Baltimore Center Stage has announced the cast and artistic team for the world premiere of The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls, the first offering of the Mainstage Series. The play will be delivered solely virtually.

The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curlsis a world premiere play written by multiplatform storyteller Keli Goff. A collection of monologues in the tradition of For Colored Girls…,The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls explores the complex relationship women have with their hair, and reveals that for Black women in particular, hair is deeply personal and political. Playwright Keli Goff has previously written about the politics of hair as a journalist. An Emmy nominated documentary producer, she also works as a screenwriter and recently joined the writers’ room of the Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That…, announced last week. In addition to Goff, all of the major creative and crew roles for this production are filled by a team of extraordinary Black women.

“The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls is a play about self love,” said Director Bianca LaVerne Jones. “It highlights Black hair stories of oppression of self and from outsiders. We are going to address it, get real about it, call it out and HEAL.The Glorious World will lay on display the intimate emotions and stories of Black women and their hair.”

The various stories in the play will be familiar and relatable to many Black women. “Twisted, curled, fried, picked and plaited, Black women have always had an adventurous and creative relationship with our hair,” said Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage. “The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks and Curls is a funny, heartbreaking and ultimately healing play about the role hair plays in unbraiding, shaping and celebrating our Black identity.” Nottage was joined in her praise of the play by other notables including feminist legend Gloria Steinem, supermodel Beverly Johnson and Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates, Jr.( Please see additional page titled “Endorsements for The Glorious World…”.)

The cast includesStori Ayers*,Awa Sal Secka*, andShayna Small*. The artistic team includes Bianca LaVerne Jones (Director); Keli Goff (Playwright); Dede Ayite (Scenic and Costume Designer); Stacey Derosier (Lighting Designer); Diggle (Associate Scenic Designer); Lauren Jackson (Assistant Director); Nikiya Mathis (Hair & Wig Designer); Twi McCallum (Sound Designer); Dean Radcliffe-Lynes (Film & Post Production); David Lee Roberts Jr. (Video Director & Editor); Danielle Teague-Daniels* (Production Stage Manager); and Grace Chariya (Production Management/Stage Management Apprentice).