I love a good tragic love story, and it doesn't get much more tragic than an interracial couple in 1918 South Carolina. But
Penumbra's gorgeous production of the 1966 play Wedding Band by
Alice Childress (whose
Trouble in Mind was seen at the Guthrie last year) is not just a beautiful, complicated, and ultimately tragic love story. It's also (not unlike
Trouble in Mind) a still timely work that speaks to the issues of race, racism, and privilege in ways that feel entirely relevant. With a super talented cast directed by Penumbra's founder Lou Bellamy (who recently passed the Artistic Director baton to his daughter Sarah) and gorgeous design,
Wedding Band is a show not to be missed, and my favorite of my five-show weekend.
