Old Academy Players is honored to present A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS written by the award-wining playwright, Thomas Gibbons. It is directed by Carla Childs and produced by Helga Krauss, Dale Mezzacappa, Jane Jennings and Jesse Friedman. Show dates are September 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, & 24, 2017.
Thomas Gibbons is playwright-in-residence at the InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, which has premiered nine of his plays. A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS is the third part of a trilogy, the first two plays being Bee-luther-hatchee and Permanent Collection – all three have the theme of controversies, conflict, understanding and courage.
Synopsis: A bitter public battle erupts when it is revealed that the site of a new museum enshrining American liberty is the ground on which George Washington’s slaves’ house once stood. An African-American political activist occupies the site, demanding that the house be recreated as a reminder of the reality of slavery in our history and a memorial to the slaves’ lives. He is opposed by a controversial African-American conservative author, who argues that blacks must lay aside their pursuit of victimhood if they are to achieve true equality. Their conflict is juxtaposed against the story of Oney Judge, one of Washington’s slaves, as she struggles with the decision of whether to risk everything to escape her bondage. Moving in time between the present and the past, the play explores our relationship to troubling historical reality. How do we decide which elements of our history will be commemorated and which will be forgotten?
Reviewers comment: “A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS is an idea-packed, entertaining evening, a play that seems bound for productions across the country.” ~ Hap Erstein, Palm Beach Post, “A multilayered piece that is, by turns, sobering, enlightening, ironic, moving and (now and then) unexpectedly amusing.” ~ Christine Dolen, Miama Herald, and “Fiercely intelligent…A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS demands to be seen, not just because it’s smart and entertaining but also because it’s universally relevant.” ~ Jennifer Bubriski, EDGE (Boston).
Old Academy Players’ stellar cast includes: Ciara Williford as Oney Judge; Jael Brown as Cadence Lane; Maurice Tucker as Salif Camara; Daniel Ostrov as Allen Rosen/Tobias Humphries; George Webster as Park Ranger, “George Washington”; Hyresh Davis as Austin Judge; Ken Wilson as Steven Gardner; and Tim Richardson as Jacob Easton.
Old Academy Players, a member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, is a non-profit community theater located at 3544 Indian Queen Lane in East Falls (Philadelphia), the urban village on the Schuylkill River. Constructed in 1819, the Old Academy building has been the OAP home since 1932. Old Academy Players has provided continuous community theater since 1923 and featured the acting debuts of both Grace Kelly and Robert Prosky.
Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets are $20. Old Academy welcomes groups! If you have 15 or more in your party, you can take advantage of group discount pricing. Parking for all performances is free. For information and tickets, call 215-843-1109 or visit the theatre’s website to get your tickets on line at www.oldacademyplayers.org.
Theater/Organization Old Academy Players
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.oldacademyplayers.org/
Theater/Organization Address: 3544 Indian Queen Lane Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (215) 843-1109
