This year's African-American Shakespeare Company's seasonal production of "Cinderella" will be directed by Broadway veteran Mark Allan Davis, an openly gay actor, playwright, dancer, lyricist and choreographer. The annual December musical will be performed five times at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, Dec. 21-23. Davis, 57, who will choreograph and direct the show, makes his first appearance with the company since he moved to San Francisco in 2016.
"I was honored to be invited to direct" the holiday production of "Cinderella," Davis said in a telephone interview with the B.A.R. Davis, who moved to the Bay Area to join the faculty of the School of Theatre and Dance at San Francisco State U., said he was "blown away" after seeing the Shakespeare Company's 2017 production of the August Wilson play "Jitney."
"I was very impressed, and asked a colleague to introduce me to their artistic director" L. Peter Callendar, who joined the organization when it was founded in 1994. "When Peter later called to see if I was interested in directing for them, of course I was absolutely thrilled," he said.
The Shakespeare Company was founded in 1994 by Sherri Young, a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre and former Commissioner of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
"The culture of the princess is an exacting one," Young said in a telephone interview, "and little girls may feel they're failing some prettiness contest that their parents didn't even know they'd entered. This can be especially cruel for black girls." She noted that the Shakespeare Company's performance has been "remade into a black girl positive" version in which the ball gown is nice, but it's better and more important for girls to find their inner strength, with or without a prince.
Young said she's heard little girls question their race, asking whether its possible to scrub their skin color off because other girls claim that a black girl can't be a princess. "Our production flips that, and empowers black girls to be proud of themselves."
Director Davis pointed out that the Cinderella story "transcends cultures, continents and language. Cinderella's story is about dreams and wishes, but more than anything else it is a story about a loving person discovering love in others even while surrounded by disdain," he said. "Like so many of us, Cinderella wants a seat at the table," and even when discouraged, perseveres and is successful in finding love. Also, he said, "It's just a damned good story."
Davis previously lived in New York City, where he was an original cast member of the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of "The Lion King" and a director and choreographer of the "Lion King" cast's benefit appearances. Davis, who has staged many original theatrical works, was honored by having his most recent play, "The Last Blues of the Empress," selected by the New Works Readers Series at the National Black Theater Festival.
This year's cast of "Cinderella" includes Loreigna Sinclair as Cinderella, Tre Zijuan Taylor as Prince Charming, and Clara "Clarae" McDaniel as the Evil Stepmother.
The Company's 2018-19 season kicked off with rave reviews for their production of "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf," presented last September. The troupe will present "Black Eagles" in March, a drama about the Tuskeegee Airmen, the nation's first black fighter pilots. In July, the season concludes with Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in a modern verse translation by Migdalia Cruz.
Tickets for "Cinderella" ($25-$45) are available at www.cityboxoffice.com