A jubilant hit at theaters across the country, "Crowns" embodies the soul, faith and
style of African American women and their fabulous hats. When a Brooklyn teenager
moves south to escape a family tragedy, she is introduced by her grandmother to the
"hat queens," and so begins a musical journey of healing, humor and heart. Filled
with gospel music and colorful dress, "Crowns" runs May 13-June 7 at Syracuse
Stage. Tickets are available at the Syracuse Stage Box Office at 820 E. Genesee St., by
telephone at (315) 443-3275 or at http://www.SyracuseStage.org.
Inspiration for "Crowns" came from the photography book by Michael Cunningham
and Craig Marberry titled "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats"
(Doubleday, 2000), now in its seventh printing.
"I always believed that the oral histories I gathered for the book 'Crowns' would work
on the stage," says Marberry. "These hat queens, I realized, were not really
celebrating their singular headgear. They were reflecting on love and loss and, most
importantly, sisterhood." He also notes, "Adorning the head for worship is a very
African tradition. I think it's rooted in the tradition that when one presents oneself
before God, you should be at your best."
In order to trace back the tradition of hats, the structure of "Crowns" does not follow
a conventional narrative. Different characters and time periods are woven together
with music and movement, creating a tapestry of voices.
"Hats reveal and they conceal," says playwright Regina Taylor. "In the course of this
play, we're taking away all these layers, in terms of where these women come from,
who their parents were, and also beyond their memories to the subconscious memory
that's been passed down, from generation to generation."
"On the surface 'Crowns' appears to be about a young mixed-up girl from Brooklyn
heading down South to live with her church-going grandmother. And of course it is
about hats: big, small, plain, decorative, old-fashioned and trendy," says director
Patdro Harris. "Who would have thought something so simple as a hat could express
the rhythm, the heart, the soul of a people-hats being an extension of how a people
live their lives with honor, hope and healing. Yes, 'Crowns' is about a young girl's
troubles, but it is also about discovery of community, culture and facing the past.
"Crowns" at Syracuse Stage is a co-production with Indiana Repertory Theatre.
