Agape Theatre Troupe
Presents
a Black History Month Event
Sunday, February 21st at 3:00 PM
Gee's Bend depicts the turbulent history of African-Americans in the
20th century by focusing on a single family in the real community of
Gee's Bend, Alabama, which is now famous for the beautiful quilts
created by the women who grew up there. Gospel songs and music of three
eras weave in and out of this hauntingly beautiful work.
Gee's Bend, Alabama, an isolated peninsula
on the Alabama River, is home to a unique community of former
African-American slaves who stitch stunning quilt patterns. The
quiltmakers inspired playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder to employ them
to tell their moving story in her one-act play, Gee’s Bend.
More than a
hundred years after their ancestors were first marched to this backwater
to work on a plantation, the Pettways, mama Alice and daughters Nella
and Sadie eke out a simple life rich in love and tradition. Alice wants
the best for her girls and strives to teach them reading, writing,
cooking and quilting.
Nella and
Sadie may be two peas from the same pod, but they couldn't be more
different when it comes to listening to mama. Nella dreams of moving to
Birmingham, marrying a rich man and settling down to a life of leisure;
she never learns to cook, write or quilt. Sadie works hard to educate
herself and keep the quilting tradition alive.
Alice
struggles with both girls, combating Nella's obstinacy and Sadie's
pliability, but it's Sadie who unites their tradition with change,
joining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement and
having her quilts exhibited at museums across the country.
The ensemble
morphs across 61 years of family history -- with an array of physical
and vocal techniques -- as gracefully as the script nurtures Gee's
Bend's abundant history and culture.
Wilder's
colorful language and characters, as well as her quintessential
distillation of the actual events make for a stirring experience.
“Gee's
Bend is a lovefest -- between the
characters in the play and the land they live on, between the actors and
the characters they're portraying, between the play and the audience.” -Orlando
Sentinel
"Touching,
lovely, and true." -Chicago
Sun-Times
Running
time: 1 HOUR, 40 MIN. NO INTERMISSION.
Produced by
special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
More information about Gee's Bend and the Gee's
Bend Quilters
