Robert Johnson Jr.’s Cellphone Blues has a setting of none other than the Q.C. — from neighborhoods like Oaklawn to a jazzy music venues like the Excelsior Club. But it isn’t ready yet. This play that gives a scent of family struggles from drug deals, debts, an affair and ongoing politics is still baking in the oven. Directed by Lillie Ann Oden, a reading of the play will be cast by five Charlotteans and a Q&A session will follow. Johnson, a professor of Africana Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, formerly wrote Patience Of Nantucket, a production that traced a black woman’s unjust conviction of murder in the 1860s. Taste a sample of his work-in-progress and give your feedback on it. Free. 7 p.m. Spirit Square (Dance Studio C on the second floor), 345 N. College St. 704-348-5750.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2008.
