About the Play:

Yellowman was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Drama

Yellowman is a full-length drama by Dael Orlandersmith. An African-American woman dreams of life beyond the confines of her small-town Southern upbringing and the light-skinned man whose fate is tragically intertwined with hers.

Yellowman takes its title from the skin-tone definition among African Americans, those who are dark skinned and the lighter-skinned persons who are considered "yellow." In the play, dark-skinned Alma and light-skinned Eugene have known each other since they were young children and feel destined to love one another, if they can overcome their prejudices against each other's colour. As their friendship blossoms into love, Alma struggles to free herself from her mother's poverty and alcoholism, while Eugene must contend with the legacy of being "yellow" – lighter-skinned than his brutal and unforgiving father. The play explores the negative associations surrounding male blackness as well as the effect these racial stereotypes have on black women.

Yellowman premiered in 2002 Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). It won the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, honouring the best English-language women writers worldwide, in 2003, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play has been performed in regional and college theatre productions.

Cast: 1 female, 1 male

What people say:

"Both a celebration of young love and a harrowing study of smoldering domestic violence, the play is both heartwarming and ultimately heartbreaking." — Variety

"It's a play worth standing for." — Star-Ledger

About the Playwright:

Dael Orlandersmith (born Donna Brown) is an African-American actress, poet and playwright. She is known for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama, Yellowman.