Hansberry-Sands Theatre Asks ‘What Would Jesus Do?’

In 2001, as playwright Yvette Heyliger researched subject matter for a new play, she found herself talking with the late Tunde Samuel, former director of Theater Arts for the National Black Theatre in New York. Samuel, who expressed disappointment that black theater in the United States had done so little to address the AIDS epidemic, said he wanted every African-American theater company in the country to produce at least one play per season to address the growing infection rate of HIV/AIDS among African Americans. In response to his call, Heyliger created a play titled What Would Jesus Do?

The drama focuses on a religious wife who is exposed to HIV by her husband. She must take action while staying true to her religious beliefs in a production that is being billed as an “interfaith, intergenerational play.” Heyliger’s output met with considerable acclaim when it debuted in Los Angeles in 2006. This week, Hansberry-Sands Theatre Company opens its production of What Would Jesus Do? at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. This drama should prove to be an extremely thought-provoking experience.

Hansberry-Sands’ production of What Would Jesus Do? runs Sept. 18-26 at the Marcus Center.

Also opening this week: Bill Theisen directs Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in the first show of Skylight Opera Theatre’s 50th anniversary season. The Skylight will also be staging Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in January, allowing audiences a rare opportunity to see the first two operatic adaptations of the immensely popular Figaro Trilogy in the same season (and by the same creative team). Both productions share a director, costume designers and set designers. Continuing its ongoing tradition of accessibility, Skylight Opera Theatre will perform the plays in English.

The Barber of Seville makes it to the main stage of the Broadway Theatre Center from Sept. 18 through Oct. 4.