STREAM THE 2021 SHOW HERE!
A SOULFUL CHRISTMAS
Directed by ShawnJ West, with Musical Director Yvonne Cobbs
A Soulful Christmas returns for a holiday celebration blending fun, witty dialogue and your favorite music that will have you on your feet!
As Yvonne Cobbs and ShawnJ West unite forces once again, let us come together at the historic Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture for a night like no other.
ABOUT THE CO-CREATORS
Dr. Yvonne C. Cobbs (Musical Director, she/her) is a songwriter, director, recording artist, and actress that has graced the stage with some of the most influential artists in the world. She is a member of the Northern California Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America as well as Harmony Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, CA, under the leadership of Pastor A. L. Perkins. In addition to singing, directing, and songwriting, Yvonne is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and takes her expertise to the theatre with Covid compliance.
Yvonne has performed in many live stage plays including Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s Black Nativity from 2001 to 2009, Mahalia: A Gospel Musical in 2010, a staged reading of The Amen Corner directed by Steven Anthony Jones in 2012, and the music director and featured artist of A Soulful Christmas since 2014. Yvonne graces the stage once again as music director and featured artist in A Soulful Christmas: Celebrating Black Joy.
ShawnJ West (Director, he/him) is a California-based director/actor by way of Seattle, WA where he directed the cult hit Sex In Seattle: Episodes 15, 16, 17 & 18 with SIS Productions; ReAct’s production of WELL; Redwood Theatre’s The Seven Year Itch and the West Coast premiere of Illyria. His Bay Area credits, Playwright Center San Francisco’ s shorts and showcase; African American Shakespeare Company’s production of Cinderella and assistant director on Macbeth; Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s A Soulful Christmas. Most recently he directed the world premiere of Interlude by Harrison David Rivers with New Conservatory Theatre Center based upon the audio piece of the same name which premiered on stage this past Winter 2021. In early 2022, he'll be directing the regional premiere of DOT by Colman Domingo also with NCTC. You can find him on YouTube by way of West Place Media where he puts on his own talk show, Underneath the Shade Tree.
Instagram: @underneaththeshadetree/ Twitter: @ShadeTreeShawnJ / YouTube: bit.ly/3BtMWJ2
THE CAST
Robin Hodge-Williams
Rhonda Jones
Mary Williams
Kathi Mills
Victoria Roberson
Tammie Mills
JaCoree Prothro
Dion William
Vanessa Murphy
Michael Nelson
Andrew Jamieson
Oshmin Oden
Davon Vigay
Founded in 1981, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, the West Coast’s premiere African American theatre company, produced its first Gospel Music production -- James Baldwin's The Amen Corner -- 24 years ago. Since then, LHT has become renowned for its holiday gospel productions, including Tambourines to Glory and Black Nativity, both by Langston Hughes, the experimental Gethsemane Park by Ishmael Reed, and Vinnette Carol's classic Your Arm's Too Short to Box with God, among others.
We are a not-for-profit theatre. DONATIONS and support are always appreciated.
SUPPORTERS FOR THIS PRODUCTION
