RESURRECTION is a fantasy based on a true event - a massacre so disturbing it is left out of school textbooks -  when in 1921 the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma was burnt to the ground by the Klan.

The characters in this play are people who have been resurrected to tell the story of the largest racial massacre in the history of the United States. The town had been so prosperous that it was nicknamed NEGRO WALL STREET by Booker T. Washington. The violence broke out in Greenwood because a white woman claimed she was raped by a colored man. A trial was held and was dismissed by the judge because the woman gave such bizarre, conflicting testimony as to what happened. On May 31st, 1921 the Klan was so infuriated by how the trial went, they came into the town of Greenwood and burned 35 square blocks to the ground in a fire that lasted two days.  Hundreds were killed (exact count unknown), and 6,0000 residents were displaced. Today, those who know this story refer to it as...BLACK WALL STREET.

Loss: 600 businesses/ 21 churches/ 21 restaurants/ 30 grocery stores/ 2 movie theatres/ 6 private airplanes/ also: a hospital, a bank, a post office, schools, libraries, law offices, and a bus system.

This play premiered at American Theatre of Actor in February of 2020, just prior to COVID-19. There have been four production of this play at the ATA and also one tour to Oklahoma.

 

Shining Star Productions was founded by playwright and director Anne L. Thompson-Scretching.  Shining Star's mission is to use the art of drama to manipulate feelings that make people want to laugh, cry, change their thought process or affirm their beliefs. To see themselves as others view them. To display everyday life, its struggles and past histories of a people long gone and events yet to come. Drama is the voice of the people, their communities, its ills and societies as a whole, it's how we play, work, live and die together.

American Theatre of Actors, Inc. (ATA) was founded in 1976 by James Jennings to promote the development of new playwrights, directors and actors, and to provide them a creative atmosphere in which to work. The plays are dramas, comedies, and hybrids, dealing with the social and ethical problems of contemporary society.

12,000 actors have worked at ATA including Dennis Quaid, Bruce Willis, Dan Lauria, Chazz Palminteri, Danny Aielo, David Morse, Edie Falco and Kathryn Hahn. Our productions are sometimes grouped as 'festivals,' such as a Playwrights Festival or a Directors Festival. In 2016 we began an initiative to feature women in theatre as directors and playwrights, today this is our WIT! (Women in Theatre) program.

**HEALTH & SAFETY at the ATA:
Late seating may be problematic.

ADA Access: please have an assistant if you are in a manual wheelchair. Call 24 hours in advance if a wheelchair ramp is required to get over the 3 steps at the front of our facility: 212-581-3044. Only 1 wheelchair spot is available per performance.

Masks in the theatre are optional until further notice.
If you are feeling unwell or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, have been exposed to anyone within 14 days of your visit, or have been instructed to self-isolate, we ask that you stay home and contact the ticket site (or producer of the show) to discuss a ticket refund or exchange.
Ticket purchasers are responsible for informing and providing this information if they are providing the ticket for a guest. Anyone that does not abide by our protocols may be denied entry to our facility.

We recognize that public health guidelines may change and therefore our policies are also subject to change without notice. If you test COVID positive within a week of being in our facility, you may have exposed others. Please call us as a tracing contact: 212-581-3044.