top of page

Unlike plays that follow a sequential story or “plot line,” Crowns weaves together a variety of stories from different characters, time periods, and perspectives that, when integrated with music and dance, create a tapestry of voices that transcend time and place.

​​

The essential story of Crowns is that of a young African-American girl trying to figure out her identity, her place in the world, and her place in her own culture. Yolanda is a tough girl from Brooklyn who is proud of her status as a true New Yorker, but when her brother Teddy is shot, Yolanda’s mother sends her to South Carolina to live with her grandmother. Yolanda begins a journey that will link her own experiences to the stories of her relatives, her history, and her people.

Mother Shaw, Yolanda’s grandmother, welcomes her granddaughter into a circle of female spirits who come to life as Wanda, Mabel, Jeanette, and Velma. As they prepare for church on a Sunday morning, they tell stories of their own connections to hats as a part of the rich African-American heritage, but Yolanda defends her affinity for hats and headwear as “her own thing.”

​

After a dramatically inspiring church service, Yolanda is figuratively baptized into the legacy of these women and all the ancestors who have gone before her.​​​​

​

  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2025 by Redline Performing Arts​

bottom of page