INTRODUCING THE ENSEMBLE THEATRE’S 2024-2025 SEASON
Written by ZORA HOWARD
Directed by EILEEN J. MORRIS
Mama is up early to prepare an important meal and, even with her family on hand to help, time is running short. Tensions simmer with three generations of Tucker women under one roof, but things come to a boil as the violence hovering around the periphery of their lives begins to intrude upon the sanctity of Mama’s kitchen. A powerful study of three generations of African American women as they tangle with each other while attempting to meet a deadline for the eponymous one pot meal.
SEP 20 - OCT 13, 2024
Previews SEPTEMBER 14, 15, 18 & 19, 2024
PG-13DRAMATIC COMEDY
Written by CHIKA KABA MA'ATUNDE
Directed & Choreographed by AISHA USSERY
Musical Direction by CHIKA KABA MA'ATUNDE
The Twelve Ways of Christmas reminds us that, while the season may mean something different from one person to the next, the true message remains the same. With an eclectic blend of colorful jazz, R&B, and gospel, Twelve Ways guides us to the heart of our most memorable holiday experiences. Love prevails throughout this fusion of fun, joy, loneliness, jealousy and grief with twelve “ways”; including Romantic Christmas, Military Christmas, Family Christmas, and True Christmas.
NOV 15 - DEC 29, 2024
Previews NOVEMBER 9, 10, 13 & 14, 2024
G FAMILY MUSICAL
Written by CELESTE BEDFORD WALKER
Directed by ALLIE WOODS, JR.
Inspired by actual events, Camp Logan is an award-winning World War I military drama about the devastating explosion of racial tensions that resulted in the 1917 Houston riot, involving an all-black Army regiment stationed in Houston, Texas.
JAN 24 - FEB 23, 2025
Previews JANUARY 18, 19, 22 & 23, 2025
PG-13 DRAMA
Written by CANDRICE JONES
Directed by RACHEL HEMPHILL DICKSON
A powerful play about swagger, determination and sticking together. It’s 1997 and the WNBA is changing the game. Every player on Plainnole’s Lady Train basketball team now dreams of going pro — but first, they’ll have to navigate the pressures of being young, Black, and female in rural Arkansas. Candrice Jones’s adrenaline packed play about a high school basketball team explores the fierce strength of young Black women in the South and what it means to be part of a team.
MAR 21 - APR 13, 2025
Previews MARCH 15, 16, 19 & 20, 2025
PG DRAMATIC COMEDY
Written by MELDA BEATY
Directed by EILEEN J. MORRIS
For some, there’s nothing better than retirement, but when Eddie Lee’s wife, Iris, joins him in retirement, the truth about his “ladies man” ways resurface. To avoid her, Eddie retreats to the sanctuary of McDonald’s where coffee refills are free and the rest of his retired friends, with marital problems of their own, wait faithfully for him. When a mystery woman moves in the abandoned house down the street, with her Creole’ wiles, melt in your mouth coconut cake, and medicine cabinet secrets, Eddie is not the only one who pays her a visit; a visit that threatens to change all their lives forever.
MAY 9 - JUN 1, 2025
Previews MAY 3, 4, 7 & 8, 2025
PG-13 DRAMATIC COMEDY
Written by CHARLES BLACKWELL,
HENRY KRIEGER and ROBERT LORICK
Directed by KATHRYN ERVIN
Musical Direction by PHILLIP HALL
Choreographed by MONICA JOSETTE
The Tap Dance Kid concerns a ten-year-old African-American kid named Willie who doesn’t want to be a lawyer like his well-to-do strict father. Willie dreams of becoming a dancer like his mentor, Uncle Dipsey, who is an aspiring Broadway choreographer. Willie’s imaginations of stardom keep us tapping along!
JUN 27 - JUL 27, 2025
Previews JUNE 21, 22, 25 & 26, 2025
PG-13 MUSICAL