Season Sponsored by Dr. Stephanie Creary & Hugo De La O
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EgoPo's Annual Gala:
A Harlem Renaissance Salon
October 3, 2022
SOUTH Jazz Kitchen, 600 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130
This year’s gala will celebrate the spirit of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance: an intellectual and cultural rebirth of Black music, theater, art, literature, fashion, and scholarship. Put on your party clothes for a sumptuous evening of innovative soul food at the amazing SOUTH Jazz Kitchen on North Broad with live jazz and blues, poetry readings, live performances, and intellectual discourse. Come celebrate and support the launch of our new season.
“Owner/Chefs Benjamin and Robert Bynum, previously of Zanzibar Blue and WarmDaddys, have been on Philadelphia's food and music scene for decades, offering up southern-inspired food and preserving the city's rich jazz tradition” - CBS News
Sponsored by Drs. Lisa & Glenn George
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The Ways of White Folks
By Langston Hughes
Directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson & Dane Eissler
Conceived for the stage with Lane Savadove
January 11-22, 2023
The Mansion at Glen Foerd
5001 Grant Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19114
This world premiere theatrical staging of Langston Hughes’ 1934 American classic presents powerful portraits of race relations in America. Told with unparalleled candor, each short story offers a private view into the absurd and tragic interactions between White and Black people across systemic divides. In EgoPo’s immersive promenade staging, you are invited to attend a New Age retreat at the historic Glen Foerd Estate on the Delaware River. There you will be welcomed into each character’s room on a tour of the extravagant mansion to witness their intimate and private lives.
“Some of the best stories [to] have appeared in this country in years” - NY Times 1934
Developed with Support from Rowan University College of Performing Arts
Sponsored by Dr. Joel & Mrs. Bobbie Porter
Opening Night Sponsored by Gail Ehrlich
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Plum Bun
By Jessie Redmon Fauset
Directed by Walter DeShields
Dramaturgy by Dr. Lisa Bratton
Adapted by Walter DeShields & Lane Savadove
April 19-29, 2023
Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 N. American St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
A resident of North Philadelphia and valedictorian from Girls High, author Jessie Redmon Fauset would go on to become a leader of the Harlem Renaissance literary movement, confounding critics by writing from both feminist and racial justice perspectives. In Plum Bun, Angela Murray, a young light-skinned Black woman, faces the headwinds of racism and sexism in 1920s Philadelphia. She leaves for New York, passing as white within Greenwich Village Bohemia before an unexpected journey leads her to a personal reckoning and a reclaiming of her Black identity. EgoPo presents this sprawling period-piece with a dynamic staging and an 18-person cast.
“I adore this novel that reads like Jane Austen transferred to 1920s Harlem...a stylish romance that has a shrewd vision of life” -The London Times
Show Sponsored by Edward & Susan Hoffman
Opening Night Sponsored by Joyce Spindler
Read our 2022-2023
Letter from the Season Curators
EgoPo will adhere to the instructions of the CDC, as well as local and federal governments, in our commitment to the safety and health of our artists and audiences. Masks are recommended, but not required.
For more information on COVID-19 safety policies and procedures, click here.
If you have questions about accessibility or subscriptions please call 267-273-1414.
EgoPo Classic Theater does not offer advisories about the subject matter in our productions, as sensitivities vary from person to person.
If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness, or stage effects (such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on your audience experience, please contact us at 267-273-1414.