ABSTRACT
Zelda makes another attempt to diversify the work and audiences of Arena Stage—a much more comprehensive one than her effort 20 years earlier. She again brings more Black actors into the company to play leading (as well as supporting) roles, and she invites African American director Tazewell Thompson onto the artistic staff. Together with staff member Willa Taylor, they establish the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowships for young people of color. Thompson directs several plays—Caucasian Chalk Circle, Fences, The Glass Menagerie with Ruby Dee, and Cheryl L. West’s Before It Hits Home—that speak powerfully to both Black and white audiences. After directing her final productions as producing director, A Doll House and Born Guilty, Zelda steps down after 41 years and is succeeded by associate producing director Douglas C. Wager. Narrators include Tazewell Thompson, Allen Lee Hughes, and Joe Dowling.
