Zora Howard’s Stew, a 2121 Pulitzer Prize finalist, is next -- July 12 through August 6 – at Pasadena Playhouse, fresh from receiving the 2023 Regional Tony Award. In Stew, time is running out, even as Mama’s daughters and granddaughter help. Over a taut 90 minutes, these three generations of Black women feel their past and present closing in on them.
I caught up with Nelly's character played by Jasmine Ashanti who talks about the play, what it means, dealing with grief, what she hopes audiences take away from it and what it's like to perform at the iconic Pasadena Playhouse founded in 1917.
The New Yorker said Stew is “a captivating story that’s intimate, funny, and heartbreaking in equal measure” Theatermania said, “Howard gives us a lot to chew on when it comes to the cycles of history, and our own complicity in maintaining them.
The Playhouse production stars LisaGay Hamilton (Broadway’s To Kill a Mockingbird, ABC’s The Practice) as “Mama,” Roslyn Ruff (Broadway’s The Skin of Our Teeth, CBS’ Blue Bloods) as “Lillian,” Jasmine Ashanti (Berkeley Rep and La Jolla Playhouse’s The Last Tiger in Haiti) as “Nelly,” and Samantha Miller (Oregon Shakespeare Festivals’ Sense and Sensibility) as “Lil’ Mama.”
For tickets or to find out more go to Pasadenaplayhouse.org or call 626 356-7529
