'Crowns' is a tale done through hats

Image by CrownsImage by 20081001crowns.jpg

Hats, hats, and more hats are used to explore a tale of black history and identity. The play is by Regina Taylor and directed by Henry Clay Middleton.

A description on their Web site explains:
A moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of black history and identity. Hats are everywhere, in exquisite variety, and the characters use the hats to tell tales to a young Northerner come South to stay with her grandmother, after her brother is murdered. There is a hat for every occasion, from flirting to churchgoing to funerals to baptisms, and the tradition of hats is traced back to African rituals and slavery and forward to the New Testament and current fashion. Gospel music and dance underscore the narratives that concern everything from the etiquette of hats to their historical and contemporary social functioning.

Several showings run through Saturday, October 4. Tickets are $25 and are available online or at the Gaillard Auditorium.

The play is part of the city's MOJA Festival.

The Footlight Players Theatre is downtown at 20 Queen Street.