Production History
'for Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide / when the Rainbow is Enuf'

one of the first productions of 'for colored girls...'

This is a play that since it was written in 1974 and first staged in 1975, but especially after its successful run on Broadway in 1976, has been very popular both in the commercial theatre and by collages and universities around the country. To get a feel of how these different performances had been seen by different companies, we give you small extracts from their press releases:

1. First Performed: The Bacchanal, a womanÕs bar outside of Berkeley, California, 1975.

2. First Production: Studio Rivbea, New York, July 7th, 1975

3. New Federal Theatre, New York, March 1976.

4. Public Theatre, New York, June 1976, Directed by Oz Scott.

5. On Broadway: Booth Theatre, September 15th, 1976.

6. New Federal Theatre, August-September 1995.

7. Washington Shakespeare Company, 1997. Founded in 1990, Washington Shakespeare Company (WSC) is devoted to presenting classic drama, both historic and modern, in straightforward, incisive productions that showcase the best theater artists in the region.

8. American Place Theatre, summer 1999, directed by George Faison. He (the director) has unified the lyrical, gritty monologues (which originated as a set of poems read in bars) into a somewhat holistic piece by transforming some sections into dramatic sketches. The seven female characters known only by the colors of their costumes weave in and out of each other's monologues as they serve alternately as characters described and an exterior Greek chorus that comments on the action.

9. Pearlestone Theatre at Center Stage, Maryland-Baltimore, January-February 2000.

10. The play, due to its philosophical nature and experimental character has been very popular in campuses around the country. This is a small account of such performances:

a. University of Florida, November 1996. Produced as part of the "People Awareness Week"

b. University of Western Ontario, February 1997, Drama Workshop. The lack of names and particulars in the production is what gives colored girls its universality and allows the audience to identify with any and all aspects of the play.

c. Oberlin College, Ohio, May 1998, Directed by Caroline Jackson Smith Through song, story, and dance, each performer relates her individual experience, the colors appearing one by one to create the "rainbow" of hope, inner strength, and self-reliance that finally sustains them.

d. MIT, April-May 1999, Directed by Michael De Franz. For Colored Girls is undoubtedly a play for all people, with Shange's love for her characters resonating throughout the text. Her commitment to their experience allows the play to be a message to the entire world. "This play has reflections of everyone, not only black women", says DeFrantz.

e. Boston College, February-March 2000. This is just a very small number of the productions done all over the US and Canada. It continues to be an immensely popular play, due to the universality of the issues addressed in it and the power of the language used.