Internationally-acclaimed Caribbean playwright, Vincentian-born Jerol Huggins-Jackson is bringing his masterpiece “Truth B Told” to Off-Broadway.
Huggins-Jackson, the play’s writer and producer, said the widely-acclaimed production premieres Off-Broadway from Aug. 30 – Sept. 8.
He said “Truth B Told” was the only play selected among 100-odd new ones for the opening of the 777 Theatre, Off-Broadway, at 8th Avenue and 47th Street in the Theatre District in Manhattan.
“We’re ready for Off-Broadway,” Huggins-Jackson, who is also the founder and managing director of Jems Theatre Company, told Caribbean Life. “We’re very happy about the response from the Caribbean.
“’Truth B Told’ quickly gained a massive audience within the Caribbean and is now primed to make its international debut,” he added.
“Truth B Told” comes on the heels of another successful play, “Tables Will Turn,” said the playwright.
Huggins-Jackson said “Truth B Told,” which was played in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago, touches on themes that are both comedic and taboo within the Caribbean cultural context.
He said it is a “mellow comedy drama” that tells a story of shame, betrayal, and the real meaning of “never judge a book by its cover.”
From its debut earlier this year, Huggins-Jackson said the exciting, yet introspective, play has received “wonderful reviews” from Theatre- goers and critics alike. The play has its setting on a lush Caribbean island with birds, bees, radiant sun and sandy beaches, where a tragic story unfolds.
Huggins-Jackson said it’s a story of greed, sexuality, incest and betrayal; a husband with a checkered past; a mother with riveting secrets beyond one’s wildest imagination – secrets that took her from her once luxurious lifestyle in an affluent Caribbean neighborhood to the footholds of the underworld.
“As the story unfolds, you’ll be the judge of who is wrong or who is right, who is good or who is bad, or simply to the real meaning of ‘never look down on a man unless you’re picking him up’ – the real meaning of ‘never judge a book by its cover,’” Huggins-Jackson said.
He said “Truth B Told” will be played Off-Broadway on Aug. 30 and 31, and Sept. 1, 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. each day.
Huggins-Jackson said the play will also premiere at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 14.
He said he also plans to have the play premiere in Detroit and Atlanta, before heading to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, on Oct. 5, and St. Kitts and other Caribbean islands later on.
Huggins-Jackson said regional air carrier LIAT is sponsoring the cast’s Caribbean air travels.
The playwright said partial proceeds from the Off-Broadway premiere will go towards construction of the Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Photo courtesy of Gems Theater Company
