Joomla! site syndication http://hattilootheatre.org Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:22:59 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://hattilootheatre.org/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://hattilootheatre.org Joomla! site syndication http://hattilootheatre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42 By Christopher Blank | The Commercial Appeal Ekundayo Bandele (left) as Stanley Kowalski, Krissi Cain as Stella Kowalski, and Bronzjuan Worthy as Blanche Dubois in the Hattiloo Theatre production of A Streetcar Named Desire . A typical performance of Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” involves the expectation of a classic American drama, done the traditional way, in front of a traditional audience. And by “traditional,” I mean “white.” Hattiloo Theatre, (http://www.hattilootheatre.org/) Memphis’ black repertory company, once again must be commended for giving audiences for its current production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” a new cultural perspective on a landmark script. Even if the show leaves the “traditional” folks in the theater a little surprised by the translation, it’s a production that can certainly generate a much needed discussion on how the lens of race and culture opens up a whole new can of interpretation. News - Latest Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:00:00 +0100 http://hattilootheatre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40 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. News - Latest Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0100 http://hattilootheatre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39 Hattiloo knocks a modern classic out of the park. By Chris Davis | The Memphis Flyer I possess a fairly reliable recipe for making an August Wilson play. To begin, you take Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and paint it black. Then you take the wholesome, all-American backyard setting of Miller's All My Sons, wreck it, and move it to the slums of Anytown, USA. Add a pinch of hope to brighten the corners of the bleakest family tragedies of the 20th century, then fold all these ingredients together with such densely imagistic language that even Shakespeare might be envious. Let it all simmer over a low heat for about three hours and applaud. Fences, which is currently getting a healthy workout at the Hattiloo Theatre, is just such an amalgamation of American theatrical styles and traditions. But when Wilson's prize-winning plays are well-cast and hitting on all cylinders, they can make you forget those out-of-date honkies to which he's so frequently compared. Steven Fox and T.C. Sharpe in Fences, playing at the Hattiloo Theatre News - Latest Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0100 http://hattilootheatre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29 By Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell | Tri-State Defender Hattiloo”…the very sound of it depicts the Southern flavor of the Black experience. And just as distinctive as its name is the concept behind the Hattiloo Theatre, a trendy and progressively styled theatre recreating the drama of classic stage favorites with contemporary original works of new American playwrights. News - Latest Wed, 17 Jan 2007 19:00:00 +0100 http://hattilootheatre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28 BY Marilyn Sadler | Memphis Magazine Burned out, lackadaisical. That's how Ekundayo Bandele describes himself after completing a yet-to-be-published novel last spring. But the New York native didn't turn off his cell phone and crawl under the covers. Instead, he took up a friend's challenge to launch a new theatre, one that would cross color lines. True, the Hattiloo Theatre includes Black Repertory in its name. That's because we want black people to feel welcome and comfortable, explains Bandele, who says that playgoers who attend Memphis' eight other venues are almost all white. And those have empty seats because they're not attracting 64 percent of the population. So we're starting a campaign to get African-Americans to the theatre. They're missing out on so much. As for drawing white playgoers, Bandele believes the quality of the shows will bring them out in force. News - Latest Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:00:00 +0100