In The Master's House There Are Many Mansions
 by Cherry Jackson

"This was an outlier: an ambitious revival in a festival dominated by new pieces."  Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times
" ... one of the most challenging pieces of theatre in FringeNYC 2016. This is a play that needs to be seen." David Roberts, OnStage

​New York Production at Teatro Latea August 2016
Produced by Twilight Repertory Company
Directed by James Vesce
Choreography by Khalid Hill
Musical Direction by Noel Freidline
Production Designer: Paula Garofalo
Lighting Design: Matt Fergen
Production Stage Manager: Matt Miller

Featuring: Codara Bracy, Kineh N'gaogia, Jay Morong, and Khalid Hill
Piano & Keyboards: Noel Freidline
Bass: Tim Singh
Percussion: Khalid Hill

Ful

​A mortuary in the Fillmore district, San Francisco, 1976. Larry James Fletcher pays final respects to his childhood friend, Tyrone, a casualty of police violence.  In the chilling embrace of the embalming room he discovers who the real victim is.
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​Twilight Repertory Company from Charlotte, North Carolina, presented a revival of Cherry Jackson’s In The Master’s House There Are Many Mansions as part of the 20th Annual New York International Fringe Festival. This little known but brilliantly written one-act play was published officially in 1991 but has rarely been produced in the United States.
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The production featured an original score by composer and arranger Noel Freidline and a live three-piece trio that plays an eclectic mix of jazz, funk, and soul.  It featured the talents of tap dancer Khalid Hill (Broadway’s Bring In ‘Da Noise Bring In ‘Da Funk) in an electrifying display of energy and passion.
 
Set in a mortuary in the Fillmore district of San Francisco in 1976, Larry James Fletcher (“Flet”) comes to pay his final respects to his childhood friend, Tyrone.  At first the atmosphere of the big city and the hostility of the funeral home director overwhelm his country manner.    Then, while Flet views the body, Tyrone rises and begins a conversation.  After gaining his trust and assuring Flet that he is in fact both Tyrone and dead, Flet learns that Tyrone is the victim of a police shooting.  The actual circumstances are unclear and Flet remains skeptical.  Later, as they reminisce about their youth, they bond again, finding genuine moments of humor and poignancy, amidst song and dance. Flet is enamored by Tyrone’s funeral suit and convinces him to allow him to wear it.  In a final twist it is Tyrone who says goodbye, leaving Fletcher on the mortician’s table in the viewing room.  They discover their fates are interchangeable and lives disposable in a world numbed by the statistical avalanche of gun violence.

Links to full reviews of this production can be found on the Theater page.

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