Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY is pleased to announce its 2024-25 season
ALBANY (June 17) – The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY has announced their 2024/25 season at Capital Repertory Theatre.
Kicking off the season in the Lauren and Harold Iselin Studio at theREP is “Berta, Berta,” Oct. 17-27, 2024. Set in 1920s Mississippi, “Berta, Berta” tells the story of Leroy, a Black man sent to jail for following a white woman down the street to help her–a supposed crime that never existed. Prison changes him and upon getting out, he finds himself to be a true criminal. Before giving himself back up to the police, he is determined to make amends with his long-lost girlfriend, Berta. The play highlights themes of doomed love, tragic misunderstandings, a flawed and biased prison system and magical realism.
The second show in the season will be on the MainStage at theREP, “Once on This Island,” with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, Feb. 6-16, 2025. “Once on This Island” is a highly original and theatrical Caribbean adaptation of the popular fairy tale “The Little Mermaid.” It garnered eight Tony nominations for its Broadway run, including Best Musical, Book and Score. Ti Moune, a peasant girl, rescues a wealthy boy from the other side of the island, Daniel, with whom she falls in love. Unbeknownst to Ti Moune, the pompous gods who preside over the island make a bet with one another over which is stronger, love or death, the stakes being Ti Moune’s life.
The last show is “Eclipsed” by Danai Gurira in the Lauren and Harold Iselin Studio at theREP May 29-June 8, 2025. “Eclipsed” tells the story of five Liberian women and their tale of survival near the end of the Second Liberian Civil War. Their lives are set on a nightmarish detour by civil war; the captive wives of a Liberian rebel officer form a hardscrabble sisterhood. With the arrival of a new girl who can read—and the return of an old one who can kill—their possibilities are quickly transformed. Drawing on reserves of wit and compassion, these defiant survivors ask: when the fog of battle lifts, could a different destiny emerge? “Eclipsed” offers a chilling, humanizing and surprisingly funny portrait of transformation and renewal. This gripping play unearths the wreckage of war and celebrates the women who navigate and survive the most hostile of circumstances.
BTTUNY is the resident theatre company of theREP where it provides some support to BTTUNY such as ticketing, marketing and development support. Tickets are available through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or online by visiting attherep.org.
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BTTUNY HISTORY:
The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY (BTTUNY) was originally founded under the name Soul Rebel Performance Troupe in 2009 by veteran actor Jean-Remy Monnay. Monnay was born and raised in Haiti, later moving to NYC at the age of 18. In 1997, he moved upstate and began to get involved in the Capital Region theatre scene. He soon discovered that there were very few BIPOC artists working in the area, and very limited opportunities for those artists to find work. The creation of Soul Rebel Performance Troupe was in response to this lack of access; it provided a home for artists of color, LGBTQIA+ actors, and other overlooked and underrepresented identities. The company was granted 501(c)(3) status in 2011, as it further committed to its mission and began to grow its performance season and outreach programs into a more vibrant array of activities. Over the years, the company’s focus became more clearly about supporting BIPOC, and predominantly Black, artists and narratives, and in 2018 the company’s name was changed to The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY in order to better align with this intention. In June 2021, BTTUNY became the Resident Community Company at Capital Repertory Theatre (theREP).
MISSION: The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY’s goal is to foster cross-cultural understanding and to create more diversity on stage and in theatre by highlighting, producing and promoting performance and theatre arts by marginalized artists in upstate New York. We aim to expand the cultural landscape and create a place for Artists of Color to grow and thrive.