"And I got to thinking
about what I'd
be willing to do
to have a taste of what
Gloria's got. You know,
be a star! And tonight
I crossed a bridge,
and I'm telling you,
I ain't going back!"
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Tim Bond, UW Drama faculty
October 27 – November 5
Previews October 24 & 26
Meany Studio Theatre, University of Washington
Pay-What-You-Can Wednesday November 1 at 7:30 PM, day-of-show only
It’s The Golden Age of Hollywood, and the streets of Los Angeles teem with aspiring starlets. When Vera Stark—maid to “America’s Sweetie Pie,” Gloria Mitchell—lands a groundbreaking role in an antebellum epic, she turns Hollywood on its head and paves the way for future generations of Black actresses. Seventy years later, film buffs still wrestle with the life and legacy of this controversial star, for whom fame and fortune could only be achieved by joining the apparatus of a deeply racist industry. Hilarious and incisive, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage’s screwball comedy is sly satire at its most urgent and satisfying.
CAST
Vera Stark: Porscha Shaw
Gloria Mitchell: Tamsen Glaser
Leroy Barksdale/Herb Forrester: Andre Brown
Lottie McBride/Carmen Levy-Green: Bria Henderson
Anna Mae Simkins/Afua Assata Ejobo: Tricia Castañeda Gonzales
Mr. Slasvick/Brad Donovan: Adrian Tafesh
Maximillian Von Oster/Peter Rhys-Davies: Phillip Ray Guevara
CREATIVE TEAM
Costume Designer: Jordan Fell
Lighting Designer: Ranleigh Starling
Set Designer: Shawn Ketchum Johnson
Filmmaker: Kwame Braun
Running time: Approximately 2 hours 10 minutes, including one 10-minute intermission.
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