can i touch it?

Shay Solomon is many things – but there’s one thing she’s definitely not: a pawn in the bank’s efforts to buy up foreclosed real estate. can i touch it? examines Black hair politics, the racial inequities faced by Black-owned businesses, and the fantastical place women of color have to recede into when they get asked stupid ass questions. “It’s a complicated feeling that many people around the country are grappling with,” says playwright Francisca Da Silveira. “I’ve tried to capture that complexity in this play, the compromises that go into improving a place while still trying to have it remain yours. I encourage everyone to think about the places they grew up in, about what used to be there and isn’t anymore, about who used to be there a... full review

Blue: Another Black Man Gunned Down He justifies. She probes. He jokes. She doesn’t laugh. Need we say it’s Racism 101? June Carryl’s world premiere production of “Blue” at Rogue Machine Theatre puts you dead center in an LAPD interrogation room. It’s the day after yet another police shooting of an unarmed Black man. Need we say the officer involved is white? Sully—that officer, played by John Colella—paces nervously in the empty room. Glancing at files displayed on the table, he’s nervous. This won’t be his best day. Detective LaRhonda Parker—played by Julanne Chidi Hill—couldn’t be sweeter when she enters the room to “debrief” the sergeant. Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, though you’re guessing eventually it might. Need we ... full review