Coppin Repertory Theatre

2024/2025 Anniversary Theatre Season

Coppin State University’s resident theatre company, Coppin Repertory Theatre, will raise the curtain on its twentieth season of plays, called the Anniversary Theatre Season, celebrating the rich artistic heritage of African American culture through theatre. This year’s schedule features three shows—two new dramas, and an ancient Greek classic.

Marty and the Hands That Could, the season premiere, is a new play by Coppin’s Playwright in Residence, Josh Wilder. The protagonist, Marty, is released from prison on the eve of his 25th birthday. He returns home to his family, equipped with a handwritten manuscript and big dreams to turn his life around. But his cousin Junior has also come home with problems of his own, setting them on a collision course as they struggle to break free of the curse that has haunted their family for generations. Can Marty put his hands to good use, or is his fate already written? Performances are scheduled in the James Weldon Johnson Auditorium October 10-13, 2024.

Antigone, Sophocles’ perennial classic, explores the tension between personal morality and the laws of the state, the nature of justice, the role of fate in human life, and the danger of excessive pride. This exploration produces a thought-provoking play that has been deliberated throughout the centuries. The central figure is Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, who displays an unwavering commitment to her familial duty and to the gods, even in the face of opposition from the state. Her character challenges the audience to consider the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs, even in the face of resistance from authority. King Creon, her uncle, on the other hand, is blinded to the higher rulings of the gods. He exhibits a resolute adherence to the law, maintaining order and stability for the peace of his state. The complicated relationship between personal conscience and law, tackled within the play, has enshrined Antigone as one of the most famous Greek tragedies. Production dates are December 5-8, 2024 in the Theatre Lab.

Leftovers, another new work by Josh Wilder, is the season finale. Jalil and Kwamaine just want their family to be “Cosby Show happy,” but that kind of life does not seem to be in the cards—until an enormous dandelion pops up in front of their South Philly home and wishes start falling from the sky. Seizing the possibility of no longer feeling like the city's leftovers, the brothers begin to dream their way out of the cycle of poverty that has governed their lives and find themselves on an adventure they never could have imagined. Leftovers closes the Anniversary Season again in the Theatre Lab, running May 1-4, 2025.

For more information about the Anniversary Theatre Season, call, or email Dr. Hyatt in the Visual and Performing Arts Area at (410) 951-3369 or ghyatt@coppin.edu.