Pannell wanted the fairytale to take place in today’s Black community and have a strong female protagonist, struggling with an issue facing anyone woman regardless of race or ethnicity. The trio wanted an uplifting contemporary story that breaks away from the typical slave narratives that often define Black plays. Their musical uses jazz, blues, gospel and hip-hop to tell each character’s story. Pannell, Collier and Cobb worked together in the past at Skylight Music Theatre. We wrote the musical we wanted to see on stage." “We need to retell one of these stories, but from an African American perspective.
“We need a Black fairy tale,” Pannell recalled of their conversation. She and Cobb were talking about fairy tales. The idea for "Zuri’s Crown" came when Pannell was directing “Into The Woods” at UWM Peck School of the Arts last May she leads the musical theater program there. "Every parent always wants to do the best we can by our children, but we always don’t make the best choices and we pay a price," Pannell said. But it is also an allegory of the lengths a parent would go to protect their child. The musical explores issues of beauty, family, community, trauma and healing all through a woman’s hair journey. “Although from the African American cultural perspective, it is a journey that so many people make. “It’s not the traditional Rapunzel,” said Pannell, who doubles as Bronzeville Arts Ensemble's producing artistic director and the senior artistic associate with Black Arts MKE. This adaptation by musical theater veterans Cynthia Cobb, Parrish Collier and Sheri Williams Pannell celebrates Black women, their hair, and the power of not only self-expression but also self-acceptance. It is part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals.
The musical is set to run at the Marcus Performing Arts Center April 27-29. View Gallery: Photos: 'Zuri's Crown,' a world premiere by Black Arts MKEįrom straight to curly to braided to a natural ‘fro, every coifed strand of a woman’s hair tells her life’s story.Ī new musical production from Black Arts MKE and Bronzeville Arts Ensemble brings that journey to life in "Zuri’s Crown," a bold re-imagining of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Rapunzel.”
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