*(Carson, CA) – For its fourth production of the 2015-16 “Year of the Woman” season, the California State University, Dominguez Hills Department of Theatre and Dance presents “Wine in the Wilderness,” written by award-winning African-American playwright Alice Childress.
Performances will be held in the intimate 70-seat Edison Studio Theatre over three weekends: April 15/16; 22/23; and 29/30 at 8 p.m.; and April 17, 24 and May 1 at 2 p.m. The opening weekend performance, Saturday, April 16, will include a post-show Q&A with director Elveria Buford and Cast.
“Wine in the Wilderness,” written in 1969, and set in the midst of the tail end of the 1964 Harlem, New York riots, is about Bill Jameson, a middle-aged African American man and starving artist who is working on his masterpiece (a triptych), a three-part painting which he creates to pay homage to African American women of all walks of life, based on his perception. Two of his works are previously composed and he needs another model for the final portrait to be painted and the “triptych will be finished”. However, when introduced to his third model, Tommy, through a couple of friends, Sonny Man and his wife Cynthia, the reality check begins and they all receive a harsh, yet well-deserved awakening.
The play does contain adult themes and languages, and is therefore, not suitable for children.
“’Wine In The Wilderness is not a show based on racism; but rather based on sexism as well as socialism. The moral of the story is simply no matter how someone determines an individual’s self-worth or how they define others by outward appearances or actions, the fact that that person stands tall in the face of adversity and turmoil makes them beautiful… the wine in the wilderness!” said the show’s director, Elveria Buford, an alumna and native of Detroit. “No one, man or woman, will leave the theatre ‘unchecked’ after experiencing this show!”
“Wine In The Wilderness” was first performed on WGHB-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the series, “On Being Black.” Playwright Alice Childress is the first woman to receive an Obie Award for Best Original Off-Broadway Play in 1956 for “Trouble In Mind” (1955). Some of her controversial yet highly acclaimed works include “Florence” (1949), “Wedding Band” (1966), and a novel, “A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But A Sandwich.”
Tickets are $15 for general admission, and $10 for students and seniors. Group rates are available. For tickets, visit www4.csudh.edu/theatre-arts/buy-tickets or for other payment options, call the box office at (310) 243-3589.
Parking is located near the CSU Dominguez Hills University Theatre complex in Lot 3 or 6. The address is 1000 E. Victoria Street, Carson, CA 90747. Daily visitor parking permits are $6 and can be purchased using cash, Visa, MasterCard, or debit cards at kiosk machines located in each lot. For a campus map, visit: www.csudh.edu/VisitUs.
For more information about the CSU Dominguez Hills Theatre and Dance program, contact the theatre office at (310) 243-3588 or visit the website at www.csudh.edu/theatre.
About CSU Dominguez Hills — With approximately 14,000 students, many who are first in their families to attend college, CSU Dominguez Hills provides high quality academic programs to students who aspire to succeed and thrive in a complex, global society. A leader in fostering a college-focused culture in the urban communities it serves, the university offers a proven path to opportunity and social equity and is a national laboratory and model for student access and success. For more information, visit www.csudh.edu.
CSUDH Department of Theatre and Dance — Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre and with memberships in the California Education Theatre Association and the Southern California Educational Theatre Association, the CSUDH Department of Theatre and Dance stages six major theatrical productions each season in either its 485-seat University Theatre or the more intimate 70-seat Edison Studio Theatre. In addition to producing actors, the department also educates students to be part of the community. Through its Teatro Dominguez multicultural theatre company, students take on leadership roles in touring original and ethnic shows to local K-12 schools; its Black Theatre Program provides courses, touring shows and workshops that illuminate the black experience for people of all ages and ethnicities.
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