{"id":98770,"date":"2026-01-28T12:34:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/98770\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:34:23","slug":"lantern-theater-company-presents-blues-for-an-alabama-sky-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/98770\/","title":{"rendered":"Lantern Theater Company presents “Blues For An Alabama Sky”"},"content":{"rendered":"

originally published: 01\/27\/2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) — Lantern Theater Company<\/a> continues its 2025-26 season with the Philadelphia premiere of Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage. Guest director Brett Ashley Robinson leads an ensemble cast including Kash Goins, Taylor Mitchell, and Ebony Pullum, as well as Lantern newcomers Tariq Kanu and Cookie Diorio. Blues for an Alabama Sky runs Thursday, February 12 through Sunday, March 15, 2026, at St. Stephen’s Theater in Center City Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Harlem, 1930. The music is hot, and\u00a0change\u00a0is in the air. Angel is a talented singer looking for her big break, and her friend Guy wants to design costumes for Josephine Baker. When a southern stranger enters their lives, will he help them reach their dreams or destroy them? Pearl Cleage’s drama of the Harlem Renaissance is mesmerizing, inventive, and soulful.<\/p>\n

“Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0is a play about the resilience of dreams and the gift chosen family,” said director\u00a0Brett Ashley Robinson. “I am excited to direct this hilarious heartbreaking play about friendship and hope that takes place during arguably America’s most glamorous period: Harlem Renaissance.”<\/p>\n

Lantern Theater Company will\u00a0explore the\u00a0multiple\u00a0worlds of\u00a0Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0on its\u00a0Lantern Searchlight\u00a0on Medium, available online at\u00a0lanterntheater.org\/searchlight<\/a>. Articles will be published throughout the\u00a0production’s\u00a0run,\u00a0including background on the play,\u00a0its\u00a0themes, and\u00a0behind-the-scenes conversations with the artists.<\/p>\n

Tickets ange from $31\u2013$48 and are available for purchase<\/a> online\u00a0or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. Discounts are available for students, seniors 65 and up, U.S. military personnel, and groups of 10 or more. All performances will take place at St. Stephen’s Theater, located at 923 Ludlow Street in Center City Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Reach New Jersey’s largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage<\/a><\/p>\n

Pearl Cleage is an award-winning playwright, novelist, journalist, educator, and former speechwriter who has been based in Atlanta for most of her career. Along with\u00a0Flyin’\u00a0West;\u00a0Bourbon at the\u00a0Border;\u00a0and\u00a02019’s\u00a0Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous,\u00a0Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0was commissioned by Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, where Cleage\u00a0frequently\u00a0collaborated with director Kenny Leon. She was named playwright in residence in 2013, and she is now the theater’s Distinguished Artist in Residence. She has also\u00a0written\u00a0many novels, including\u00a0I Wish I had a Red Dress,\u00a0Baby Brother’s Blues, and\u00a0What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, which was an Oprah Book Club\u00a0selection\u00a0and a\u00a0New York Times\u00a0bestseller.<\/p>\n

Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0was first produced at Alliance 1995; in 1996, it was performed during the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games as part of the Cultural Olympiad.\u00a0Cleage’s\u00a0work spans both format and genres, with her plays ranging from tender drama to sharp comedy to theater for young audiences. Cleage was Atlanta’s first poet laureate and is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dramatists Guild.<\/p>\n

Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0will\u00a0mark\u00a0Brett Ashley Robinson’s\u00a0Lantern directorial debut, although she has\u00a0recently\u00a0appeared on the Lantern stage in\u00a0The Real Thing\u00a0and\u00a0Crumbs from the Table of Joy.\u00a0As a director, she has worked with Arden Theatre Company, 1812 Productions, Inis\u00a0Nua\u00a0Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, The Bearded Ladies, Theatre Horizon,\u00a0UArts, Drexel, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro,\u00a0and the Philly Goat Project. She is a company member of Applied Mechanics, an immersive theater company based in Philadelphia, and a member of\u00a0The\u00a0Wilma Theater’s\u00a0HotHouse\u00a0resident acting company.\u00a0Robinson is a Pew Fellow, Barrymore Award\u00a0winner,\u00a0and the\u00a02021 winner of the PEN America\/Jean Stein Oral History Grant for her original work Re-Enactment.<\/p>\n

Blues for an Alabama Sky’s\u00a0ensemble\u00a0cast\u00a0includes\u00a0Lantern veterans\u00a0Kash Goins\u00a0as\u00a0Sam\u00a0(Lantern credits include\u00a0American Moor\u00a0and\u00a0Fabulation, or\u00a0The Re-Education of Undine),\u00a0Taylor J. Mitchell\u00a0as\u00a0Delia\u00a0(The Wanderers),\u00a0and\u00a0Ebony Pullum\u00a0as\u00a0Angel\u00a0(Romeo and Juliet,\u00a0Fabulation,\u00a0Red Velvet).\u00a0Making their Lantern debuts with\u00a0Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0are\u00a0Cookie Diorio\u00a0as Guy\u00a0(Opera Philadelphia,\u00a0Bearded Ladies Cabaret,\u00a0The Public Theater’s\u00a0Joe’s Pub,\u00a0Kraine\u00a0Theater)\u00a0and\u00a0Tariq Kanu\u00a0as Leland\u00a0(Arden Theatre Company, Walnut\u00a0Street Theatre,\u00a0Theatre in the X, Shakespeare in Clark Park,\u00a0others).<\/p>\n

The creative team for\u00a0Blues for an Alabama Sky\u00a0includes scenic designer\u00a0Dirk Durossette\u00a0(The 39 Steps,\u00a0Crumbs from the Table of Joy,\u00a0The Lifespan of a Fact),\u00a0costume designer\u00a0LeVonne\u00a0Lindsay\u00a0(The 39 Steps,\u00a0Betrayal),\u00a0lighting designer\u00a0Tydell Williams\u00a0(Crumbs from the Table of Joy,\u00a0Tartuffe,\u00a0Twelfth Night),\u00a0and\u00a0sound designer\u00a0Elizabeth\u00a0Atkinson\u00a0(Faith Healer).\u00a0Lantern\u00a0Apprentice\u00a0Rasheda Sesay\u00a0will serve as assistant director, alongside Stage Manager\u00a0Maya Nguyen-Haberneski.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1994 and\u00a0now\u00a0in\u00a0its 32nd\u00a0season, Lantern Theater Company<\/a>‘s mission is to produce plays that investigate and illuminate what is essential in the human spirit and the spirit of the times. The Lantern serves the Greater Philadelphia region with award-winning productions and education programming, notably partnering with middle schools and high schools in the Philadelphia School District to provide in-classroom residencies in support of curricular learning.<\/p>\n

The Lantern became a national leader in streaming theater during the Covid health crisis, producing ten fully designed plays that were created and filmed in the company’s resident home at St. Stephen’s Theater, garnering coverage in national media including\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0and\u00a0The Wall Street Journal, and reaching more than 30,000 people in 15 countries and all 50 states.<\/p>\n

The Lantern’s 2025\/26\u00a0season will\u00a0conclude\u00a0with\u00a0the Philadelphia premiere of\u00a0Franklinland,\u00a0Lloyd Suh’s new play about Benjamin Franklin, directed by\u00a0Charles McMahon\u00a0and just in time to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nThe Triad Theater presents selections from The Rock Musical “Soul Searching” in concert<\/p>\n

Wed, January 31, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Gateway<\/a>
\nGateway Playhouse To Host A Musical Fundraiser on January 31st<\/p>\n

Wed, January 31, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Avenel<\/a>
\nAvenel PAC presents “Death Do Us Part”<\/p>\n

January 30-31, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Broadway<\/a>
\nBroadway Bound Kids to Hold 4th Annual Benefit Concert: Empower State of Mind at City Winery<\/p>\n

Wed, February 2, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>
\nTwo River Theater presents “The Good Thief” starring Christopher Fitzgerald<\/p>\n

February 4-7, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Light<\/a>
\nLight Opera of New Jersey presents “Rigoletto” at The Sieminski Theater<\/p>\n

February 6-7, 2026<\/p>\n

\"North<\/a>
\nNorth Star Theater Company to hold auditions for “The 39 Steps”<\/p>\n

February 6-7, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Heidi<\/a>
\nHeidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me” is Coming to Morristown<\/p>\n

January 31 to February 8, 2026<\/p>\n

\"MPAC<\/a>
\nMPAC to hold auditions for Disney’s Frozen<\/p>\n

February 1-8, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Theater<\/a>
\nTheater To Go presents the Psychological Thriller “Gaslight” at Kelsey Theatre<\/p>\n

January 30 to February 8, 2026<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"originally published: 01\/27\/2026 (PHILADELPHIA, PA) — Lantern Theater Company continues its 2025-26 season with the Philadelphia premiere of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[6889,3869,1338,7862,5646,7860,7865,915,7861,1962,7859,7864,69,71,70,7866,7863],"class_list":["post-98770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-art","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-entertainment-in-new-jersey","tag-film","tag-jersey-arts","tag-music","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-jersey-arts","tag-nj","tag-nj-arts","tag-nj-events","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-theatre","tag-things-to-do-in-new-jersey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98770","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=98770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}