Blues depicts decline of Harlem Renaissance

Cast of Blues for an Alabama Sky

Pearl Cleage’s award-winning play about the end of the Harlem Renaissance, Blues for an Alabama Sky, will take the stage at Sacramento State at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 18 in the Playwrights’ Theatre in Shasta Hall. Performances continue at 8 p.m., Nov. 19 and Dec. 1 to 3, and at 2 p.m., Nov. 20 and Dec. 4. A special-priced performance will be at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Blues tells the story of several struggling Harlemites who try to hold on to their dreams as the Great Depression threatens their livelihoods. Through characters such as “Angel,” the impoverished jazz club singer, “Guy,” a gay costume designer who dreams of dressing Josephine Baker in Paris, and “Delia,” an idealistic social worker, the play addresses complex issues of the time such as economic hardship, homosexuality and abortion within the African American community.

“The play presents a group of African Americans who are young, enormously talented, and very diverse in terms of their personalities and interests, which is not always the most prominent public picture of black life in America,” says director and theater professor Melinda Wilson. “I also wanted to do Blues because it revolves around the theme of rebirth that connects to my and the students’ goal of revitalizing the black theater program on campus.”

Tickets are $15 general, $12 for Sacramento State students and staff and $10 for seniors and children under 18. Tickets for the special showing at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 30 are $8 general and $5 for students and seniors. They are available through the Sacramento State Ticket Office at 278-4323 or Tickets.com.

For more information, contact the Department of Theatre and Dance at 278-6368.