Sunset Baby

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.

Love is Love is Love

Trustus Theatre is bringing a unique Valentine’s Day celebration to the Thigpen Main Stage this month with the Love is Love is Love Cabaret. Audiences will enjoy an evening of song that explores the many wonderful types of love in our world. With tunes ranging from interpretations of top 40s hits to show tunes and jazz standards, these musical acts will make you swoon, will lift you up, and will even break your heart at times. This show will focus on the love that we have throughout a long relationship, the love we have for our close friends, the love we share for fellow humans, passionate love, and more. It’s a great date night or even a wonderful night out with friends. The Love is Love is Love Cabaret will be on stage on Friday, February 16, 2018 at 8pm and on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased at www.trustus.org, or by calling the Trustus Box Office at 803-254-9732.

The Greeks had six wonderful words for love: Eros (desire and passion), Philia (deep friendship), Ludus (playful love), Agape (love for everyone), Pragma (longstanding love), and Philautia (love of the self). The Love is Love is Love Cabaret at Trustus Theatre is the perfect way to explore all of the wonderful types of love in the world. An evening of song, poetry, and prose will unfod before your ears and eyes as the incredible talents of Trustus take the stage to bring you a unique and intimate evening on the Thigpen Main Stage.

Musical direction will be provided by Chris Cockrell and the cabaret will be directed by Trustus Theatre’s Artistic Director, Chad Henderson.

“I can’t imagine a more fitting subject matter for our times,” said Henderson. “Love. No matter how you slice it, love creates much of our greatest joy and honestly, some of our greatest pain. Recently, American Theatre Magazine released an article that detailed a study where they discovered that audiences attending theatre actually find their hearts beating in sync. That’s a unique experience that only theatre can offer. It doesn’t happen when you’re watching Netflix, at a concert, or at an amusement park. However, when audiences engage with live performers who are telling stories, our hearts beat together. We truly share something that binds us and, for a time, connects us in a way that we can’t explain. I hope people will come out to enjoy Love is Love is Love so that we can all let our hearts beat together.”

Many familiar Trustus Theatre artists will be participating in Love is Love is Love Cabaret and include Kendrick Marion, Samuel McWhite, Kevin Bush, Katie Leitner, Michael Hazin, Catherine Hunsinger, Patrick Dodds, and Brittany Hammock. Special guest Preach Jacobs (who made his Trustus Theatre debut in 2017 as the narrator in A Christmas Miracle at the Richland Fashion Mall) will be perfoming one of his original songs and Cassidy Spencer, from the Trustus Theatre cast of Fun Home, will make an appearance to give the audience a taste of the upcoming production.

Love is Love is Love Cabaret will be on stage for two nights only: Friday, February 16, 2018 and Saturday, February 17, 2018. Both shows will begin at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Trustus Theatre Box Office at 803-254-9732 or online at Trustus.org. Tickets are $15 a piece or you can purchase the Venus Package for $40 which includes two tickets and a bottle of champagne.