Theater and Performance Events

Blues for an Alabama Sky

Join Spelman Theatre and Performance for Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage, directed by Keith Arthur Bolden. Set during the Harlem Renaissance, this powerful play explores dreams, love, and survival amid a time of social change.

Presented as part of the 2025–2026 season, Black Joy as Resistance, the production runs October 23 – 26, 2025, in the Baldwin Burroughs Theatre, housed in the Latanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center, Rockefeller Arts Building. Evening performances will be held October 23 – 25 at 7 p.m., with a matinee on October 26, at 2 p.m.

Set in Harlem during the Great Depression, Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky follows a tight-knit circle of friends who have built their own chosen family within a shared apartment building. Angel, a recently unemployed blues singer, and Guy, a costume designer chasing his dream of making it to Paris, live across from Delia, a dedicated social worker, and Sam, a compassionate doctor. When Leland, a newcomer from the South, enters their world and becomes enamored with Angel, their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. As Angel faces a difficult choice between security and ambition, her decision sets off a chain of events that forever changes the course of their relationships and dreams.

Content advisory: This production contains strong language that is reflective of the era. There are guns on stage, references to abortion and loud noises.

Performance Workshop: Finding Your Creative Voice in French and English

Join us for a vibrant evening of conversation, performance, and creativity featuring the brilliant Franco-Ivorian-Malian playwright, director, and activist Eva Doumbia. In this unique bilingual workshop, we’ll explore how artists find and express their creative voices across linguistic and cultural boundaries—blending French and English to celebrate the depth and diversity of Afro-diasporic expression. Featuring Doumbia in conversation with professor Johanna Montlouis-Gabriel, Emory University and professor Aku Kadogo, Spelman College.

Experience Doumbia’s powerful texts brought to life through dynamic performances by: Dionna D. Davis, Atlanta-based actress and Suzi Bass-nominated Outstanding Principal Performer and talented students from Spelman College and Emory University. This is a must-attend event for students, faculty, and community members interested in theater, activism, French and Francophone studies, and cultural exchange.

Event Details
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 5
Time: 5 – 7 p.m.
Location: Baldwin Burroughs Theatre, LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center, Spelman College