Leilani Smith, Jon Sprik, Photo by: Gina Long

Bee-luther-hatchee. A play opens on Friday, January 13, 8:00 p.m. at Sierra Madre Playhouse. Bee-luther-hatchee is written by Thomas Gibbons and directed by Saundra McClain, produced for Sierra Madre Playhouse by Christian Lebano, Estelle Campbell and Joan Riback.

Shelita Burns, editor at a New York publishing house, is searching for Libby Price, an African-American woman who has lived a drifting life across the U.S. and has composed a prize-winning memoir. Shelita wants to present Libby with her award.

Shelita’s joy in discovering Libby’s work turns to feelings of betrayal when she learns shocking facts about the author. When Shelita Burns comes face-to-face with the object of her search, Shelita’s actions in response are as startling as the facts she has uncovered.

To fully understand the significance of the title Bee-luther-hatchee, you’ll have to see the show. The concerns of the play include cultural appropriation and who has the right to tell certain stories, both of them newsworthy topics.

Playwright Thomas Gibbons is the resident playwright of InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, the setting for several of his plays. Bee-luther-hatchee is the first of a trilogy of plays that Gibbons has written on the subject of contemporary race relations. The other two plays are Permanent Collection (for which he received the NAACP Theatre Award as outstanding playwright) and A House With No Walls. His other plays include 6221, Pretending to America, The Exhibition, Uncanny Valley and many more. He resides in Wynnewood, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Saundra McClain directs. Her most recent directing credits include Prayerville, For Colored Girls…, Intimate Apparel, Breath and Imagination, and What I Learned in Paris. Also an actor, she appeared in the Broadway casts of Comin’ Uptown, For Colored Girls and The River Niger.

Ms. McClain’s cast for Bee-luther-hatchee includes (in alphabetical order) Olivia Cristina Delgado, Tamarra Graham, Christian Lebano, Leilani Smith and Jon Sprik.

Stage manager: Derek Copenhaver. Assistant stage manager: Jen Gies. Set design: Christopher Scott Murillo. Costume design: Vicki Conrad. Lighting design: Derek Jones. Sound design: Dave Mickey. Properties: Jen Gies. Curator of lobby exhibits: Diane Siegel. Sierra Madre Playhouse Artistic Director: Christian Lebano. Managing Director: Estelle Campbell.

Bee-luther-hatchee hasn’t been seen in Los Angeles in seventeen years, but it’s more timely than ever.

There will be facilitated talk-backs after each performance of this provocative show.

Concurrent with the engagement of Bee-luther-hatchee, there will be a number of related artistic and/or educational events at Sierra Madre Playhouse and other nearby venues. Subsequent press releases will give details on the content, dates, times and locations of these events.

Bee-luther-hatchee. A play will be performed January 13—February 18, 2017. Fri. & Sat. at 8:00, Sun. at 2:30. Additional 2:30 matinee on Saturday, February 18. Admission: $30. Seniors (65+) $27. Youth (13-20) $20. Children 12 and under, $17.

For reservations, contact (626) 355-4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org to purchase tickets online.

Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre.