Jubilee Theatre to stage fewer shows by black writers next season

In a significant departure for one of Texas’ longest-running black theaters, just one of the six shows Jubilee Theatre will present in its 36th season — announced Wednesday — is written by a black playwright: August Wilson’s Two Trains Running.

Another, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years, is based on the oral history accounts of the African-American Delany sisters, who lived to be over 100 years old. It is adapted by a white writer, Emily Mann.

The third play, Thurgood, is a one-man show about first black U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, written by white writer George Stevens.

The three musicals include two tried-and-true crowd-pleasers, Working — The Musical (adapted from Studs Terkel’s ode to American workers and their jobs) and Beehive: The 60’s Musical (which includes songs popularized by the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and others), and the other musical is an adaptation of O. Henry’s popular short story The Gifts of the Magi. All will be staged with African-American actors, but the musicals, too, are adapted by white writers, with songs by white songwriters.

In past years, most — if not all — of Jubilee’s productions have been penned by black writers.

The season was programmed with the company’s bottom line in mind, said Jubilee’s new artistic director, William “Bill” Earl Ray. The theater is trying to make up for a $30,000 budget deficit, he said.

“When I got a call about applying for this position, I was told the main job would be to get us out of deficit,” Ray said. “I looked at a number of plays by black writers and many of them had too many actors in them. I chose shows that I thought would help us financially and artistically.”

In an October 2015 Star-Telegram article, company officials said the annual budget was about $600,000, and at the time — the start of the 2015-16 season — its deficit was about $30,000.

Ray was hired in February, after Jubilee lost its third artistic director, Tre Garrett, following personal legal troubles in 2015.

Ray said he plans to program more works by black writers in future seasons.

“I’ve been hired to act and direct for so long that I haven’t had to be concerned about what’s out there,” he said. “I am now on that research, and I’m still getting my feet wet. I can’t do everything in one year. You have to pick and choose your battles, and right now the priority is to get Jubilee back on track financially.”

Ray will direct four of the shows, but said he plans to hire more directors in future seasons. Harry Parker of TCU directs Thurgood, and a director for Having Our Say has not been announced.

The season at a glance:

• Working — The Musical, from the book by Studs Terkel; Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, Sept. 30-Oct. 30.
• The Gifts of the Magi, by Randy Courts and Mark St. Germain, Nov. 25-Dec. 24.
• Thurgood, by George Stevens Jr., Jan. 27-Feb. 26.
• Two Trains Running, by August Wilson, March 17-April 16.
• Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years, by Emily Mann (adapted from the memoir by Sadie and Bessie Delany), May 26-June 25, 2017.
• Beehive — The 60’s Musical, created by Larry Gallagher, July 28-Aug. 27, 2017.

Subscriptions, $95-$250, are available online at www.jubileetheatre.org or by calling 817-338-4411. Single tickets, $19-$33, will go on sale in the fall.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Jubilee Theatre to stage fewer shows by black writers next season."