“We thought it would be fun to host staged readings of these plays in the crisp fall season, inviting audiences to curl up with a blankie and a warm cup of cider, provided by LFL, and lose themselves in the stories!”
- Shannon Woolley Allison

Staged Reading Series set to warm up audiences in November!

The current theatre ecosystem is rich with new work from exciting feminist playwrights, and we are excited to bring the talent of our ensemble artists to the stage to share some of these works with you this Fall.

The first play, Michelle Tyrene Johnson's The Green Book Wine Club Train Trip, is such a perfect fit for LFL's storytelling style. On a weekend trip with a group of women friends, Marie experiences a time travel adventure, learning from her ancestors' travels while on a journey of her own. Five contemporary black women friends from Kansas City, Missouri take a trip as part of their book/wine club. Marie, a librarian, in addition to arranging the trip, is also doing research for her grandmother’s 80th birthday which involves looking through “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” the guidebook used by African-Americans in pre-integration America to know the safe places to stay and patronize while traveling. Marie accidentally time travels to the 1940s, where she stays in a boarding house mentioned in the Green Book. But not only has she traveled to Jim Crow Missouri, she finds herself staying in a boarding house where her great-grandmother may have worked! Directed by Morgan M. Younge, the cast includes Adama Abramson, Tiera Bowman, Caisey Cole, Stacey Hopson and Ebony Jordan.

“The Green Book Wine Club Train Trip is a unique play that honors family, friends, ancestry and the lives Black American women have built for themselves both in the 1940s and 2017. It is a sharp work full of heart, and Michelle Tyrene Johnson has built a world around five incandescent women who captivated the audience from the very beginning and didn’t let up until the end.” 
- Jessie Salsbury, Reviewer

Maggie Lou Rader's The Helpers is a compassionate and encouraging story that gives a unique view into the experiences of the friends that facilitated the hiding place for Anne Frank and her family during World War II. Inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank, this play is a new perspective from the other side of the most famous bookshelf in history. Miep Gies, an immigrant and secretary for Otto Frank’s famous Opekta Company, leads a group of helpers to preserve the residents of the Secret Annex and the spirit of goodness and survival during that horrific war. Filled with touching and funny moments, The Helpers is a tale of joy, hope, friendship, and resistance during one of history’s darkest moments. Directed by Karole Spangler, the cast includes Dawn Campbell, Sara Canary, Jacob Cooper, Simon Isham, Jennifer Thalman Kepler, Holly Stone, and Jane Embry Watts. The reading also features the voices of Bob Bush, Meg Caudill, Glen Pearson, Todd Rogers, and Maj. Robert Spangler, USAF Ret.

“During World War II, ordinary people all over the Netherlands risked everything to hide their friends and neighbors during the Nazi occupation. This play is about the people who hid the Franks, but it’s also about every friend and every ally who stands up to protect the innocent against evil and tyranny, no matter where or when in time. I am honored to direct this staged reading of Maggie Lou Rader's incredible work.
I sure hope I get to do a full production sometime!”
-Karole Spangler, Director, The Helpers Staged Reading

Content Warning: These readings deal with the difficult historical events of the Holocaust (The Helpers) and the Jim Crow South (The Green Book Wine Club Train Trip). In addition, there are themes of violence, physical abuse and prostitution in the latter.