100-Year-Old Sisters Welcome You To Their Home In Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s "Having Our Say" Oct. 2-18

  • Wednesday, September 23, 2020
E’tienne Easley and Shelia Wofford in one cast (at left) and Kim Reynolds and Darleene Cole in another (at right) will alternate performances in the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years.”
E’tienne Easley and Shelia Wofford in one cast (at left) and Kim Reynolds and Darleene Cole in another (at right) will alternate performances in the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years.”
photo by photos by Brad Cansler/photo illustration by Jeremy Campbell and Scott Dunlap
Warm, feisty, witty and wise, the Delany sisters—103-year-old Sadie and 101-year old Bessie—walk us through the last century through the lens of the African-American experience as the Chattanooga Theatre Centre returns to the stage with Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, opening Friday, Oct. 2 and running through Sunday, Oct. 18.
 
Officials said, "Having Our Say is the CTC’s first production since February, and with it the theatre is bringing audiences a show that is at once a vital historical record, while also an immensely timely work that reflects social issues at the forefront of the national consciousness. 
 
"A Tony Award nominee based on the real-life sisters’ bestselling memoir, it’s also a heartfelt portrait of two remarkable women who continued to love, laugh and embrace life after over a hundred years of living side by side."
 
With an extensive safety protocol that includes limited capacity of 30 percent, Having Our Say marks the first of three productions that the CTC will present this fall.
Along with Lobby Hero (Nov. 6-22) and It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Dec. 4-20), Having Our Say features a small cast that allows for social distancing on stage for the safety of the actors.
 
Based on a New York Times bestseller adapted for the stage by Emily Mann, Having Our Say is a two-woman show in which the sisters welcome the audience as a visitor to their comfortable home in Mount Vernon, NY. One is gentle and one is feisty, and like any two people living together for a length of time, they finish one another’s sentences.
 
They dispense joy and wisdom as they tell us the story of a century of change as they lived it. Their story begins in Reconstruction and progresses through the rise of Jim Crow, two world wars, the triumphs of Black culture during the Harlem Renaissance, the civil and women’s rights movements, up to the present. Their story is not simply African-American history or women’s history; it’s American history.
 
Under the helm of director Ricardo Morris, Having Our Say is double-cast and features the talents of Darleene Cole and Kim Reynolds in one cast and E’tienne Easley and Shelia Wofford in the other. The casts will perform on alternating dates. Annie Collins is the stage manager.
 
Performances are Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
 
The play will be presented in the mainstage theatre with general admission seating, although ushers will seat patrons with at least three vacant seats between parties and capacity will be limited to no more than 30 percent. To see the CTC’s 22-point safety protocol, visit TheatreCentre.com/SafetyCTC.
 
For tickets, call the CTC box office at 423-267-8534 or visit TheatreCentre.com.
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