"Live From the Whitelaw Hotel" VIRTUAL READING PART ONE

Описание: Restoration Stage presents “Live From the Whitelaw Hotel”
Written by Steven A ButlerJr
Produced and Directed by Courtney Baker-Oliver
Executive Producer: Sandra Evers-Manly

Featuring:
Serena Reeder, Wilkie Ferguson III, Desire' DuBose, Ashley C. Turner, Corisa Myers, Mandrill Solomon, Travina Springer, Suli Myrie, Abiola Yetunde, & narrated by Harris James

Desne Wharton, Video Editor
Justin Thompson, Musical Director
Christopher John, Music Supervisor
Ronald Lee Newman, Company Manager
Nova Arts, Production Stage Manager

About “Live From the Whitelaw Hotel”
—Welcome to the plush lobby of the fabulous and segregated Black owned and operated Whitelaw Hotel located just a block off of Washington, D.C.’s famous U Street. It is late December, 1930-something. Light snow has been falling for the past few weeks, but not enough to shut down the hustle and bustle of the vibrant city.

The devastation of the Great Depression has settled in across the country and is finally directing its’ fury on the country’s last strong hold, the capitol city. Black Washingtonians (and Black Americans nationwide) have always had to struggle more to get less than their white counterparts, but the Depression is another matter entirely. The only Black folks not completely flattened by the Depression are the working entertainers who are paid to keep the rest of the country from going crazy, and those who make a living serving them.

It's the wee hours of a snowy morning. The grand lobby of the Whitelaw Hotel is unusually quiet. It’s the busiest time of the hotel’s year. It won’t stay quiet long. This weekend the hotel is fully booked as the defacto host hotel for the popular holiday concert and amateur contest at the Howard Theater nearby. If that wasn’t enough excitement, the concert headliner, legendary jazz singer Esther Evans, has booked the Presidential suite for the weekend and will be arriving in a few hours.

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