Plum Bun
Adapted from Jessie Redmon Fauset by
Lane Savadove & Walter DeShields
April 2023
Christ Church Neighborhood House
A radical dinner theater staging of a union classic.
In Plum Bun, Angela Murray, a young light-skinned Black woman, faces the headwinds of racism, colorism, and sexism in 1920's Philadelphia. She leaves for New York, passing as white within Greenwich Village Bohemia before an unexpected journey leads her to a personal reckoning and a reclaiming of her Black identity. EgoPo presented this sprawling period-piece with dynamic staging and an 18-person cast.
Sponsored by Edward and Susan Hoffman
Opening Night sponsored by Joyce Spindler
Creative Team
Walter DeShields … Director
Lane Savadove … Movement & Ensemble Staging
Dirk Durossette … Scenic Designer
Don Allen … Costume Designer
Pam Hobson … Lighting Designer
Ava Weintzweig … Sound Designer
Andy Campbell … Technical Director
Jamel Baker … Stage Manager
Symphony Thompson … Assistant Director
Dane Eissler … Production Manager
Andrew Robinson … Line Producer
Jon Bradley … Production Photos
Special Thanks to the Rowan University Cast
Maria Dixon, Audrey Floyd, Salma Elwy, John Horton, Janea Hundley, Erica Gerold, Alex Brown, Natalie Mullanaphy, Marisa Pelikan, Dawn McCall, Asia Todd, Michael Majewski, Emilia Weiss, Alec Lacher, Ethan Hammett, Stefan Khalid, Mattie Millet, Aniya Gandy, Jada Johnson, Nathan Fitch, Dave Martinek, Isabella Regruto, Kayla Bowe, & Grace McGory
Cast
Alexandria Orr … Angela Murray
Taylor J. Mitchell … Virginia Murray
June Patterson … Mattie Murray
Kyson A. Martin … Junius Murray
Ray Wrightstone … Anthony Cross
James Kern … Roger Fielding
Kahlil A. Wyatt … Matthew Henson
Tariq Kanu … Arthur Sawyer
Alexander Brown … Franky Porter
Kayla Byrd … Rachel Powell
Kylie Westerbeck … Paulette Lister
Kelly McCaughan … Martha Burden
Lauren Ackerman … Rachel Salting
Maggie Brennan … Esther Bayliss
Grace McGory … Mary Hastings
Alec Lacher … Ladislas Starr
Danielle “Danni” Shaw … Mother Powell
Ciarra Ingram … Miss Andrews
Paul Harrold … Haynes Brookinaw
About Jessie Redmon Fauset
Jessie Redmon Fauset (b. 1882, d. 1961) was an African American novelist, poet, and editor known for her contributions as a key voice of the Harlem Renaissance.
Her work was first published in The Crisis magazine, where it caught the eye of its editor, W.E.B. Du Bois, who persuaded her to move to New York City to become the magazine’s literary editor. She would go on to publish the works of other Harlem Renaissance icons like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and Jean Toomer, as well as her own works, including Comedy: American Style, There Is Confusion, The Chinaberry Tree, and, Plum Bun. While critics felt her writings on the Black experience were overly idealistic, she was known for her subtle portrayals of the underlying frustration of middle-class Black characters forced to deal with prejudice and self-hate.