Singing All Summer Long

I hope this email finds you basking in summer's warm glow. My heart is aflutter here in sunny San Francisco because my latest show, Choir Boy, opens tonight at Marin Theatre Company!

Choir Boy is a new play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, a queer, black genius who writes with such beauty, complexity and love. It's a coming of age story about five young African American men who attend an elite boarding school and sing in the school choir. The play uses Tarell's poetic language and renditions of Negro spirituals and classic R & B songs to explore themes of sexuality, brotherhood, faith and that all-too-familiar quest to find one's place in the world. It's an absolutely gorgeous play and I have found such joy in singing these songs and occupying the world of the play with my sweet, talented cast members.

I am especially grateful to be doing this play at a time like this - a time when we must insist even more strongly that Black Lives Matter as we view unassailable evidence that our society's officers and institutions treat black youth as subhuman. By depicting such varied young black men with sensitivity and grace, our play celebrates the complexity of black life that is so often ignored in the stereotypical representations in our media. And just like life our show turns that gamut from laughter to heartbreak from singing to sobbing. In short: you have to see it!

Here's a link to a super cute trailer for the show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwuR3v_brsQ&feature=youtu.be

Choir Boy runs till June 28, with a likely extension till July 5. Visit marintheatre.org for tickets and more info.

As I rush off now to prepare for tonight I look forward to hearing back from you about your adventures. May your summer be full of light, joy, and creation.