Church hats play a pivotal role in Drama Group’s ‘Crowns’
To some, hats are simply a fashion statement, but to others hats mean much more.
Several hats are featured in The Drama Group’s “Crowns” from April 29 to May 8 at the Milord Studio Theatre in Chicago Heights.
Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. April 29-30 and May 5-7; 2 p.m. May 1 and 8.
“I had seen it at the Goodman Theatre and just thought it was a wonderful ensemble piece with wonderful music and wonderful stories to be told of the women in the show,” said Mary Lee Hoganson, director of “Crowns.”
“It was an opportunity for The Drama Group to tell stories that come from a different place than a lot of the stories that we tell and bring in unique and diverse cultural voices.”
“Crowns” is by Regina Taylor, an actress who won the Golden Globe Award for best actress — television series drama for portraying Lilly Harper on “I’ll Fly Away.” Taylor is also an artistic associate at Goodman Theatre, which staged the gospel musical in 2004 and 2012 in Chicago.
The play was adapted from the 2000 book “Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats” by photographer Michael Cunningham and journalist Craig Marberry, a Chicago native who went to high school in Gary.
“Many of the monologues in the show are actually taken directly out of interviews in the book that were done with the women wearing their hats,” said Hoganson, of Homewood.
“Regina Taylor interwove a lot of traditional gospel music and she wrote a very loose framework of a story, which is about Yolanda, a 17-year-old girl from Brooklyn whose brother has been killed in a gang shooting. Her mother sends her to live with her grandmother in a small town in South Carolina.
“Yolanda is totally out of her depth. This is a culture she’s never experienced. The genesis of the play is the women telling her their stories using their church hats as a symbol of their lives and her slowly being embraced into this sisterhood and also coming to understand her African roots.”
“Crowns,” which was just weeks from opening in 2020 when the Milord Studio Theatre closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is being staged a little more than two years from the original dates with almost an entirely new cast.
Liane Williams of Chicago’s Beverly community, Lauren Jackson of Calumet City, Carolyn Spencer of Matteson, Elaine Landrum of Olympia Fields, Keneisha Richards of Chicago, Brittany Eubanks of Glenwood, Tyrone Eaves of Harvey and Ben White of Lynwood comprise the cast.
“They’ve very different in age and background. They all share a common experience of having grown up in the Black church,” said Hoganson, who has been involved with The Drama Group for more than 50 years and is currently a board member.
“I have amazing voices and great character actresses. There are two men in this show who play all the male parts. The cast has jelled into a real ensemble and plays so well off one another.
“Everybody is onstage the entire show. They’re singing, in character listening intensely or involved in one of the many deep monologues the women have. It has been like putting a puzzle together. It’s been challenging to block the movements, keep it moving and keep it interesting.”
According to Hoganson, the music of “Crowns” also proved challenging.
“The music was never fully scored. Some of it’s written for the keyboard people to fill in what would happen in a Black church but they haven’t written in all the notes. I have a couple of wonderful music directors who are church musicians. They filled in notes that aren’t in the score,” she said.
Charles Thomas Hayes of Chicago’s South Shore community is music director of “Crowns” and Elliott Roland Bell of Chicago is assistant music director.
The production team for “Crowns” also includes residents of Chicago Heights, Crete, Flossmoor, New Lenox, Park Forest, Richton Park and Tinley Park.
“Cordaro Santiago Johnson’s actually taken over the choreography and done a wonderful job,” said Hoganson about the assistant director and choreographer who is working with Tina Zagone on movement and choreography, which was originally done by Joshua Miller.
“Cordaro has grown up in the Black church and he has brought just a huge amount to the show. I couldn’t have done the show without him.”