For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf

With a title as bold and candid as For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf, one can easily surmise that this 1976 theatrical work by Ntozake Shange is as creatively groundbreaking and revolutionary as its title frankly states. 

Consisting of a series of poetic monologues accompanied by dance movements and music -  a form of presentation which Shange coined the word ‘Choreopoem’ to describe - this play is also the perfect production for Pit & Balcony Community Theatre to kick off their 2026 ‘After Dark’ series of performances with on Friday & Saturday, February 20 & 21^st.

The piece tells the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society through a series of 20 separate poems choreographed to music that weaves interconnected stories of love, empowerment, struggle and loss into a complex representation of sisterhood. Shange wanted to write for colored girls in a way that mimicked how real women speak so she could draw her readers' focus to the experience of reading and listening.

The subjects covered in this production are as serious as a cold winter’s night is long and include rape, abandonment, abortion and domestic violence, which the playwright originally wrote as separate poems instead of monologues back in 1974. Her writing style is idiosyncratic and she often uses vernacular language, unique structure, and unorthodox punctuation to emphasize syncopation.

In December 1974, Shange performed the first incarnation of her choreopoem with four other artists at a women's bar outside Berkeley, California.  After moving to New York City, she continued work on ‘for colored girls’,  which went on to open at the Booth Theatre in 1976, becoming the second play by a black woman to reach Broadway, preceded by Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun in 1959. Shange updated the original choreopoem in 2010, by adding another poem titled  "positive" and referencing the Iraq War and PTSD, making a total of 21 pieces that Pit & Balcony will feature in this presentation.

Now, fifty years after the 1976 Broadway production was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, for this upcoming After Dark production Director Danyelle Hillman - a music instructor at the Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy, faces some unique challenges and shares some exciting opportunities presented by this production, beginning with the fact the cast consists of seven nameless African-American women only identified by the colors they are assigned.

“There are seven characters in this play who don’t have an actual name, but are represented by different colors of the rainbow, which are brown, yellow, blue, red, orange, green, and purple, so they all tell a story ranging from relationship issues or trauma such as abortion and sexual abuse;  plus each actor is moving between childhood to adulthood,” reflects Danyelle. “Something became lost between that transition, so all these characters share their stories and that’s what really drew me to this play.”

“What makes it so powerful as well as challenging is in 1976 the social movements happening back at that time with the LGBT movement and with Women’s rights and getting the Equal Rights Amendment passed were also taking place in Black Theatre, so a lot of black vernacular is used in these monologues, and the writing style is idiosyncratic and uses natural language, a unique structure, and unorthodox puns,” she continues. “Shange wanted to write for colored girls in a way that mimic how real women speak so she could draw the focus to the experience of listening.”

“The challenge for me as a director and the cast as actors is getting the dialogue in these monologues to crossover to the audience, so even though the characters are speaking to each other as well as to each member in the audience,” notes Danyelle.

“After our first reading I told the cast to focus on how they are going to use their voice and who they are talking to at this moment - are they telling their own story, or someone else’s story? And when they do come together they find a strength and love within themselves, so when that self-love and healing comes together just like the colors of the rainbow they can transcend this traumatic mess through their sisterhood.”

With a cast of both veterans and newcomers that consists of Melony Lamar, Ekia Thomas, Imani Clark, Hudson Holm, Renee Henry, Yolandie Hamilton, Jayda Davis, along with a dance ensemble consisting of Kamaya Harris and Shatarea Simms, Danyelle points out that not only do the actors have to memorize their lines, dance, and move to the music, they also have to adapt their language to the dialect of women from different cities ranging from Detroit to Chicago to New Orleans. “Fortunately these actors all have powerful voices and strong stage presence,” she notes.

“I don't want the audience to see this as a traditional play,” reflects Danyelle.  “This is not your traditional play and it's not a musical because a musical tells a story through songs. So my goal and hope is for the audience to really take in and listen to the voices in these stories and how they connect and express different emotions. It may be emotionally triggering for some, but it’s a way to hear the sisterhood.”

“The reason we’re staging this production in February is because we’re celebrating Black History Month, and I’m really excited to be directing this production because we’ve been trying to get the license to perform this play for three seasons now and finally were able to secure it. Plus, this Is the first time to my knowledge where an all-Black cast is performing at Pit & Balcony, so as a community theater, we’re really trying to attract new audience viewers.

Pit & Balcony’s After Dark Production of ‘For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf’ will run Friday and Saturday, February 20 & 21 at 8:30 PM.  Tickets are only $15.00 and you must be 18 years or older to attend. Tickets are available by visiting PitandBalconyTheatre.com or phoning the box office at 989.754.6587.