Television actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show) makes his Arena Stage debut in a new adaptation of the 1967 classic film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
If you remember 1967, it was the year the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws in Loving v.Virginia.
In Hollywood history, it was the year Spencer Tracy died shortly after this, his last film was completed, receiving a posthumous Oscar nomination for his role as the father. Sidney Poiter was at the peak of his commercial career, having finished To Sir with Love, which is set in an inner city school in London, and In the Heat of the Night, in a racist small town in Mississippi.
Unlike Sidney Poiter’s two other films that year, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is set in the home of a liberal white couple whose daughter brings home an African-American fiance after an overseas trip.
If you wonder about how things have changed, and what are the things that remain same, this warm and witty show exploring family beliefs and the culture of the late 60’s is just for you.
WHERE: Arena State at the Mead Center for American Theater
WHEN: November 29, 2013 – January 5, 2014
COST: $40-$90 For information on savings programs such as student discounts, Southwest Nights, Pay-Your-Age tickets, Family Fun Packs and Hero’s Discounts, visit arenastage.org/shows-tickets/
By: Sheila Wickouski