Two areal theater groups are premiering original pieces in the Lehigh Valley region.<\/p>\n
Touchstone Theatre presents \u201cLanguage of Dolls,\u201d March 5 to March 8 in the Soutside Bethlehem theater.<\/p>\n
Truth and Light Media Productions, started by five singing siblings from Forks Township, will stage \u201cSteel Hearts: The John Henry Musical,\u201d March 6 to March 8 at Shawnee Playhouse, Shawnee on Delaware, Smithfield Township, Monroe County.<\/p>\n
\u201cLanguage of Dolls\u201d is part of Touchstone\u2019s \u201cUnBound Year-Round,\u201d its year-long reframing of \u201cFestival Unbound.\u201d<\/p>\n
In \u201cLanguage of Dolls,\u201d written and performed by Lizzie Olesker, Peggy Pettitt and Louise Smith, three lifelong friends engage in conversations about identity and race, sparked by the discovery of a box of dolls.<\/p>\n
In the play, three older women stay at a cabin in the woods to re-connect. There, they discover of an old box of dolls. Their findings spark difficult, highly-charged conversations that open new and unexpected terrain, including exploration of American history.<\/p>\n
Over the course of one night, the three women eat, laugh, argue, dance, dream and share their unexpected stories. They question how their racial and social identities were formed, and how their personal histories have been shaped and influenced. This culminates in the discovery of each of their inner \u201csoul\u201d dolls, revealing a part of themselves they may have forgotten or perhaps never known. Through their connected encounter with one another, they find the restorative power of friendship and its true ability to transform.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter forty-plus years of knowing one another, we intentionally began a dialogue about our identities as one Black woman and two white women,\u201d says Pettitt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2022, we saw the exhibit \u2018Black Dolls\u2019 at the New York Historical and it profoundly affected the direction of our work,\u201d Pettitt says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dolls on display haunted and spoke to us in their silent presence. Their hidden histories inspired us to create our own \u2018soul dolls\u2019 from found materials, discovering how each one possesses their own language of poetic possibility,\u201d says Pettitt.<\/p>\n
Following each performance, audience members can take part in a guided discussion related to the issues and questions that the piece raises such as \u2018What messages around race have we received from the time we were born and carried throughout our lives?\u2018 and \u2018How does our interconnectivity as friends help us resist rigid categorizations?\u2019<\/p>\n
The women will host a \u201cStorycircle Workshop,\u201d 2 p.m. March 7, Touchstone Theatre. Using a methodology first used by John O\u2019Neal of the Free Southern Theater, participants will be invited to share personal stories and to create theatrical moments from real-life narratives. The workshop is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register: 610-867-1689.<\/p>\n
The March 5 performance is Pay-What-You-Will.<\/p>\n
\u201cLanguage of Dolls,\u201d 8 p.m. March, 5, 6, 7; 2 p.m. March 8, Touchstone Theatre, 321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem. 610-867-1689, http:\/\/www.touchstone.org\/<\/p>\n
Sing for America, made up of the Gilbert family, has written and composed its first musical, \u201cSteel Hearts: The John Henry Musical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taryn Gilbert says the show was inspired by the American folk hero John Henry, immortalized in a classic folk song, who was a steel driver on the railroad and challenged a steam-powered rock drill, that was replacing workers.<\/p>\n
Set in the South, \u201cSteel Hearts\u201d begins with John Henry\u2019s parents (Ian Holmes, Taryn Gilbert), who are born into slavery. After the Emancipation Proclamation, John Henry (Jorne Gilbert) is a freed man who finds work laying down rail for the railroad. When the steam-powered rock drill threatens to take away the steel drivers\u2019 jobs, Henry stands up against overwhelming odds.<\/p>\n
Says Taryn Gilbert, \u201cThe show turns a familiar folktale into a moving live musical about work ethic, perseverance and what it means to build a life with purpose. It\u2019s a story about race, but also about shared humanity, and the belief that effort and integrity still matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The score is inspired by Gospel music and includes songs such as \u201cThe Ballad of John Henry,\u201d \u201cLady of Steel\u201d and \u201cMorning in America.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cast includes Shauna Cheatham, Tasia Gilbert, Max Albert, Jewel Gilbert, Gabriel Soto and Abraham Pla.<\/p>\n
Sing for America was started in 2003, by sisters Taryn, Tasia and Teara Gilbert and brothers Jewel and Jorne Gilbert to raise money for local causes. The siblings perform in, direct, choreograph and do costume and set design for their shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteel Hearts: The John Henry Musical,\u201d 7 p.m. March 6; 2 p.m., 7 p.m. March 7; 2 p.m. March 8, Truth and Light Media Productions, Shawnee Playhouse, 552 River Road, Shawnee on Delaware. 610-730-39313, https:\/\/www.shawneeplayhouse.org\/copy-of-tickets<\/p>\n
\u201cCurtain Rises\u201d is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
From left: Louise Smith, Lizzie Olesker, Peggy Pettitt, \u201cLanguage of Dolls,\u201d Touchstone Theatre.<\/p>\n
Clockwise, from left: Taryn Gilbert, Jorne Gilbert, Gabriel Soto, Jewel Gilbert, Shauna Cheatham, Tasia Gilbert, \u201cSteel Hearts: The John Henry Musical,\u201d Truth and Light Media Productions, Shawnee Playhouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two areal theater groups are premiering original pieces in the Lehigh Valley region. Touchstone Theatre presents \u201cLanguage of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-132196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}