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The Black Rep presents 'Coconut Cake'

Wednesday, February 19, 2025 7 PM

+ 8 dates

  • Thursday, February 20, 2025 7 PM
  • Friday, February 21, 2025 8 PM
  • Saturday, February 22, 2025 8 PM
  • Sunday, February 23, 2025 3 PM
  • Wednesday, February 26, 2025 7 PM
  • Thursday, February 27, 2025 7 PM
  • Friday, February 28, 2025 8 PM
  • Saturday, March 1, 2025 8 PM

6445 Forsyth Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63105

https://ci.ovationtix.com/35891/production/1201195
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The St. Louis Black Repertory Company continues its 48th Anniversary Season with the Rolling World Premiere of Melda Beaty’s “Coconut Cake,” directed by Geovonday Jones. This comedy about friendship, retirement and temptation opens Friday, Feb. (with previews Feb. 5-6) and runs through Sunday March 2, 2025.

Eddie and his happily retired, chess-playing friends spend their days at the local McDonalds, where the coffee refills are free and the banter plentiful. When a mystery woman moves into the neighborhood — with her Creole wiles, medicine cabinet secrets and melt-in-your-mouth coconut cake — Eddie is not the only one tempted to visit, upending all their lives.

“More than a metaphor for something sweet and tempting, this production gives us a chance to eavesdrop on the society of me” said Black Rep founder and producing director Ron Himes, the Henry E. Hampton, Jr. Artist-in-Residence in Arts & Sciences. “Beaty’s script really captures some of the just plain silly things men say when we are alone with one another.”

“Coconut Cake” won the Sylvia Sprinkle- Hamlin Premiere Award at the International Black Theater Festival (IBTF). The award includes “rolling premieres” at five Black theaters. Prior to this production, The Black Rep joined with Houston’s Ensemble Theatre to present a virtual reading in 2020 and Himes joined the cast for the IBTF premiere in 2024.

Support for The Black Rep’s 48th Main Stage Season comes from The Berges Family Foundation, Caleres, Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, The Shubert Foundation, the Steward Family Foundation, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre. Tickets are available at theblackrep.org or through the Box Office at 314-534-3807. Reduced pricing is available for seniors, educators, museum staff, students, and groups of 12 or more. 

About The Black Rep 

The Black Rep, a 48-year-old legacy Black arts organization, is committed to producing, re-imagining, and commissioning work written by Black playwrights and creating opportunities for new voices and youth. Founded by Producing Director Ron Himes, the vision for The Black Rep continues: a more equitable distribution of opportunities and resources for Black professionals and students in the theatre; improved representation on and back-stage in the theatre industry; and a fostered community culture of support and mentorship for those who will follow. For more information: www.theblackrep.org.
 

  • Dianne Mogilevsky Carty
  • Eric Magazu

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