Until May 15th, The Wedding Band, a play by Alice Childress who lived her last years as a pioneer on Roosevelt Island, thrills audiences at The Theatre for a New Audience. Its theme informs topics today just as it did in its 1972 premiere.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Wedding Band by Alice Childress
The Wedding Band is about a couple who faces racism and disease. It is striking thematic play for our times, and it is showing now at The Theatre for a New Audience until May 15th.
The play is set in the deep south at the end of World War I during a flu epidemic. As interracial couples were frowned upon, the two must deal with family, community, and even deadly diseases as they struggle to stay together.
Written in 1966 by soon-to-be Roosevelt Island pioneer Alice Childress, this powerful drama has rarely been performed due to its raw and honest depiction of the struggles faced by interracial couples. But despite its difficult content, The Wedding Band is an incredibly engaging play that will keep you on the edge of your seat with each passing moment.
If you’re looking for a thought-provoking, insightful look at race relations and love in America, be sure to check out The Wedding Band at The Theatre for a New Audience. You won’t regret it!
Here’s a sample from Childress’s Trouble in Mind on stage, last year.
Who Was Alice Childress?
Alice Childress (October 12, 1916 – August 14, 1994) was an American playwright, novelist, actress and director.
When she was just a teenager, she started writing plays. Her first play was called Florence, and it had themes she pursued throughout her life.
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Childress moved to Harlem, New York City at the age of 12. She began acting in theater and performing poetry at an early age, and went on to study drama at New York University.
During her career, she wrote numerous plays, novels, and short stories, in addition to acting and directing for the stage. She was also active in the Civil Rights Movement, joining protests against discrimination both on and off the stage.
In her later years, Childress moved to Roosevelt Island, where she continued to write and direct plays. She died in 1994 at the age of 77. During her Roosevelt Island days, she lived in Westview, helped start the original Roosevelt Island Library, then on the first floor of her building, and mentored successful future actors like Michael Rogers.
Alice Childress was an incredibly talented writer and actress, and her work continues to inspire audiences today.
Other significant works by Alice Childress :
* Trouble in Mind
* A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich
* Wine in the Wilds
The Wedding Band runs until May 15th at The Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn, NY. For tickets and more information, visit TFANA.org.
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What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
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