Thoughts of a Colored Man debuts at the Arts Asylum (824 E. Meyer Blvd.) on May 8. Using song, prose and poetry, Thoughts follows the lives of seven men in Brooklyn, using their everyday experiences to understand themes of Black manhood.
Thoughts is presented by The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City (BRTKC), which first produced the show in 2023 at downtown Kansas City’s Gem Theater.
When the play opened at New York’s Golden Theatre in October 2021, it became the first-ever Broadway production written, directed and starring Black men. Keenan Scott II wrote the play which premiered at Syracuse Stage in New York.
Damron Russel Armstrong, founder and artistic director of the BRTKC, directs the show.
Avila University’s Department of Theatre will be well represented: alum Talia Hinckley is in charge of the show’s lighting, while current student Alex Valdez is stage manager.
Valdez, who will be a senior, said the show captures “the struggles, the passions, the hurt, the joy of being a Black man in America.”
“I think this show does great in showing people who don’t see or live these truths, the obligation to open their eyes to reality,” he said.
Thoughts of a Colored Man runs May 8 to 18. Tickets are $30 each. A group of 10 tickets may be purchased for $200. Free parking is available in the adjoining lot.
Learn more at brtkc.org/tickets/p/thoughts-of-a-colored-man