Trustus Theatre is continuing their 33rd season by bringing Sunset Baby to the Richard and Debbie Cohn Side Door stage this February. It’s a dynamic tale of love, loss, and family in a world where love has become a liability and the most attractive feature is the ability to survive. Revolution spans the generations and is seen by very differently by a daughter and her estranged father, who has come back into her life as he seeks a stack of old love letters and the hope of reconciliation. This show will open on Friday, February 23 and will run through Saturday, March 3, 2018. Tickets may be purchased at www.trustus.org or by calling the Trustus Box Office at 803-254-9732.
Kenyatta Shakur was a Black Revolutionary in the 80s—a legend in his own right. Now that his wife and fellow-revolutionary has died, Kenyatta is desperate to reconnect with Nina, his estranged daughter. However, Nina is now a successful hustler who sees revolution in her own way. She and her boyfriend Damon have big plans of locking down a few more jobs before leaving the country forever, which leaves Kenyatta fighting an impending deadline as he tries to reconcile his past and conquer his most challenging revolution of all—fatherhood. Sunset Baby is an energized, vibrant, and witty look at the point where the personal and political collide, and is by one of the most exciting and distinctive voices in American playwriting: Dominique Morisseau.
Sunset Baby will be directed by Bakari Lebby and stars Devin Anderson as Nina, Raj Karottukunnel as Nina’s boyfriend Damon, and Larry Davoll as Nina’s father Kenyatta.
“There are many messages with, in, and around Sunset Baby,” said Anderson. “The first one is that people of color have this ability to make something of nothing. There is the question of reparations, and how do you claim them not just socially, but familial as well. It’s about struggling with societal norms even within our own communities, but still being able to find and create beauty in spite of the chaos. This play has some heavy material but it’s about rising like a phoenix from the ashes. It’s about celebrating blackness unapologetically. No message you get from this place is more important than the next. That’s the beauty of black culture, black art. It isn’t one dimensional, it’s fluid. It will break your heart and make you smile all in one breath, and that’s exactly what we have done with Sunset Baby.”
Stay after the show on Friday, March 2 to enjoy an improv comedy show from the very same group that brought you the holiday comedy A Christmas Miracle at the Richland Fashion Mall: The Mothers. Tickets for the comedy show will be sold at the door for $10 ($5 for students) and are all general admission.
Sunset Baby will run from Friday, February 23 through to Saturday, March 3, 2018 and tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Trustus Theatre Box Office at 803-254-9732 or online at trustus.org. Tickets are $25 for all performances and student tickets are $20 each. Opening night is Friday, February 23, at 8pm. The performances following are on Saturday, February 24, at 8pm; Sunday, February 25, at 3pm; Thursday, March 1, at 7:30pm; Friday, March 2, at 8pm; and Saturday, March 3, at 2pm (matinee performance) and at 8pm.
