CLEVELAND — If you’re looking to see a live performance in one of Cleveland’s many theaters, consider the historic Gordon Square Theatre where a group of women will perform “Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation,” which details “one woman’s journey to self-discovery through the stories of three prominent women who were members of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Movement."
Written and directed by the Cleveland Public Theatre’s Artistic Associate India Nicole Burton, the production has been in the works since the idea was conceptualized in 2018.
“Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation” has a long history of development inside CPT. When India joined staff as a National New Play Network (NNPN) Producer in Residence in 2018, it was an incredibly exciting time and we were already dreaming about this play," said CPT Executive Artistic Director, Raymond Bobgan. "A workshop production was slated for Test Flight 2020 and was delayed due to COVID-19. This allowed India to dig deeper into the development process, and CPT produced sold-out houses of two workshop productions: a Zoom performance and an outdoor in-person production as part of CPT’s Free Summer Season. After 4 years, we are finally able to share this work with the nation, alongside two incredible partners in Indianapolis and Chicago who are joining us in premiering "Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation" in the next year.”
The play features poetry, monologues, dance and song while exploring the obstacles, dilemmas and joy of Black women in America, chronicling their pursuit of justice by some of the founding women of the Civil Rights Movement.
The cast features Dayshawnda Ash, Raven Bryant, Hayley Johnson, Zyrece Montgomery, Maya Nicholson, Shannon Sharkey, and Sydney Smith.
The show runs through Saturday, Feb. 26. Performances are Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. in CPT’s historic Gordon Square Theatre, located at 6415 Detroit Ave.
Every ticket is "choose what you pay" and will be offered online, over the phone or at the box office. Clickhere to purchase tickets.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
