Marie and Rosetta

Marie and Rosetta

Nov 23 – Dec 30, 2018

By George Brant; Directed by Wendy Knox

Play with Music / Regional Premiere

Proscenium Stage

Bringing fierce guitar playing and swing to gospel music, Sister Rosetta Tharpe influenced rock musicians from Elvis to Jimi Hendrix and Ray Charles. The story begins in a funeral parlor in Mississippi, as Rosetta and her young protégé, Marie Knight, prepare for a tour that will establish them as a great musical duo. Hear renditions of spirituals like “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” and “Sit Down,” to distinctly non-religious songs like “I Want a Tall Skinny Papa.”

ADVISORY: Marie and Rosetta contains mild adult language and mature themes. This joyful, roof-raising play with music is the fictional story of the first night that gospel legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe met her protégée Marie Knight, and the characters deal with racial prejudice, marital strife and other issues that are more suitable for teenage and adult audiences.

RUNNING TIME: The show runs approximately 100 minutes. There is no intermission.