THIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN EXTENDED WITH THREE ADDITIONAL SHOWS ON FRIDAY & SATURDAY, JULY 7 & 8, 2023, 8:00 P.M. & SUNDAY, JULY 9, 2023, 3:00 P.M.

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (LHT) presents the premiere of In The Evening By The Moonlight with Magic Theatre in Young Performers Theatre (YPT)’s Southside Theater at Fort Mason Center For Arts & Culture. Written by Traci Tolmaire and co-created and directed by LHT Artistic Director Margo Hall, In The Evening By The Moonlight shares the tale of a rowdy evening at Lorraine Hansberry’s Waverly Place flat in New York City.

During a wild night fueled by scotch and incandescent thoughts, Hansberry and her guests, singer Nina Simone and writer James Baldwin, debate incendiary ideas, confront fears, and celebrate the hope of revolution. Traci Tolmaire plays Hansberry, with Ryan Nicole Austin in the role of Nina Simone, and Rotimi Agbabiaka as James Baldwin.

“Lorraine Hansberry and I share a few commonalities — being born and raised on the south side of Chicago, moving to New York to pursue artistic careers, and using our voices to share lived experiences and highlight what’s possible,“ Tolmaire said.

Based on biographies, interviews, documentaries, FBI records, and the Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin archives housed at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, In The Evening By The Moonlight re-imagines a magical moment in the life of Hansberry at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

“At a time when books, art, culture, and Black history are being banned or altered, bringing forth this piece with co-creator Margo Hall about Lorraine Hansberry and her two close friends Nina Simone and James (Jimmy) Baldwin, feels intensely urgent,” said Tolmaire. “Not only as a theatrical piece but as a glimpse into their humanity and friendship.”

In The Evening By The Moonlight performances in YPT’s Southside Theater take place Thursdays through Saturdays, June 15, 2023 through July 1, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, June 17, 2023 to July 2, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $20 to $25 for previews (Thursday and Friday, July 15 and 16, 2023, 8:00p.m.) and $25 to $50 for the rest of the dates, (Thursdays through Sundays, June 17 to July 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.). Opening night is Saturday, June 17, 2023, 8:00 p.m. The performance has been extended for three more shows: Friday and Saturday, July 7 and 8, 2023, 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, July 9, 2023, 3:00 p.m.