Pamela English needed a space to grieve.
She was in her early 40s and returning to Tulsa after her son was murdered in Oakland, California.
“I came back looking for a way to grieve,” English told The Oklahoma Eagle. “There was an audition for ‘for colored girls.’ I, of course, went to the audition. The rest is history.”
While her world seemingly faded to black, English embodied lady in orange — one of the characters in Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.”
Now, she’s back — this time as lady in brown — as Tulsa’s World Stage Theatre Company puts on a production of the play starting in late February. Since her debut in the play more than 25 years ago, English said she’s been through a lot in life.
“I’m a 68-year-old Black woman who has experienced just about everything that has happened in the play, with the exception of wanting to commit suicide,” she said.
Each lady is nameless and represented by color: orange, brown, red, purple, blue, green and yellow.
“The production is a collection of poems, and they are all based on the experiences of Black women and our reflection on our past experiences, our loves, our losses, pain and joy,” said Kelli McLoud-Schingen, the company’s founding artistic director and director of the play.
She said the choreopoem, written by Ntozake Shange, is a piece of art that matters as much now as it did in 1976.
“Even though this is a 50-year-old production, it is incredibly timeless,” McLoud-Schingen told The Eagle. “It is absolutely relevant as we consider the political landscape, the cultural landscape and the role of African American women in movements, in self care and in self love.”
While the play covers heavy topics, like racism and sexual trauma, both McLoud-Schingen and English say they hope people — especially Black women — leave feeling a different emotion.
“I want them to feel seen. I want them to feel validated,” McLoud-Schingen said. “I want them to feel inspired. I want them to feel in community. I want them to feel empowered and in love. This whole experience for me has been to celebrate the brilliance of the Black sisterhood.”
As for what keeps English going, she says it’s found in the title of the play.
“There’s still a rainbow,” she said. “And we’ve always been told that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
The play runs Feb. 27-March 1 and March 6-8 at World Stage Studio, 1130 S. Harvard Ave. You can buy tickets online.
