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Preview: The Story

Raleigh Little Theatre will present the Triangle premiere of The Story, a ripped-from-the-headlines drama by award-winning African-American playwright Tracey Scott Wilson, Sept. 9-25 in its Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre. The play’s central character -- inspired by the real-life example of ultra-ambitious black Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke, who not only not only fabricated her resume, but also made up sources for her story “Jimmy’s World,” which her editor nominated for the Pulitzer Prize -- is ambitious young African-American reporter Yvonne Robinson (played by Chaunesti Lyon), whose credentials are called into question while she is investigating a white man’s murder in the wrong part of town. This unflinching look at race and class prejudice, journalistic ethics or lack thereof, all-consuming personal ambition, and truth won the 2004 Kisselring Prize for Playwriting.

“I first read The Story last year when the staff was reading plays for the upcoming season,” says director Linda O’Day Young. “I admire the play’s honesty and boldness to confront issues head on.”

She adds, “The Story is an intense play about all that human stuff that gets in the way of finding the truth. The Story is about ambition, perception, greed. It’s about race and class and social politics. It’s about us and where we are in America.

“The plot revolves around a very ambitious African-American rookie reporter, Yvonne Robinson, who is hired to work for the Outlook section of The Daily newspaper. The Outlook section is devoted to reporting positive things about the community. Yvonne’s credentials are impressive, Harvard, The Sorbonne. She speaks several languages, and it is obvious from the beginning that she does not plan to be at Outlook long, but rather is determined to move on to the Metro section and on to the National desk,” Young explains.

“Prior to Yvonne’s arrival at the paper,” Young says, “there is a high-profile murder of a white teacher (Scott Nagel), who is shot while driving with his wife (Izzy Burger) in a low-income neighborhood. Yvonne’s arrival at The Daily ignites conflicts as she deals with her white and wealthy lover, Jeff Morgan (also played by Scott Nagel), who is the editor of the Metro section and who wants to keep their relationship a secret, and as she tries to work with co-worker, Neil Patterson (George Hill), who is antagonistic from the start. But the greatest conflict is with her boss, Pat Johnson (Jackie Marriott), the African-American editor of the Outlook section.”

Young says, “Yvonne and Pat have very different views. Pat is extremely dedicated to her race and to the Outlook section, which she single-handedly got going in response to what she felt were the newspapers racist betrayals of minorities. Pat believes firmly that what she does reflects upon her race. She believes firmly in the power of words to change things.

“Yvonne, however, doesn’t want anything to do with her race,” Young reports, “and [she] thinks that Outlook section is useless fluff. Yvonne is just about to quit when she stumbles across the story which could make her career. She meets a young black girl (Stacie Alston), who confesses to being a member of a gang responsible for the murder of the teacher, Tim Dunn.”

Young says, “What ensues is a race to get the story and put the right spin on it. Other members of the cast are Starr Kilgore as Reporter/Ensemble, Lauren Reese as the Detective/Ensemble, and Courtney Hooks as the Assistant/Ensemble. Due a death in the family of Courtney Hooks, the part of Assistant/Ensemble will be played by Donnis Collins until further notice.”

In addition to director Linda Young, who is RLT’s youth theater and education director, the show’s production team includes set and lighting designer Richard Young, costume designer Susan Worthington White, sound designer Rick LaBach, and stage manager David Wilk.

Young says, “Rick Young’s set is stark, cold, corporate, black and white, forceful yet open with many angles. The lighting is a vital member of the cast, moving the plot along. It is used to clarify and emphasize how the playwright plays with time.

“The color and style of Costumes reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the characters,” says Linda Young.

Note: The Friday, Sept. 9th, performance will be a benefit for the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund.

Raleigh Little Theatre presents The Story Friday-Saturday, Sept. 9 and 10, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 15-17, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. in RLT’s Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina. $15, except $10 Sept. 11th Sunday matinee and $12 for students and seniors Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. 919/821-3111. Note: All performances are wheelchair accessible, and assistive listening devices are available for persons with hearing impairments. Raleigh Little Theatre: http://www.raleighlittletheatre.org/story.htm.

WHAT: The Triangle Theater Review is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter, featuring previews and reviews by Robert W. McDowell and reviews by Alan R. Hall, Todd Morman, and Scott Ross. (For brief bios of our contributors, see http://www.cvnc.org/about/critics-bios.html.) John Lambert and Classical Voice of North Carolina reprint our previews, reviews, theater calendar, and theater and film links online at http://www.cvnc.org/. The Triangle Theater Review previews and reviews are now listed under “Performance Reviews” on the CVNC home page. (Just click on the show title for the preview, which will be followed on the web page by the review.) For a comprehensive list of Triangle “Theatre Openings,” see http://www.cvnc.org/calendar/openings.html. For our extensive list of “Theater and Film Links,” go to http://www.cvnc.org/links/theatre.html. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? E-mail RobertM748@aol.com.

DONATIONS: If you value the comprehensive, in-depth local theater coverage that the Triangle Theater Review provides, please use your credit card to donate online via PayPal: http://www.cvnc.org/support/index.html; or mail a generous check today to Classical Voice of North Carolina, 3305 Ruffin Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-4025. Because CVNC is a 501(c)(3) organization, all financial contributions are tax-deductible. Be sure to indicate that you want to support continued online publication of the Triangle Theater Review.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW in the Subject: line. To have your name removed from our mailing list, e-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW in the Subject: line.

COPYRIGHT: Editorial content and all formats © 2005 CVNC and the respective authors. Reproduction in any form without authorization of Classical Voice of North Carolina and the respective authors is prohibited. CVNC will maintain an archive of standard previews and reviews from past issues for at least a year, at http://cvnc.org/reviews/archives.html. To request copies of web articles from 2004 and earlier, e-mail cvnc1@earthlink.net.


You are here: Home > Reviews and articles about the theatre's productions > Preview: The Story

Preview: The Story

Raleigh Little Theatre will present the Triangle premiere of The Story, a ripped-from-the-headlines drama by award-winning African-American playwright Tracey Scott Wilson, Sept. 9-25 in its Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre. The play’s central character -- inspired by the real-life example of ultra-ambitious black Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke, who not only not only fabricated her resume, but also made up sources for her story “Jimmy’s World,” which her editor nominated for the Pulitzer Prize -- is ambitious young African-American reporter Yvonne Robinson (played by Chaunesti Lyon), whose credentials are called into question while she is investigating a white man’s murder in the wrong part of town. This unflinching look at race and class prejudice, journalistic ethics or lack thereof, all-consuming personal ambition, and truth won the 2004 Kisselring Prize for Playwriting.

“I first read The Story last year when the staff was reading plays for the upcoming season,” says director Linda O’Day Young. “I admire the play’s honesty and boldness to confront issues head on.”

She adds, “The Story is an intense play about all that human stuff that gets in the way of finding the truth. The Story is about ambition, perception, greed. It’s about race and class and social politics. It’s about us and where we are in America.

“The plot revolves around a very ambitious African-American rookie reporter, Yvonne Robinson, who is hired to work for the Outlook section of The Daily newspaper. The Outlook section is devoted to reporting positive things about the community. Yvonne’s credentials are impressive, Harvard, The Sorbonne. She speaks several languages, and it is obvious from the beginning that she does not plan to be at Outlook long, but rather is determined to move on to the Metro section and on to the National desk,” Young explains.

“Prior to Yvonne’s arrival at the paper,” Young says, “there is a high-profile murder of a white teacher (Scott Nagel), who is shot while driving with his wife (Izzy Burger) in a low-income neighborhood. Yvonne’s arrival at The Daily ignites conflicts as she deals with her white and wealthy lover, Jeff Morgan (also played by Scott Nagel), who is the editor of the Metro section and who wants to keep their relationship a secret, and as she tries to work with co-worker, Neil Patterson (George Hill), who is antagonistic from the start. But the greatest conflict is with her boss, Pat Johnson (Jackie Marriott), the African-American editor of the Outlook section.”

Young says, “Yvonne and Pat have very different views. Pat is extremely dedicated to her race and to the Outlook section, which she single-handedly got going in response to what she felt were the newspapers racist betrayals of minorities. Pat believes firmly that what she does reflects upon her race. She believes firmly in the power of words to change things.

“Yvonne, however, doesn’t want anything to do with her race,” Young reports, “and [she] thinks that Outlook section is useless fluff. Yvonne is just about to quit when she stumbles across the story which could make her career. She meets a young black girl (Stacie Alston), who confesses to being a member of a gang responsible for the murder of the teacher, Tim Dunn.”

Young says, “What ensues is a race to get the story and put the right spin on it. Other members of the cast are Starr Kilgore as Reporter/Ensemble, Lauren Reese as the Detective/Ensemble, and Courtney Hooks as the Assistant/Ensemble. Due a death in the family of Courtney Hooks, the part of Assistant/Ensemble will be played by Donnis Collins until further notice.”

In addition to director Linda Young, who is RLT’s youth theater and education director, the show’s production team includes set and lighting designer Richard Young, costume designer Susan Worthington White, sound designer Rick LaBach, and stage manager David Wilk.

Young says, “Rick Young’s set is stark, cold, corporate, black and white, forceful yet open with many angles. The lighting is a vital member of the cast, moving the plot along. It is used to clarify and emphasize how the playwright plays with time.

“The color and style of Costumes reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the characters,” says Linda Young.

Note: The Friday, Sept. 9th, performance will be a benefit for the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund.

Raleigh Little Theatre presents The Story Friday-Saturday, Sept. 9 and 10, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 15-17, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. in RLT’s Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina. $15, except $10 Sept. 11th Sunday matinee and $12 for students and seniors Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. 919/821-3111. Note: All performances are wheelchair accessible, and assistive listening devices are available for persons with hearing impairments. Raleigh Little Theatre: http://www.raleighlittletheatre.org/story.htm.

WHAT: The Triangle Theater Review is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter, featuring previews and reviews by Robert W. McDowell and reviews by Alan R. Hall, Todd Morman, and Scott Ross. (For brief bios of our contributors, see http://www.cvnc.org/about/critics-bios.html.) John Lambert and Classical Voice of North Carolina reprint our previews, reviews, theater calendar, and theater and film links online at http://www.cvnc.org/. The Triangle Theater Review previews and reviews are now listed under “Performance Reviews” on the CVNC home page. (Just click on the show title for the preview, which will be followed on the web page by the review.) For a comprehensive list of Triangle “Theatre Openings,” see http://www.cvnc.org/calendar/openings.html. For our extensive list of “Theater and Film Links,” go to http://www.cvnc.org/links/theatre.html. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? E-mail RobertM748@aol.com.

DONATIONS: If you value the comprehensive, in-depth local theater coverage that the Triangle Theater Review provides, please use your credit card to donate online via PayPal: http://www.cvnc.org/support/index.html; or mail a generous check today to Classical Voice of North Carolina, 3305 Ruffin Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-4025. Because CVNC is a 501(c)(3) organization, all financial contributions are tax-deductible. Be sure to indicate that you want to support continued online publication of the Triangle Theater Review.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW in the Subject: line. To have your name removed from our mailing list, e-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW in the Subject: line.

COPYRIGHT: Editorial content and all formats © 2005 CVNC and the respective authors. Reproduction in any form without authorization of Classical Voice of North Carolina and the respective authors is prohibited. CVNC will maintain an archive of standard previews and reviews from past issues for at least a year, at http://cvnc.org/reviews/archives.html. To request copies of web articles from 2004 and earlier, e-mail cvnc1@earthlink.net.

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