"Combining CTC's critical literacy work and Penumbra's racial justice work allows us to forge something together that neither could do alone." These words in the playbill of
The Wiz, the first collaboration between these two acclaimed #TCTheater companies, brought tears to my eyes before the show even started. Especially after wading through a sea of children of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds. In an increasingly divided world,
Penumbra (one of the longest-running and most acclaimed African American theater companies in the nation) and
Children's Theatre (ditto for children's theater) give me hope, as individual companies and especially in this collaboration in which an all-black cast tells a story of a young black woman who discovers her own power through the help of friends. They give me hope that maybe we
can overcome our seemingly insurmountable differences and join together in song and awesome dance to solve our problems. It's possible, right? Can't you feel a brand new day? Indeed I can.
