2, 2015: "Chasin' dem Blues," written and directed by Kevin Ramsey, a musical about the history of Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisc., in the 1910s. True Colors describes it at "a foot-stomping, multi-media musical celebration ... a storytellers' account of how a small Midwest town changed the landscapes of American music, and ushered in the sound of the early 20th century."
Tickets and subscriptions are available via 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com or www.truecolorstheatre.org.