Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Co.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 3/15/25 at 2:14pm

I got to flex my feminist muscles at Alice Childress's Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Company yesterday.  See this play to watch the character of Tomorrow Marie, Tommy for short, navigate new acquaintances in riot-torn Harlem of 1964. Olivia Washington as Tommy is brilliant in her journey from happy go lucky woman who just lost her burnt down apartment to a hero who will not be taken advantage of nor misread as just another messed up chick. It was great to root for Tommy and I found this production to be well directed and designed. The sound design was also excellent in establishing the setting. Happy to also see Lakisha May playing Cynthia who dazzled me in “Jaja’s.” I saw Childress’s “Trouble in Mind” (Roundabout 2021) and “Wedding Band” (TFANA 2022) and am grateful to add “Wine in the Wilderness” to the list. I just love her work. 

https://playbill.com/article/photos-get-a-1st-look-at-grantham-coleman-and-olivia-washington-in-cscs-wine-in-the-wilderness

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 3/15/25 at 3:19pm

We love Childress and adored "Wedding Band" at TFANA.  It was the best of the three we've seen, by far.  "Trouble In Mind" received a nice, if not uneven.  It lacked the punch it normally has.  The costumes for both were great.

"Wine" was the weakest of these three, for us.  The writing is nice but, the direction is clunky. We caught a region production of "Wine" in the Northwest that was stronger making this a let down.  If you've never seen it, it might be worth the visit?.  For us, we wanted to see "Wedding Band" again instead.  Brittany Bradford was superb in that production.

Updated On: 3/15/25 at 03:19 PM

[Melissa25]

Posted: 3/15/25 at 4:14pm

CoffeeBreak: We love Childress and adored "Wedding Band" at TFANA.  It was the best of the three we've seen, by far.  "Trouble In Mind" received a nice, if not uneven.  It lacked the punch it normally has.  The costumes for both were great.
"Wine" was the weakest of these three, for us.  The writing is nice but, the direction is clunky. We caught a region production of "Wine" in the Northwest that was stronger making this a let down.  If you've never seen it, it might be worth the visit?.  For us, we wanted to see "Wedding Band" again instead.  Brittany Bradford was superb in that production.

Wedding Band at TFANA was my favorite of the three as well. Brittany Bradford really was marvelous. I especially loved the scenic design by Jason Ardizzone-West. I still remember those stage pictures of the tall grass. A really great production. 

I liked Olivia Washington a lot in Wine and think the ensemble is strong. I liked being taken back to 1964 but will admit the ending felt a bit "after-school specialish" but we were happy to leave on high note after 90 minutes. I recommend it. 

[Synecdoche2]

Posted: 3/15/25 at 4:19pm

Thought this was very good, especially as a time capsule of where certain conversations were at in 1969. The cast is great, and I don't think I've ever seen a show at CSC that so many people so audibly enjoyed.

I agree Wedding Band was by far the best of the three Childress plays recently produced, but I would personally rank this above the somewhat unfocused Broadway Trouble in Mind production.

[laaa la la la la la laaa]

Posted: 3/15/25 at 6:27pm

Does anyone remember what time this ended? The Classic Stage Co. lists a run time of 85 minutes, but I’m wondering if that includes the standard five-minute-or-so buffer at the beginning. I’ll be in from out of town and will have to catch the train right after.

[Laurapattifan]

Posted: 3/16/25 at 5:23pm

laaa la la la la la laaa said: "Does anyone remember what time this ended? The Classic Stage Co. lists a run time of 85 minutes, but I’m wondering if that includes the standard five-minute-or-so buffer at the beginning. I’ll be in from out of town and will have to catch the train right after."

I want to say the 7:30 showing was over at 8:57? Could be conflating it with another performance, though.