Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Lena Waithe will make her playwriting and theatrical acting debut in Baltimore with “trinity,” and the entertainment community is showing up in a huge way to celebrate her.
“trinity” premieres at Baltimore Center Stage (BCS) on Feb. 12, and will run through March 8. Some of the entertainment industry’s most prominent people–including John Legend, Lala Anthony, Jacqueline Woodson, Issa Rae, Debbie Allen, and Iyanla Vanzant–are lending support with ticket buyouts and other events. Tabitha Brown is one such icon.
Brown, an actress, author, and cultural superstar, wants to ensure the Baltimore community has access to the production. She purchased 100 tickets for the Friday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. show, which will be distributed free of charge to community members. Complimentary tickets will be available on-site on a first-come, first-served basis in the Baltimore Center Stage lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. ahead of the 7:30 p.m. performance. Each person can receive a maximum of two complimentary tickets.
Other entertainment figures will be participating in post-show talkbacks with the cast and creators, giving audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the creative nuts and bolts of how “trinity” came to be. Issa Rae will be the talkback guest on Feb. 18, Iyanla Vanzant on Feb. 21, Debbie Allen on Feb. 21, and more will be announced.
Waithe and Center Stage are also hosting other special events, including HBCU/Divine 9 Night on Feb. 18 and Community Night on Feb. 20.
Waithe created the Showtime drama “The Chi” and was an actor and writer in Netflix’s “Master of None.” She became the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the “Master of None” episode “Thanksgiving.”
“trinity” is directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, artistic director of BCS, and the show stars Waithe, Courtney Sauls, and Fedna Jaquet. “trinity” takes place entirely in a single room, following three characters as they move between fantasy and reality, enacting moments they are too afraid to live in real life.
Walker-Webb and Waithe discussed the play in a conversation posted to Waithe’s Instagram account. The director described the play as a “deep exploration of love, of longing, and what it takes to make love work.” Waithe explained part of why she chose Baltimore as the premiere’s home, and it had a lot to do with Walker-Webb being here.
“Your artistic purpose led you to be the artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage, at this historical theater, and that’s really why Baltimore,” Waithe said. “Because our purpose is aligned, and a big part of your purpose is Baltimore. So, therefore, it’s a part of my purpose now as well.”
Watch the full conversation below.
