November 30, 2009 | Medgar Evers College
Medgar Evers College Professor of Mass Communications and award-winning playwright Thomas Bradshaw presents Having Our Say: The Delany Sister’s First 100 Years, a play based on the best-selling autobiography by centenarian sisters Sarah Louise and Annie Elizabeth Delany, on Friday, December, 4 through Saturday, December 5, at 7:00 p.m. in the Founders Auditorium at Medgar Evers College – 1650 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY. Admission is free for Medgar Evers College students; $5 for faculty and the public.
“Staging Having Our Say has been a collaborative effort that involved talented theater professionals and Medgar Evers students,” said Bradshaw. “We are proud to present this important, moving production to the College community, central Brooklyn and New York City. Most everyone will be enriched in some way from seeing it.”
The play, first mounted on Broadway in 1995, depicts the true tale of the Delany Sisters – two African-American career women and racial pioneers born in the late 1800’s that survived and outlived Jim Crow. Their story chronicles their triumphs and sorrows, and the achievements of a people facing segregation, lynching, and the Civil Rights Movement. The New York Times called the Broadway production “the most provocative and entertaining family play to reach Broadway in a long time…;” and Newsday noted: “In fact, this must be the nicest show and inspirational pep rally in town…what a life these women have led, and how lovely to hear about America’s real history from witnesses who are such good company. The Delany Sisters may seem too good to be true, but here they are.”
Bradshaw’s staging has tweaked the original play to include original sound design and set concepts. The main characters are played by Sadrina Burney and Barrett Doss, veterans of the Broadway stage. He has also involved Medgar Evers College students in the production’s scenic design, set building, and students will also run the boards during the two night stint.
For further information please contact Prof. Bradshaw at (718) 270-4983 or tbradshaw@mec.cuny.edu.
About Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Medgar Evers College was founded in 1969 through the efforts from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn. The College is named after Medgar Wiley Evers, a Mississippi-born black civil rights activist who was assassinated on June 12, 1963. The College is divided into four schools: The School of Business; The School of Professional and Community Development; The School of Liberal Arts and Education; and The School of Science, Health, and Technology. Through these Schools, the College offers 29 associate and baccalaureate degree programs, as well as certificate programs in fields such as English, Nursing, and Accounting. Medgar Evers College also operates several co-curricular and external programs and associated centers such as the Male Development and Empowerment Center, the Center for Women’s Development, the Center for Black Literature, and The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy.