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| Tina Fabrique, who portrays the matriarch Mother Shaw in ‘Crowns,’ performs
while surrounded by the ensemble cast of this spirited play at Arena Stage’s
Kreeger Theatre about the history of hats among many black churchgoing women.
(Photo courtesy of Arena Stage)
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‘Crowns’
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth Street, SW
202-554-9066
www.arenastage.org
Through Feb. 22 |
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HOME > ENTERTAINMENT > THEATER
By: PATRICK FOLLIARD COMMENTS
LIKE ME, YOU have no doubt noticed with admiration, the sartorial effort — particularly
in the millinery department — made by many black women when they head out
for church services on Sunday morning. In boaters, cloches, derbies, and cartwheels,
ostrich feathers, sequins, bows, and veils, the church ladies elegantly carry
off a fashion statement that, for the most part, has been abandoned by the majority
of other devotees of style.
Through “Crowns,” a soulfully inspiring and spirited musical play
written and directed by Regina Taylor (best known as Lilly Harper on television’s “I’ll
Fly Away”), the important tradition of these hats and the character of
some of the strong ladies who wear them is revealed nightly in a rousing production
at Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theatre.
The show is adapted from Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry’s book,
also titled “Crowns.” Inspired by the authors’ mothers, the
book brings together black and white portraits of hat-wearing black women alongside
interviews featuring memories and philosophies on why wearing a hat to Sunday
worship is socially, culturally and — biblically — the right thing
to do.
On stage, “Crowns” is structured around the Sunday experience
of the average churchgoing black woman. Taylor describes “Crowns” as “a
gospel music driven piece … a crazy quilt of music and movement and storytelling
that takes us through the rituals of a Sunday in the South with characters
breaking out of the framework to deliver ‘arias,’ direct addresses
to the audience that may start in the Sunday church service but jump off into
memories of life experiences in different times and different places.”
The plot revolves around Yolanda, an out-of-control Brooklyn teen. After her
brother Teddy is gunned down, her mother sends her down South to live with
her grandmother. It’s through listening to hat stories told by her grandmother
and the other “hat queens” that Yolanda, sporting her brother’s
red baseball cap backwards, reluctantly learns a sense of tradition among black
women without losing her individuality.
WHETHER IT’S THE story about the blind woman who raised eight kids and
always wore a hat to church, or the one about the proud young woman who buys
an expensive hat in a store that was previously whites-only, Yolanda hears
tales about proud women striving against adversity and succeeding.
But make no mistake, “Crowns” isn’t all about saints and
drudges. One character half-jokingly says, “I’d lend my children
before I lend my hat. My children know their way home.” Another woman
owns so many hats it’s causing trouble in her marriage. She tells her
husband that the hats aren’t going.
“Crowns” features a cast of seven with talent, energy, and panache
to spare. Desire DuBose beautifully portrays Yolanda’s journey from a
reckless rebel to a young woman with a purpose.
As Mother Shaw, Tina Fabrique is the matriarch, stalwart and wise. Gail Grate
plays Wanda, a woman who prides herself on what constitutes a proper topper.
Lynda Gravatt is Mabel, the preacher’s wife, who won’t let a new
hat stop her from vigorously praising the Lord. Local favorite Bernadine Mitchell
playfully portrays Velma. And Karan Kendrick is Jeanette, the youngest of the
church ladies.
John Steven Crowley portrays the various men in the ladies’ lives. At
different times, he is rascally, stern, or simply poignant.
Costume designer Emilio Sosa’s hats are all fabulous. Ranging from a
fox fur heirloom to a towering, glittery showstopper, his collection of beautiful
crowns allows for all this fuss over hats to make perfect sense.
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