Waco Civic Theatre will turn its stage over to three varied productions in February to mark Black History Month, hosting a stage play by a new Waco theater company, the return of a one-man show presented in 2021 and a musical variety show by well-known Waco performer Royce Montgomery.
“We’re holding a space for Black artists,” explained interim director Kelly MacGregor, who added that the February emphasis wasn’t meant to limit Black-themed programming to a single month, noting that the community theater has had ethnically diverse casts throughout the year.
The February emphasis starts Feb. 9-11 with one of Black playwright Alice Childress’ best-known works, “Trouble in Mind.” The 1955 play focuses on a Black actress who gets a chance at moving from stereotypical roles to one making a statement, a Broadway play about lynching. She and her fellow Black actors, however, find the work’s white playwright and stage manager have a different view of the play — and rehearsals bring out that the play isn’t the only point of conflict.
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New Waco theater company Far-Cast Theatre, created to highlight Black theater and provide diverse programming for Waco audiences, will stage “Trouble in Mind” with Amber Shae Bolden directing. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9-10 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 10-11.
The following Sunday, Feb. 18, will find New York actor Michael Chenevert reprising his role of celebrated and controversial politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in his one-man show “An Adam Experiment.” The play focuses on a day in 1954 in the life of Powell, New York City’s first Black congressman and an early civil rights leader.
Chenevert brought his play to WCT in 2021, but it arrived during a local COVID-19 surge and was livestreamed rather than presented before a live audience.
Singer and musician Royce Montgomery will cap the month’s emphasis with performances of his Royce Montgomery Variety Show on Feb. 24 and 25. Montgomery, who also pastors Waco’s New Horizon Baptist Church, learned from his stint as a featured singer for the Ozark Jubilee theater in Branson, Missouri, in the 1990s. Since 2007, he’s crafted his own shows that span country, rhythm-and-blues, gospel, pop and more, featuring himself and other local musicians.
Tickets for the three shows range from $15 to $25 and are available online at wacocivictheatre.com.