Talking Bones

Fridays and Saturdays, February 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18 at 8 pm;
Sundays, February 5, 12 and 19 at 3 pm

A Hansberry Award Winner!
Written by Shay Youngblood
Directed by Alvin Tyndall
Stage Manager: Marilyn Gaylord

Set in the Ancestor’s Books & Breakfast, a half-empty bookstore in a small town, the ancestors play a major role in daily activity. Three generations of women -- Ruth, her daughter Baybay, and her granddaughter Eila -- hear the ancestors speak to them, through a broken hearing aid, whispers in the dark, and in talking bones. The ancestors bring a message about love, faith and family.

Ruth, the matriarch, needs to settle her affairs before she dies. She interprets the voices she hears as those of the ancestors guiding her. Baybay, gaudy and slightly out of step, is looking for a way out of taking care of her mother. Eila tries to build a bridge between the two women while creating a place for new rituals and new beginnings. Adding to the tensions between these women are the arrival of Oz, a young, hip, homeless poet moving to his own inner hip-hop beat and looking for a place to belong, and Mr. Fine, a seductive and aspiring jazzman with his eyes on Baybay and, perhaps more importantly, the bookstore and the property it occupies.

It’s a complex journey for all, but in the end, the ancestors can be heard whispering -- joyous and hopeful.

Cast:

Ruth - LaVerne Williford
Baybay - Maybelle Steele
Eila - Whitney Johnson
Mr. Fine - Timothy W. Howell
Oz - Austin Frye