by Shay Youngblood | May 15 -June 15
Pegasus Theatre Chicago—the recipient of seventy-seven Joseph Jefferson awards— reimagines and celebrates Shay Youngblood’s story of a young black girl’s coming of age during the turbulent 1960s. As a young adult “Daughter,” recalls being raised by a community of women after the tragic loss of her mother. As her story unfolds, she transforms into a child as the women embody her memories of growing up–recalling the rituals, the healings, the stories told and the lessons learned about survival, healing, spirituality and mystery. Pegasus Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan directed this hit play most recently in 2017. The Chicago Tribune said, “…this is an optimistic play that celebrates the power of the human spirit.”See the Chicago revival of this hit play!
The Cast features: Africa Brown, Sharyon Culberson, Caitlin Dobbins, Stacie Doublin, Justice Ford, Felisha McNeal, Destynee McMichael, and debrah k neal. The production team includes Addoris Davis, Tanji Harper, Alana Hawkins, Wendy Huber, Marquecia Jordan, Steve Labedz, Harrison Ornelas, Shawn Wallace, Sheryl Williams and Josh Wroblewski
About the Production Team
SHAY YOUNGBLOOD (1960-2024) Georgia born writer Shay Youngblood penned novels Black Girl in Paris and Soul Kiss (Riverhead Books) and a collection of short fiction, The Big Mama Stories (Firebrand Books). She was the recipient of numerous grants and awards including a Pushcart Prize for fiction, a Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, an Edward Albee honoree, several NAACP Theater Awards, an Astraea Writers’ Award for fiction and a 2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Sustained Achievement Award. Ms. Youngblood received her MFA in Creative Writing from Brown University and has taught Creative Writing to faculty and graduate students at NYU and has been Visiting Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi and Texas A&M Universities. She was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts sponsored Japan-US Creative Artist Fellowship for 2011. Born Sharon Ellen Youngblood in Columbus, Ga., in 1959, Youngblood was noted for creating novels, poetry, children’s books, and plays with powerful Southern Black women characters who were unapologetically self-possessed and free in ways not typically seen in women characters in general, and Black women in particular, in the U.S.
ILESA DUNCAN (Director) is the producing artistic director at Pegasus. Her recent directing work includes Native Son, From The Mississippi Delta and Middle Passage (Lifeline Theatre), Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, and Eclipsed at Pegasus, Duncan has worked with Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Stage Left and Chicago Dramatists, as well as Contemporary American Theatre Company (Ohio), The Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Arena Stage (Washington DC) and Lincoln Center Theater (New York). Ilesa’s creative nonfiction short stories have been published (Columbia College Chicago), and she’s written poems and screenplays. She was a co-writer and director Rutherford’s Travels/Middle Passge, and a contributing writer on Blakk Love: Storeez of A Darker Hue , and facilitated the group writing project Portraits for the Chicago Foundation for Women.
SHAWN WALLACE (Music Director) is a keyboardist, composer and music director. He has music directed and composed for such theatres as MPAACT, Chicago Theatre Company and DanzTheatre Chicago. He has worked with luminary artists such as Common, Ice Cube, Bobby Brown, Dwele, Johnny Gill, Jon B., Bilal, Estelle, Julie Dexter, Rene Neufville, Rakim, Eric Roberson, Maggie Brown, Ugochi and Cherisse Scott. Shawn studied Music Theory and Composition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and currently serves as Musical Director for two New Thought congregations: The Emmaus Center and the Namaste Center for Spiritual Living-Chicago. Shawn has worked for several years as a Teaching Artist throughout Chicago schools teaching Record Production and Theatre Tech to youth from 6th through 12th grades. His independent film score credits include; Severed Ties (Showcase Productions/ Lions Gate Films), Puzzle Love (Storybox Productions) and Son of America (Tanskin Productions/N’Spire Entertainment INC).
TANJI HARPER (Choreographer) Tanji Harper is a choreographer and teaching artist from the South Side of Chicago. Harper was trained by the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater, Chicago Dance Medium, Homer Bryant, and Joel Hall, and is an alumna of The Chicago Academy of the Arts under the instruction of Anna Paskevska, Winifred Haun, Claire Bataille, Roger Turner, and Randy Duncan. After high school, she trained in both Los Angeles and New York, then started dancing for both R&B and Hip Hop mainstream music acts. Her resume includes R. Kelly, Sparkle, Do or Die, Avant, and Busta Rhymes from 1997 to 1999. After touring and performing all over the country. Harper came home and began teaching in Chicago. She landed a life-changing position that would grow her into the position of artistic director at The Happiness Club and began piloting dance programs that grew into apprenticeships through After School Matters for Chicago Public School teens aged 14-18.
Production Staff
About the Artists
Africa Pace Brown (Miss LaMama) Born into a lineage of music and activism, Africa is the daughter of the celebrated 1960s cultural icons, Oscar Brown, Jr. and Jean Pace. Her deep connection to music, theater, and culture is deeply rooted in her family experiences which profoundly shaped her connection to jazz, soul, and theater. Africa was principal performer with the Ayodele Drum & Dance Company and is a part of Chicago’s vibrant music scene. At age 8, she was youngest recipient of a Jeff Award in her father’s production of In De Beginnin’. Brown is the co-manager and director of Bootblack Publishing, which houses her father’s music catalog. She co-directed and performed in the Oscar Brown Jr. Archive Project at the Logan Center. As a sought after musician, Africa regularly appears at jazz festivals in the Chicagoland area and her ongoing work remains a testament to the power of family, culture, and artistic expression.
Caitlin Dobbins (Daughter) Recent Chicago theater credits include work with The Goodman, Black Ensemble, Theo Ubique, Porchlight, Underscore, About Face, Writers Theatre and Northlight. She also appeared in Children of Eden in Concert at the Cadillac Theatre. Caitlin is a Columbia College Chicago graduate who is represented by DDO. She dedicates her performance to her Big Mama Willie Mae Dabbs.
Sharyon Culberson (Miss Mary/Miss Tom) is thrilled to join Pegasus Theatre for Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery. On stage, Sharyon has performed with Kansas City Rep, Steppenwolf, Writers Theatre, and Drury Lane. A versatile actor across stage and screen, her film work includes Mama’s Boy, Daughters, and The Road Dog, and she’s appeared on hit TV series such as The Chi, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, and The Big Leap. She was honored with a Black Theater Alliance (BTAA) nomination and continues to develop work centering joy, identity, and transformation. Sharyon is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and grateful to tell this powerful story with Pegasus.
Stacie Doublin (Miss Corinne) In My Granny’s Garden, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (US) (Goodman Theatre); Streetcar Named Desire, The Room, Diner Tales, The Radio Play: Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Christmas Goose (Raven Theatre); MacBeth, Twelfth Nite, Taming of the Shrew (Oak Park Festival Theatre); Skin of Our Teeth, Incomplete and Random Acts of Kindness (The Artistic Home); Love Child (Live Bait Theatre, Chicago Theatre Company); Elephant Man (The Side Project); The House That Will Not Stand (US), Waiting to Be Invited (US) (Victory Gardens Theatre); The Green Book, Shakin’ The Mess Outta Misery (Pegasus Theatre); Fabulation: or the re-education of Undine (US) (Next Theatre); When the Ancestors Call (ETA Creative Arts); Defamation: The Play (Canamac Productions); Seven Days at Sea (The Edge Theatre). Stacie is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.
Justice Ford (Maggie/Miss Rosa) is an actress, arts educator, and writer from the Southside of Chicago. Justice graduated from ChiArts in their inaugural class (2013). Her podcast “Unapologetic” was a finalist in Complex Magazine’s “Good Looking Out” (2018). A regional winner of Goodman Theatre’s “10-Minute Play Festival” Justice was recently nominated for a Jeff Award for her performance as Lottie in By The Way, Meet Vera Stark. She has begun directing at such theaters as The Artistic Home and Congo Square. As a teaching artist Justice teaches youth theatre with the August Wilson Outreach Program. Justice believes that art saves lives and hopes for continued opportunities to share stories and heal through art.
Destynee McMichael (DeeDee/Fannie Mae/Miss Shine) is a Chicago based performer. She holds a BFA in Theatre Studies from University of Illinois, where she pursued a professional career in production. She’s thrilled to be making her stage debut with Pegasus Theatre and thanks friends, family, cast and all who championed her to this moment.
Felisha McNeal (Big Mama) is excited to return to Pegasus Theatre. Recent credits include The October Storm (Raven Theatre/Jeff Recommended). She has performed at Perceptions, DavJasFran Entertainment, eta Creative Arts Foundation, M’PAACT, Chicago Dramatists, Black Ensemble, Hidden Stages, and Chicago State University. A Jeff-Award winning actress (Jar the Floor and Pegasus’ Shakin’ 2017) earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin she has performed in Illinois and Wisconsin. When asked what has kept her dream alive after performing for over 45 years, she replies, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun or does it explode? I choose that my dream explodes.” Ashe
debrah k neal (Aunt Mae) is thrilled to return to Pegasus Theatre. Credits include Milwaukee Repertory, Windy City Playhouse, Definition Theatre, Writers Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Congo Square, eta, Black Ensemble, Mercury Theatre, and Hansberry-Sands. debrah is a recipient of the Non-Equity Jeff Award “Best Ensemble” for Pegasus Theatre’s 2017 production of Shakin the Mess Outta Misery. She was last seen this past winter in Verizon’s NFL Superbowl 2025 national commercial. She has also directed in various venues in Chicago, Milwaukee, NY, Atlanta, Ohio, and North Carolina. Her most recent film, OG Bootcamp will be released in July/2025 on National Orgasm Day. Some tv credits include Empire (Fox), The Chi (Showtime), and The Red Line (CBS). She is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA and is represented non-exclusively by LoriLins.