The Cast

The Billie Holiday Theatre
Launches Spring 2024 Season “RESISTANCE”

With
Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine

Written by Two-Time Pulitzer Prize-Winner Lynn Nottage
 Starring KEDREN SPENCER as UNDINE

The Billie Holiday Theatre, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and culture organizations located in the heart of Bed Stuy, today announced that it will launch its Spring 2024 Season – “RESISTANCE”- with a revival of Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage. This production of Nottage’s classic comedic play denotes a homecoming of sorts – celebrating the acclaimed playwright’s Brooklyn roots as well as her rich history with The Billie. Additionally, the run will also mark the iconic institution’s first major theater production under the leadership of its new Executive Director Shadawn Smith.

Originally produced by Playwrights Horizon in 2004, the award-winning Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine is a satirical tale set in New York City following successful African-American publicist Undine Barnes Calles as she stumbles down the social ladder after her husband embezzles her hard-earned fortune and suddenly disappears. When her life begins to unravel in one hilarious reversal after another, Undine is forced to return to a life she had long left behind. Pregnant and on the brink of social and financial ruin, she goes back to her childhood home in Brooklyn’s Walt Whitman projects and faces the challenge of transforming her setbacks into small victories in a battle to reaffirm her right to be. Featuring “punchy social insights and the firecracker snap of unexpected humor”(The New York Times), Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine is a comeuppance tale with a comic twist.

Directed by Martavius Parrish, The Billie’s production of Fabulation or, the Re-Education of Undine features award-winning actress Felicia Curry in the lead role bringing the character of Undine to life for the majority of the play’s run through May 6 th . Kedren Spencer will assume the role for the remaining two weeks of the production. The supporting cast includes: Kimberlee Walker as Mother; Evander Duck Jr. as Father; Alex Gibson as Accountant/As Cast; Sharon Hope as Grandma; Mariyea as Stephie; Roland Lane as Flow; Tito Livas as Hervé and James A. Pierce III as the male understudy.

The artistic team also includes: Associate Director Khali Sykes with scenic design by Rodrigo Escalante, lighting design by Amara McNeil, costume design by Christopher Vergara, sound design by Germán Martinez, wig & make-up design by Nikiya Mathis, movement by Karen Thornton, dialect work by Josh Feliciano-Sanchez Moser, and dramaturgy by Miranda Holliday. The full artistic team includes: Props – Jorge Rosario; Production Stage Manager – Shiku Thuo; Assistant Production Stage Manager – Cello Blanks; and Production Manager – Kayodè Soyemi. Casting done by Sujotta Pace.

“We are so excited to kick off The Billie’s spring season of RESISTANCE with Fabulation or, the Re-Education of Undine. As a native to our hamlet of Brooklyn and the first woman playwright to earn two Pulitzer Prizes in theatre, I can’t think of a more integral artist to draw from than the brilliant Lynn Nottage who is not only a daughter of Brooklyn but also very much part of The Billie’s artist family,” said Smith. “With this being our first major theater production held on The Billie’s stage in quite some time, we chose a work that reinforces The Billie’s role as an incubator for Black voices, a bastion for the Black Theater canon and the place where Black theater lives and thrives! The Billie is continuing its legacy of providing opportunities to Black and other creatives of color on- and backstage with this production. As someone with a longstanding history of advocating for these opportunities, it is a privilege to do so in my capacity as Executive Director of The Billie.”

“Fabulation is set in Brooklyn, and I’m beyond thrilled to be sharing the play with my hometown audience. The very first theater I ever experienced was at the Billie Holiday, and so this is definitely a full circle moment for me,” said Nottage.

“What a pleasure it is to be telling a story about this community within this community. As such, the authenticity and humanity of the characters married to the deliciously brilliant duality of truth and humor in Lynn’s text has informed every aspect of the show,” said Parrish. “I’m excited for New York to be re-introduced to Fabulation, but I’m particularly ecstatic for this community to see themselves reflected on stage in such powerful work.”

TICKETS:
Tickets are $60 with discounts available for students (ages 16 and under) and seniors (ages 65 and up).

The Venue

THE BILLIE HOLIDAY THEATRE