About the Show

Keen Company presents a revival of this drama set in 1930s New York, where four friends' lives and passions collide when an innocent newcomer arrives from Alabama.

From the show:

Tough times call for strong bonds. It’s the summer of 1930 and the promises of the Harlem Renaissance are giving way to the dashed dreams of the Great Depression. Playwright Pearl Cleage (Flyin’ West and Oprah Book Club selection What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day) tells a strikingly modern story about four friends whose lives and passions collide when an innocent newcomer from Alabama arrives in New York. Having captivating audiences around the world, Keen is proud to bring Blues for An Alabama Sky to New York for the first time since its premiere in Atlanta 25 years ago. Starring Prema Cruz, Alfie Fuller, John-Andrew Morrison, Khira Walker, and Sheldon Woodley.

Keen Conversation talkbacks on February 27th, March 5th, and March 12th. Accessible performances on February 23rd, February 28th, and March 12th.

Critic Reviews (11)

"Review: Name-Dropping Harlem in ‘Blues for an Alabama Sky’: The neighborhood is referrred to constantly, insistently, but doesn’t come to life in Pearl Cleage’s play about a nightclub singer from the 1930s."
Read more

"Men to Watch in 'Cambodian Rock Band', 'Blues for an Alabama Sky,' and 'The Headlands'"
Read more

"Engrossingly Old-Fashioned: Struggling New Yorkers get mixed up with a fresh-off-the-bus widower in Keen Company’s staging of Pearl Cleage’s play"
Read more

"Dreams Deferred and Fulfilled in 'Blues for an Alabama Sky': The Keen Company gives Pearl Cleage's 25-year-old play an overdue New York premiere."
Read more

"Its account of characters caught up in rapidly changing times and shifting social mores remains highly pertinent. It is as engrossing as a good novel, offering a trip to another time while commenting on issues that remain vital today."
Read more

4/5 Stars. "Playwright Pearl Cleage looks at 1930s Harlem dreaming, with five figures running for their natural lives"
Read more

3/5 Stars. "Cleage's absorbing 1995 drama receives its overdue New York premiere in this disappointing Keen Company production"
Read more

"Set as the Harlem Renaissance was turning into the Great Depression among artists and professionals alike, Cleage's conventional melodrama is old-fashioned in structure, but the characters are three-dimensionally drawn and the plot is engrossing."
Read more

Trailer

Creative team