by Caleen Sinnette Jennings | Directed by Paige Hernandez
About
Mosaic’s first commission brings the world premiere follow-up to Caleen Sinnette Jennings’ “sweet-spirited solo show” Queens Girl in the World, which the New York Times described as one of the breakout hits of DC's first Women's Voices Theatre Festival in 2015.
Now part of the 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival, Queens Girl in Africa picks back up with teenager Jacqueline Marie Butler as she and her family travel to Nigeria following the assassination of her father’s close friend, Malcolm X.
Jacqueline must navigate both personal challenges (fitting in at a new school, applying to college, falling in love) and societal challenges (a civil war in Nigeria and growing racial tension back in the States). Dozens of characters (and dialects!) are performed by Helen Hayes Award-winner Erika Rose (In Darfur, An Octaroon, Unexplored Interior), in this touching and hilarious coming-of-age comedy. Part of Mosaic’s new Locally Grown initiative.
Generously underwritten by The CrossCurrents Foundation with additional support from Leonade Jones, Bobbie & Tom Gottschalk, and Rosa D. Wiener.
Locally Grown is sponsored in part by Whole Foods Market.
January 4–February 4, 2018
Creative Team
Press
"Playwright Caleen Sinnette Jennings serves up an ace with the world premiere of Queens Girl in Africa – a riveting, semi-autobiographical account of her experience living in Ibadan, Nigeria in the 1960s. This production is a one-woman show starring Helen Hayes Award-winner Erika Rose, whose performance displays electrifying energy and range."
"Erika Rose...transitions with ease between numerous characters...Queens Girl is a joyful and engrossing window into a very personal story."
"Erika Rose shines...While she is the only actor to appear on stage, it doesn't feel quite right to call this a one-woman show. Rose embodies dozens of characters, from Jackie's parents to friends to street vendors--adopting fresh cadences and mannerisms for all without veering into caricature."
Media
