‘Trouble in Mind’ Onstage at The Public (Sun, 2/9/25)

TROUBLE IN MIND by Alice Childress. Pittsburgh Public Theater. Through February 23

Lorraine Hansbury’s A Raisin in the Sun is credited as the first broadway production of a play written by an African American woman. It might not have been. Four years earlier, in 1955, Alice Childress had such success with her Off-Broadway production of Trouble In Mind, the show was booked for a Broadway opening. That is, until Childress, pressured by her producers, refused to change the ending of her play. Trouble In Mind did not run on Broadway until October, 2021—66 years after its scheduled opening—playing at the Roundabout Theatre Company where it garnered  four Tony nominations. Now it’s premiering here at Pittsburgh Public Theater on February 5.

The irony of Childress’ play is that it deals quite dramatically with the very racism then (and still) festering in American theatre. A play within a play, Trouble In Mind introduces us backstage to the star and cast rehearsing for their grand opening. The time is 1957 and unsettling issues of identity, sexism, and racism create a clash of cultures that are all the more relevant to our modern ideals of progressive art. Oh, the good ol’ days of theatre weren’t always so good. Be advised, Trouble in Mind includes strong profanity and racially offensive terms. Find your way to a theater experience that becomes all too live again. 2 and 7 p.m. 621 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (C.P.O.)

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