INDIANAPOLIS — Using music, song, and powerful storytelling, the Indiana Repertory Theatre brings to life how artist and activist Nina Simone gave voice to a movement in Nina Simone: Four Women. Directed by Austene Van with Music Director Morgan E. Stevenson, the dynamic play by Christina Ham runs Feb. 4 – March 2 on the OneAmerica Financial Stage.
“Nina Simone was a singular artist: a multitalented singer, pianist, songwriter, and activist. She felt deeply, and she expressed those feelings through a wide range of great music—everything from jazz, R&B, blues, and gospel to Bach,” Margot Lacy Artistic Director Benjamin Hanna said. “Jumping off from her iconic song ‘Four Women’, playwright Christina Ham explores Nina’s life and genius through her music and the history that shaped her songs.”
In the depths of the Civil Rights struggle, Nina Simone used song as a means of expressing the nation’s anguish—and resilience. This deeply personal play imagines a conversation among Nina Simone and three other Black women, showing how the iconic chanteuse forged her true calling after the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
Akili Ni Mali, a Ball State graduate who has worked in theatre, film, and television, will play Nina Simone. Sarah will be played by NAACP Image Award nominee Jamecia Bennett; Sweet Thing will be played by Brooklyn native Precious Omigie; and Sephronia will be played by Aeriel Williams, whose recent credit includes Off-Broadway Trevor the Musical.
Tickets are available online at irtlive.com or by calling 317-635-5252. Tickets start at $25.The Indiana Repertory Theatre is located at 140 W. Washington St.