NBC 5 and the Stage West Theatre invite you to the production of Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been… by Carlyle Brown at Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth, starting February 14 through March 10.
On March 21, 1953, Langston Hughes, celebrated as the Poet Laureate of Harlem, received a summons to appear before the Senate Permanent Sub Committee on Investigations on Un-American Activities, and went to Washington to be questioned by Joseph McCarthy and the rest of his committee.
Langston Hughes has been up all night, trying to work on a poem, but the words just aren’t coming together. He’s distracted by the prospect of his coming testimony at the hearings, which are likely to be unpleasant and may irrevocably alter his life as an artist. How can he explain his writing to politicians? As he struggles to write, he reflects on how he came to be a poet, about the circumstances and people which have influenced his writing—and also the passion which infuses it. Can they possibly understand? And then the time has arrived; he finds himself before the Committee, trying to explain his works, and to provide a context to buttoned-up legal minds with no imagination or interest in the perspective of a black artist. It’s a frightening visit to a dark time in our history, and a reminder of just how easy it might be for us to find ourselves back there again.
To learn more about Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been…, reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.
Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been…
Presented by Stage West Theatre
February 14 – March 10
821 W. Vickery Blvd.
Fort Worth, Texas 76104
817-784-9378
www.stagewest.org
