Rock Valley College Studio Theatre presents the gospel musical “Crowns” this week and next.
Regina Taylor's "Crowns" follows Yolonda, a tough city girl from Brooklyn who is taken to South Carolina after the shooting death of her brother. There she is mentored by her grandmother, Mother Shaw, and a group of women who, through their stories, help her heal from her loss and more.
Dorothy Paige-Turner plays Mother Shaw. She says Yolanda undergoes another, deeper kind of journey over the course of the play. The women are with her every step of the way
“And we start off telling her our stories. That's how she learns about us. That’s how she begins to learn about herself, and her heritage.”
The “crowns” in the title refers to a long-standing tradition among African-American women of wearing elaborate hats to church. Paige-Turner says that tradition goes back to Africa and the wrapped headdresses worn by the women there. It’s a connection that has been leavened by the African-American experience.
“One of the lines in the play says, ‘Our crowns have been bought and paid for; all we have to do is wear them.’ And that’s, you know, alluding to slavery and all of the dues that have been paid to get us where we are.”
So the significance of the hats, or crowns, she says, is that they are, for those who wear them, something earned, something that makes a statement about who they are as well as where they came from.
Studio Theatre director Mike Webb says he found out how important the hats were to the community when he put “Crowns” on the schedule.
“Everybody in this town has been bringing us hats. It doesn’t matter what they are. They’re all different, but everyone’s -- this is like, ‘you’re doing “Crowns,” you have to have hats.’”
While the hats are important for what they represent, Webb says what really ties it all together is the music -- traditional gospel music that does much more than provide atmosphere.
“It’s filtered through the whole script so that in any moment you’ve got like, ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ or any number of other gospel songs, but they’re just woven into the fabric of these women’s stories, and the church stories and the family stories.”
Webb says he thinks the music may inspire audiences to become part of the action.
“The songs are so engaging, and familiar -- you’ll know them -- and so at the performances, I fully expect them to sing along with the ladies.”
In the end Yolonda embraces the heritage – her heritage -- the women are teaching her about, and the street-wise city girl is baptized into the church community that has taken her in. Paige-Turner says in a play so closely tied to African-American traditions, there are lessons for everyone.
“I don’t care what culture you are. Our children do not want to be bothered with hearing about the past. We’re losing it, if we don’t teach our children about their heritage – because it is their heritage – that they need to connect with.”
All riding on a wave of gospel music, personal stories, and hats – or should it be crowns?
"Crowns" runs at the RVC Studio Theatre through Feb. 13.
