Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 30, 2009, edition 1 / Page 73
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%e/Shwmjm Qkmklmi Plmti Tales PnxJucnon Photo Perri Gaffney performs. "The Shaneequa Chronicles" has been a hit ever since it first hit the stage nearly a decade ago. The brainchild of extraordinary actress Stephanie Ber?, who also stars in the one-woman show, "Snaneequa" is subtitled "The Making of a Black Woman." The play chronicles growing up female, black ana poor in Harlem in the late 20th century. Along the journey there's discussion of love, sex, drugs, politics and classic music from the '60s and beyond. Audiences who have seen the show have experienced emotions that run the gamut. There is lots of laughter, reflection and even tears. Berry won both Obie 9L ymmctm of \iliw It's not unusual for the work of novelists to be adapted to films or stage productions. It's rare, though, when a novelist transforms one of her own books into a play in which she stars. That's what Perri Gaffney has done with "The ^ ? Resurrection of Alice. " Based on a true story, Gaffney's criticanv acclaimed book centers around a 1 5-year-ola South Carolina girl whose dreams of going to college and becoming a professionaf take a / detour after her parents arrange for her to marry a much older man of means. The story is set in 1 948, when black Southern families often arranged such unions, thinking that they would give their children better opportunities. But as Gaffnev's novel shows, the young women who are pushed into these marriages often become emotionally-crippled and broken. On the stage, these emotions are conveyed pow erfully in the one-woman show by Gaffney, who is also a talented actress with a reputation for delivering flawless per formances. "Perri Gaffney is riveting as Shelita..." said broadway world.com after her performance in "Bee-Luther-Hatchee." A reviewer wrote, "Perri Gaffney gives a well thoughtout, detailed performance," after her 2007 performance in "To Kill A Mockingbird" at Virginia State University. And after her most recent role, lyaloja in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "Death ancf the King's Horseman," coloradodra ma.com proclaimed that "Gaffney is haunting." Television viewers may know Gaffney's face from "As The World Turns," "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Special Victims." Her other writing credits include "How To Manage Artists In Pop Music," a textbook she co-authored with Mitch Weiss: and numerous articles that have appeared in publica tions like "Black Masks," "African Eye" and the "Charlotte Observer." - The Chronicle < Aug. 7 at S p.m. \ Aug. B at $ & S p.m. at Reynolds Black Box Ticket Price: *37 Inclupcs both shows and AUUtLLU awards ror her performance in the show, which is produced by her Blackberry Productions. Berry is perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed role as Principal Janice Wallace in the 2000 film "Finding Forrester," which starred Rob Brown and Oscar winners Sean Connery and Anna Paquin. Berry has like "No Reservations," \ "Girls Town" and HBO's " E ve r y d a y People. Her /television ' credits include "Law & uraeriurimmai Intent," Third Watch" and "New York Undercover." On . i i_ : I : ~ ine stage, tserry nas snirieu in university of Houston morn productions like August Actress Stephanie Berry starring in Wilson's "Gem Of the Ocean" "Katrina: The Bridge." and "Fences" and Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder's "Gee's Bend." Last year, Berry starred in the "Katrina: The Bridge," a production by the university of Houston School of Theatre ana Dance based on the deadly hurricane. The project was close to Berry's heart. She traveled to the Gulf Coast after Katrina left a trail of tears and dev astation to help residents in anyway she could as a volunteer at Houston's Astrodome. Harlem-based Blackberry Productions Theater Company brings professional theater, featuring noted performers, to schools, churches, shelters, hospitals, senior citizens facilities, block parties and prisons. A major mission of Blackberry Productions is to create original theater that gives voice to the voiceless and brings profes sional theater to the community. The Chronicle r ^
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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