By Jon W. Sparks | Special to The Commercial Appeal
Ekundayo Bandele's small theater is growing to be as big as the community.
The playwright, novelist and nonstop thinker founded the Hattiloo
Theatre and has immersed himself as the executive
Mark Weber / The Commercial Appeal files
Ekundayo Bandele
and artistic director
of the black repertory theater. It opened its doors in March 2006 with
support from a cross-section of the community, including art
professionals, volunteers and donors that include the Jeniam
Foundation, the Hyde Family Foundations and the Turley Foundation.
The enterprise has brought a variety of multicultural programming to
the stage. This year alone it has produced "Macbeth," Darius Wallace in
"The Starry Road To Freedom," "Topdog/Underdog," "From the Mississippi
Delta," a revival of its 2007 production of the musical "Mahalia,"
August Wilson's "Fences" and the current Christmas production of "If
Scrooge Was a Brother" that runs through Jan. 4.