American Stage’s ‘Dutchman’ makes history in St. Petersburg

The stage floor’s sunk into the ground, covered in shadowy hues of blues and grays. It looks as though it were the depths of the sea floor. All around the stage, large jagged wooden planks jut up from the ground as if they were pieces of a ship that broke apart and sank.

It’s a Tuesday night at The Factory St. Pete and Erica Sutherlin, who is making “herstory” as the first Black woman director at American Stage, has brought together a panel to discuss Amiri Baraka, the man behind the upcoming play “Dutchman.”

“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to,” intones Leslie Gore just before perky Jamaican chanteuse, Millie Small, reminds us that “My Boy Lollipop” is “as sweet as candy.” We’re firmly in 1964 where LBJ is about to sign the sweeping Civil Rights Act.

Potent. Stinging. Infuriating. Grab-your-collar-and-shake-you-awake. Rattling. Terrifying. Pummeling. Scalding, like hot coffee splashed in the face. These are some of my first reactions after watching the remarkably staged and still timely DUTCHMAN at American Stage.

Shows under the stars are returning as St. Pete’s American Stage has announced upcoming performances of Footloose at Demens Landing. The show is the highlight of the annual American Stage in the Park series, back for the first time since 2019, and performances run from April 6 – May 8.

Get ready to kick off your shoes because "Footloose The Musical" is coming to American Stage in the Park following a two-year delay due to COVID-19.

The production, based on the 1984 film, will run from April 6 through May 8 at Demens Landing Park in St. Petersburg.

After being postponed for two years, American Stage in the Park returns to Demens Landing Park in St. Petersburg with Footloose — The Musical on April 6. It runs through May 8.

American Stage in the Park, an annual rite of spring in Tampa Bay, is bringing a musical version of "Footloose" to St. Petersburg's beautiful Demens Landing.

The family-friendly outdoor spin on the Kevin Bacon movie classic will run April 6 to May 8.

It’s been three years since American Stage’s last big “park show.” In April 2019, Mamma Mia! thrilled bay area audiences on the company’s temporary stage in Demens Landing Park. The 2020 musical, the followup, was close to the starting gate when the coronavirus pandemic lowered the curtain on theatrical productions everywhere.

It’s 1986 in the West African country of Ghana, and the girls at the Aburi boarding school are abuzz about the upcoming Miss Ghana pageant.

There’s a scene in American Stage’s production of “School Girls: Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in which every cast member participates, one way or another, in the performance of a Whitney Houston classic. The scene is too crucial to spoil here, but what I will say is that it’s an encapsulation of all the strange and potentially incongruous elements of the 2018 script by Jocelyn Bioh.

At American Stage now through February 27 is SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY by Jocelyn Bioh. SCHOOL GIRLS is loosely based on a true story that tells the tale of an all-girls school in Ghana and a prestigious Miss Global Universe pageant.

Picture it. 1986. An all girls school in Ghana and there’s a new girl in town, an American, who challenges the reigning queen bee. There’s a prestigious pageant on the line, which could provide the opportunity to move up in the world to the lucky winner.

In 2021, it’s still groundbreaking when a Black person takes over as artistic director of a major American theater. But in Florida, it’s even bigger news because it’s the first time in the entire state.

Thirteen weeks into his tenure as American Stage’s producing artistic director, Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj reports that things are moving along according to plan.

The American Stage Theatre Company has named Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj as its new producing artistic director, making him the first person of color to ever lead a regional theatre company in Florida.

Neil Simon’s classic The Odd Couple is practically the blueprint for mismatched personality comedies. For its first production of the season and return to in-theater performance, American Stage is presenting the classic with a fresh eye.

Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj has been appointed Producing Artistic Director and Resident Playwright at American Stage. His vision is to provide a space for people of all walks of life to be awakened and enlightened, challenged and inspired, and tell stories rooted deeply in the experience of America.

Artistic Producer Rajendra Ramoon previews American Stage’s updated version of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple”