EVENT // Stage play
sugar in our wounds
by Dianna Donahue - 01.29.2023
If you have not heard about the iconic hit play "Sugar In Our Wounds," you are missing a treat. Under the direction of Kenneth Gaddie, the play's opening night was on January 13 and has sold out more than several times. The play was created by Afro-Queer award-winning playwright, poet, and Philadelphian filmmaker Donja R. Love. His plays are designed to specifically tell stories of Black and Queer people, for Black and Queer people, and "Sugar In Our Wounds" does just that with its exploration of queer love among Black people during the historically pivotal moments of the Civil War era.
Under the direction of Arkansas native Kenneth Gaddie, The Weekend Theater's presentation of "Sugar In Our Wounds" follows Love's overall theme for the play. The setting is Antebellum 1862 on a southern plantation home to a Black makeshift family of displaced enslaved human beings. It is made up of James (Antwon Staton), eager to learn how to read and stay out of trouble; Aunt Mama (K.V. Knox), the glue, strength, and wisdom of them all; and Mattie (Chasity Thomas), a young girl entering womanhood.
The "family" frequently finds refuge and rest on Sundays under a massive, mystical tree on the plantation grounds that reaches the heavens. The connection to the tree is deep for James and Aunt Mama as the tree speaks to them, but deeper for James as it was used to hang his forefathers, and he refuses to be next in his line – especially as the war is drawing to an end and freedom is so close.
They take in a runaway enslaved man named Henry (Willie Lucius), who is hell-bent on finding the family he was torn away from to return to his sense of love. His persistent rage to get home is eventually soothed by the bond he makes with James. Their connection is confusing but powerful enough for them to embrace it – even if it costs them their lives.
Director Kenneth Gaddie is a film, theatre, and television artist and a season 13 contestant of American Idol. His extensive artistic resume includes an actor with roles in plays such as Cuckoos Nest, Shawshank Redemption, Memphis, Dreamgirls, and Kinky Boots. He has also performed worldwide with names like Smokie Norful, Lawrence Hamilton, Tommy Davidson, Rodney Bryant, Ray Grady, Cissy Houston, Nate Williams, S. Juain Young of Artist United, and others. To accent his growing resume, Gaddie is also a Broadway Star-To-Be National Finalist.
His influence on the presentation of "Sugar In Our Wounds" is an insightful perspective of what it cost Black people to be "different" during a time when being Black was different enough. Many of the themes of the play are mirroring for people today.
Additional actors in this play include Miki Gaynor, Alexis Johnson, William W. Wofford, Kristy Hutchinson, Sarah Guinee, and Evan Hamilton. The play's last showing was originally set for January 29, but the demand nudged The Weekend Theater to extend the performance for an extra week, so you still have time to catch it. Due to this show's evoked emotions, context, and content, I do not suggest bringing children. However, for that same reason, I do suggest that the sensitive at heart bring a tissue. Tickets can be purchased at www.WeekendTheater.org. The Weekend Theatre is located at 1001 West 7th Street in Little Rock.
Under the direction of Arkansas native Kenneth Gaddie, The Weekend Theater's presentation of "Sugar In Our Wounds" follows Love's overall theme for the play. The setting is Antebellum 1862 on a southern plantation home to a Black makeshift family of displaced enslaved human beings. It is made up of James (Antwon Staton), eager to learn how to read and stay out of trouble; Aunt Mama (K.V. Knox), the glue, strength, and wisdom of them all; and Mattie (Chasity Thomas), a young girl entering womanhood.
The "family" frequently finds refuge and rest on Sundays under a massive, mystical tree on the plantation grounds that reaches the heavens. The connection to the tree is deep for James and Aunt Mama as the tree speaks to them, but deeper for James as it was used to hang his forefathers, and he refuses to be next in his line – especially as the war is drawing to an end and freedom is so close.
They take in a runaway enslaved man named Henry (Willie Lucius), who is hell-bent on finding the family he was torn away from to return to his sense of love. His persistent rage to get home is eventually soothed by the bond he makes with James. Their connection is confusing but powerful enough for them to embrace it – even if it costs them their lives.
Director Kenneth Gaddie is a film, theatre, and television artist and a season 13 contestant of American Idol. His extensive artistic resume includes an actor with roles in plays such as Cuckoos Nest, Shawshank Redemption, Memphis, Dreamgirls, and Kinky Boots. He has also performed worldwide with names like Smokie Norful, Lawrence Hamilton, Tommy Davidson, Rodney Bryant, Ray Grady, Cissy Houston, Nate Williams, S. Juain Young of Artist United, and others. To accent his growing resume, Gaddie is also a Broadway Star-To-Be National Finalist.
His influence on the presentation of "Sugar In Our Wounds" is an insightful perspective of what it cost Black people to be "different" during a time when being Black was different enough. Many of the themes of the play are mirroring for people today.
Additional actors in this play include Miki Gaynor, Alexis Johnson, William W. Wofford, Kristy Hutchinson, Sarah Guinee, and Evan Hamilton. The play's last showing was originally set for January 29, but the demand nudged The Weekend Theater to extend the performance for an extra week, so you still have time to catch it. Due to this show's evoked emotions, context, and content, I do not suggest bringing children. However, for that same reason, I do suggest that the sensitive at heart bring a tissue. Tickets can be purchased at www.WeekendTheater.org. The Weekend Theatre is located at 1001 West 7th Street in Little Rock.
