JUNE IN THE PERFORMANCE STUDIO

Plowshares Theatre Company In

THE MAGNOLIA BALLET, Part 1

Michigan’s award-winning professional Black theater, Plowshares Theatre Company, presents the Detroit Premiere of The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest. The production, directed by Gary Anderson, will be performed in our Performance Studio, located inside the Park Shelton, 15 E. Kirby Street at Woodward Ave,Detroit, MI 48202.  Performances for this poignant coming-of-age tale begin Friday, June 9, and run through Sunday, July 2. Tickets range from $15 -$49.

Ezekiel VI, or Z, is a Black teenager with a secret. He’s not like the other boys. The death of his mother has taken a toll on him and his emotionally distant father. Although they share the aching pain of a loss, they can’t talk about it. Worst yet, they both feel trapped in the rural Georgia swamp their family purchased generations ago. Z and his father struggle to define who they are among the spirits of ancestors living in the walls of their ancestral home.

Every day, Z finds himself haunted by the ghosts of old decisions made that have plagued his family for decades. This is a piece written for our times. With drama, dance, & poetry, The Magnolia Ballet explores the relationship between a Black man & his queer son.

Terry Guest is a Chicago-based playwright, actor, director and teaching artist. Plays include: The Magnolia Ballet (2022 National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, two Jeff Awards, David Goldman Fund for Best New American Play), “A Ghost in Satin” (Williamstown Theater Festival), “Marie Antionette and the Magical Negroes” (4 Jeff Award nominations), “At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen,” “The Madness of Mary Todd” (2020 Goodman Playwrights Unit), and “Andy Warhol Presents the Cocaine Play.”

The play contains mature content and language.