twilight: los angeles, 1992
january 23 - february 22, 2015
By Anna Deavere Smith
Directed by Jason Gerace
Directed by Jason Gerace
synopsisAcclaimed playwright Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 captures fragments of an especially volatile moment in 20th-century U.S. racial politics. Some have used the term "L.A. riots" when referring to the direct aftermath of the acquittal of the officers who beat Rodney King. Others challenged that mainstream name for the explosive events and chose, instead, to call them rebellions, uprisings, or disturbances. Each name imagined a different story with different stakes. The L.A. uprisings became a flashpoint for conflicting perceptions of relationships between race, ethnicity, class, power, violence, and resistance. Directed by Jeff Award-winner Jason Gerace for Chicago's Chopin Theatre, Twilight's original one-woman production has been transformed into a play for multiple actors. Its vivid, verbatim, "documentary theater"-style dialogue introduces you to the many people Smith met while conducting interviews about the uprisings.
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the artistsPlaywright: Anna Deavere Smith
Director: Jason Gerace Scenic Design: Lizzie Bracken Costume Design: Brittany Dee Bodley Lighting Design: Brandon Wardell Sound Design: Phil Wooding Stage Manager: Shannon Golden Assistant Director: Lauren Vernea Casting Director: Noelle Humbert Dramaturg: Kelly Howe Dialect Coach: Jack Wallace |
the castMary Winn Heider, Leena Kurishingal, Tanya Thai McBride*, Carolyn Molloy, Danielle Pinnock, Toya Turner
Understudies: Ali Bailey, Maddie DePorter, Song Marshall, Rosa Reinemann, Hannah Toriumi, Lauren Vernea |
reviews
"The power behind Jason Gerace's stunning production comes across as one undeniable voice, one that needs to be heard by everyone."
-Chicago Theatre Review
"This is a must see show for people haunted by the fact that we live in a “morally tone-deaf society” and for lovers of good theater alike. And despite all the grimness and ache, there is a glimmer of hope: The Other Theater Company is now here to challenge us with the questions that refuse to go away."
-Chicago Stage Standard
"From every angle, Gerace orchestrates honest storytelling from his sublime cast."
-The Fourth Walsh
"The six-woman cast does what you might call a bang-up job under Jason Gerace's direction."
-Chicago Reader
"We need theater like this. This is the play to see if your fire is subsiding over the police shootings, the acquittals. What The Other Theater Co. has achieved here is more than poignant, it’s vital. A must see, not just for the excellent work put in, but for the passion and fervor it ignites within you."
-The Hawk Chicago
-Chicago Theatre Review
"This is a must see show for people haunted by the fact that we live in a “morally tone-deaf society” and for lovers of good theater alike. And despite all the grimness and ache, there is a glimmer of hope: The Other Theater Company is now here to challenge us with the questions that refuse to go away."
-Chicago Stage Standard
"From every angle, Gerace orchestrates honest storytelling from his sublime cast."
-The Fourth Walsh
"The six-woman cast does what you might call a bang-up job under Jason Gerace's direction."
-Chicago Reader
"We need theater like this. This is the play to see if your fire is subsiding over the police shootings, the acquittals. What The Other Theater Co. has achieved here is more than poignant, it’s vital. A must see, not just for the excellent work put in, but for the passion and fervor it ignites within you."
-The Hawk Chicago
