Local church production relevant to today’s issues

It might not be the first locale you'd associate with the word "showbiz:" a classroom-like space equipped with computer terminals and a green chalkboard, in the office building of Richmond's Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church. But theatrical activity is certainly percolating here on this Monday evening.

"This has got to be a hot scene. Milk it, milk it, milk it!" actor and director Tony Cosby cries to two performers, Arnetha A. Carter and Jacqueline D. Manning, who are rehearsing on a makeshift set consisting of chairs and an ironing board.

The project under way is a production of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play "A Raisin in the Sun," slated for two performances on Sept. 26 at the Henrico Theatre in Highland Springs.

Presented by the drama ministry of Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church, the staging will feature the talents of church members, people from the community, and Cosby, who, in addition to directing, shoulders one of the key roles in "Raisin."

Cosby is a seasoned local thespian whose credits include many collaborations with Theatre IV, a part in Barksdale Theatre's 2007 "The Member of the Wedding," and multiple appearances as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in Jeff Stetson's play "The Meeting," mounted at various venues. But he has no qualms about spearheading a show sponsored by a church (especially since he's a member himself).

"I've been doing shows for 30 years, and I don't care where it originates," he says before the rehearsal, noting that the Richmond area could use a few more productions featuring African-American characters.

And this "Raisin" will not be another sleepy rendition of a classic, Cosby says. He's incorporating music by Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin and Michael Jackson, for instance.

"'Raisin' ain't never been done like this before," Cosby says. "I ain't even going to worry about it. I know it ain't never been done like this before. That's the way it is when I direct a show: I try to make sure there are some spices in there."

But the reference to "spices" shouldn't suggest that the Rising Mount Zion production will trivialize this seminal drama, which was the first play by an African-American woman ever to reach Broadway. Cosby and his colleagues are quite aware that the story - about a cash-strapped African-American family striving to realize the American Dream in post-World War II Chicago - contains serious themes that resonate today.

For instance, in the play, Cosby's character, Walter Lee Younger, has trouble being as responsible as his family needs him to be. "Men not being there for their family, that issue is there" in contemporary America, Cosby says. And given the current recession, he adds, the financial plight of the characters in "Raisin" will also strike a chord with audiences.

Sandra Francis, who's handling marketing for the show, agrees. "Particularly in the black community, people find it so easy to give up. But the struggles that we're experiencing now are no different than the struggles that were in 'Raisin,' and people were willing to hang in there and make sacrifices." So the message of this production, she says, will be, "Though times are hard, you can't give up. You know, you've got to hang in there, and the family comes together and supports each other."

As if to echo that precept, the production's cast has itself been practicing supportiveness, if the director and performers are to be believed. In order not to discourage too many aspiring actors, Cosby double-cast several roles: For example, Manning will play the Younger family matriarch, Lena (aka "Mama") at one Sept. 26 performance; June Nash Williams will do the honors at the second.

"I was scared to death," Cosby confesses, speaking of all the double-cast performers. "I thought they'd be fighting like cats and dogs! But it was beautiful how they meshed. They all rehearse together."

"We want as much as possible for Mama just to be Mama. It's not that it's June's Mama, it's Jackie's Mama," says Manning, though she does acknowledge that "we might bring just a little bit of our own flair" to the role.

That spirit of cooperation seems apt for the drama ministry that, in the view of the Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper, III, Rising Mount Zion's pastor, allows church and community members "to utilize the acting gifts that God has given them."

The ministry kicked off last year with a staging of "The Meeting." Cooper says "Raisin" is an apt choice for a second production, since the play has long "been a beacon of light in the black community. It represents the importance of family. It represents the desire to always do better. It represents the tragedy of humanity."

As for why he launched a drama program to begin with, the pastor explains, "I believe ministry has to be holistic. I try to appeal to all the sensory perceptions of people - spiritually, physically, emotionally." Theater, he suggests, fits squarely into that mission.

Celia Wren is a former managing editor of American Theatre magazine. Contact her at .