"The Old Settler"
By John Henry Redwood
Directed by Theresa Devine Banford
Starring Connie Norwood, Sherri Lynette Gray, Russell E. Johnson, and Nikki Bailey
This production was held in the Basement Theatre of the Sacred Heart Church on May 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18, 2008. Attendance was heavy and the play was a huge success for the company.
Theresa Banford wrote about "The Old Settler", "It was a great honor and privilege to direct this play and to learn so much about Harlem in the 1940’s. I have come to love Elizabeth, Quilly, Husband and Lou Bessie; come to care deeply about their hopes and dreams in moving up North; come to share in their sorrows and fears. And I have also come to love and cherish the four wonderful actors who have opened their hearts and souls to embrace these characters in all their fragile, flawed humanity. In his or her own way each character is struggling with the fear of being alone. Each is yearning to be connected to another; to be cared for; to be known. And each is searching for the freedom to live their life to its fullest expression. In this, their stories are all of our stories. It is this very urgent need to let our spirits soar that binds us one to the other.
