Who are you?

Whose are you?

And where did you come from?

These are some of the electrifying questions that Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous poses to Black women.

This is according to Dr. Lisa Collins, the cultural competency consultant for Portland Playhouse’s upcoming West Coast premiere of Pearl Cleage’s 2018 play. The Atlanta-based Cleage, one of the country’s foremost Black writers, challenges what it means to age gracefully in this all-female tribute to the presence of Black women in theatre—taking audiences of all backgrounds and identities on a lively ride along the way.

In Cleage’s play, Anna Campbell (Faith Lavon) is a former actress who drew headlines (and critics) with her controversial one-woman show Naked Wilson: at the peak of her career, she performed monologues of August Wilson—a playwright so revered he even has a theatre on Broadway named after him—in the nude. Campbell—and Cleage—have a bone to pick with America’s celebrated Black playwright, whose works are largely dominated by Black men who speak at length in center stage while Black women fill out the supporting roles. Now, out of work for years, Anna and her manager, Betty (Victoria Alvarez-Chacon), have been invited to a women’s theatre festival in Atlanta. But instead of her anticipated encore performance of Naked Wilson, she finds the producer Kate Hughes (Tyharra Cozier) has hired an adult entertainer named Precious “Pete” Watson (Ashlee Radney) to take on Campbell’s signature role.

At first, the actresses seem to have little in common. But when they set aside their differences, Anna and Pete—who fully embody the descriptive title of Cleage’s play—soon come to discover that they have much to learn from each other. Director Ramona Lisa Alexander says, “Pearl Cleage has said she wanted to capture the dialogue between older women, women talking honestly about aging in a culture obsessed with youth…. [we are seeking] the vulnerability in how we as women speak to one another when the veil comes off, when performing is no longer necessary.”

“Healing requires that we tell the truth gently,” Collins adds. “That we acknowledge the ways we were shaped by both care and harm. That we allow ourselves to grieve what we did not receive without losing reverence for where we came from.” Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous might be everything the title suggests, but it holds at its core this fundamental truth: ‘I get to heal and rise. It is not one or the other.’”

Cleage’s vision and Alexander’s direction are brought to life by Scenic Designer Thyra Hartshorn, Costume Designer Wanda Walden, Lighting Designer Al Knight-Blaine, Sound Designer Les Cleveland, Wig & Makeup Designer Tessa May, and Dramaturgs Nneka D. Coxeff and Pancho Savery.

Come get in touch with the ways we are all a little bit Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous at Portland Playhouse this February 11th through March 15th!