Penned by award-winning playwright, novelist, actor, and screenwriter, Alice Childress, TROUBLE IN MIND debuted off Broadway in 1955 and won an Obie Award for Best Original Play – making Childress the first Black woman to be awarded the honor. In 1941, Childress joined Harlem’s American Negro Theatre (ANT), where she worked as an actress, director, and costume designer for 11 years. In 1949, she wrote her first play and continued writing plays, finally becoming the first professionally produced Black female playwright with TROUBLE IN MIND. Years passed before TROUBLE IN MIND was produced on Broadway in 2021, almost 30 years after Childress’ death in 1994. The play went on to receive nominations for four Tony Awards. In 2024, the Actors Co-op proudly presents TROUBLE IN MIND. To quote Director Kimberly Hebert Gregory, “This is a seminal piece of theater that timelessly speaks to the representation of Blackness in the arts, as well as its complicated curation.” In 2024, the Actors proudly presents TROUBLE IN MIND.
Larry Eisenberg and Kimi Walker – Photo by Kamal Bolden
The time is 1957, and the place is a Broadway theater in New York City. This is a play within a play – with fictional cast of seven, plus director and director’s assistant – who are rehearsing for a new play. Wiletta Mayer (Kimi Walker), a talented and experienced singer, wants to prove her chops as a serious actress – but first must give a bit of advice to newcomer John Nevins (Freedom) about how white directors want to be surrounded by happy Black actors who “go with the flow.” These casual throw-away remarks will prove a powerful foreshadowing of events to come. Wiletta’s past glory is remembered fondly by the elderly Henry (Larry Eisenberg), with past glory of his own doing lighting design but now a lowly janitor. Wiletta is soon joined by fellow actors Sheldon Forrester (Rodrick Jean-Charles), another experienced old-timer who recalls his long history of racially stereotyped roles. Then there are Millie Davis (Lorinda Hawkins Smith), a flighty flirty ingénue who revels in sparkly baubles; Bill O’Wray (John Marzilli), an older white man who doesn’t believe in rocking the boat; and Judy Sears (Sophia Kalugin), the lone white female in the cast. The play’s white director Al Manners (Spencer Rowe) and his white assistant Eddie Fenton (Brendan Shannon) complete the play’s principals. Everything seems to be going smoothly – until Wiletta throws a monkey wrench in the proceedings.
Freedom, Sophia Kalugin, Kimi Walker, and Brendan Shannon – Photo by Kamal Bolden
TROUBLE IN MIND might be summarized as a tale of “isms,” including racism, ageism, and sexism, in the American theater. But Childress’ well-written play is so much more as it strips away facades to reveal people caught up in a system which, although patently unfair, also seems impenetrable. Director Hebert Gregory helms the production with compassion and a hint of humor as the raw truth about so many “isms” comes to the fore, clashing with the basic human needs for respect and survival. As Hebert Gregory remarks, “TROUBLE IN MIND is a play that interrogates racial and gender biases in the American theater…(it) is timely in so many ways, as it addresses challenges that artists face in the performance industry today…Childress deftly layers the play with all the sociopolitical realities of the time through the use of satire.” The director is handily aided by the existence of a strong cast led by a powerful and thoughtful Kimi Walker, a Black woman who finally finds the courage to say aloud what so many of her peers only think about.
Kimi Walker and Lorinda Hawkins Smith – Photo by Kamal Bolden
TROUBLE IN MIND is a formidable and thought-provoking look at cultural values and attitudes which existed in the American theater (and also a reflection of the American culture of the time) within the past century. We like to think that such primordial ideas no longer survive in our “awoke” culture – but TROUBLE IN MIND may suggest otherwise. Audiences who enjoy looking at our history – especially the history of theater and Blacks in theater – will find the play intriguing, fascinating, and entertaining. Writers and actors will also find food and thought in the Childress play.
John Marzilli, Brendan Shannon, and Spencer Rowe – Photo by Kamal Bolden
TROUBLE IN MIND runs through November 10, 2024, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays (additional Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m. on 10/12 and 10/19) and at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. The Actors Co-op performs at the David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, CA 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church). Tickets are $35 (seniors $30; students and Union members $25; student rush tickets Friday nights; group rates and season subscriptions are available). For information and reservations, call 323-462-8460 or ac*****************@gm***.com “>email box office.
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