TAKE
MY HAND (A Blues Man's Path to Gospel),
written by Speed City Sisters in Crime author and playwright, Lillie Evans will be
presented at the 7th annual Indyfringe Onyx Festival. There will be six performances beginning
March 23, 2018.
The drama
centers on the life of Thomas A. Dorsey, a self-taught piano man, singer, and
composer, who struggles with the fact that he is not recognized, appreciated or
compensated by white music publishers during the 1920's and 30's.
Dorsey
struggled for years, straddling the fence between blues and gospel, in an
effort to combine the two styles in a way acceptable to churches. He remained uncertain which path to take
until an unfortunate tragedy threatened to end his career and possibly his
life. Through the ordeal, emerged one of
the best known gospel songs of all time, 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord.'
Lillie is an author and playwright, and a long-time member of Speed City Sisters in Crime. Her writing includes the comic mystery Grandmothers, Inc. series, co-written with fellow Speed City Sisters In Crime member Crystal Rhodes. The series includes two novels (Grandmothers, Incorporated and Saving Sin City) and two plays (Grandmothers, Incorporated and Stakeout). The play Grandmothers, Incorporated was produced Off Broadway at the Billie Holiday Theater in New York City, where it enjoyed a twelve week run. Lilly also wrote the play Is God Calling My Name? Her play Take My Hand was selected for a reading at the prestigious National Black Theater Festival.
You can find out more about Lillie at www.lilliebarnettevans.com or www.grandmothersincorporated.com
Take My Hand in part of the IndyFringe Onyx Festival
celebrating African American playwrights.
The 7th Annual OnyxFest Onyx Fest is Indianapolis' first and only theater festival dedicated to the stories of African American playwrights. The inaugural Onyx Fest in 2012, was developed in response to the lack of diversity on stage and in audiences of Indianapolis' theaters; except the IndyFringe Theater. IndyFringe has actively worked towards embracing diversity in the Indianapolis theater scene and these efforts have yielded fruit by working with African American playwrights to change the Indianapolis theatrical landscape of storytellers, actors and audiences at the IndyFringe Theater. Onyx Fest is another step in the IndyFringe Theater's commitment to provide support and a performance venue that is inclusive of all playwrights who make up the Indianapolis community.
Dates: March 23/24/25 - March 30/31/April 1
Location: Indyfringe Basile Theater, 719 E. St. Clair,
Indianapolis, Indiana
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