HAT MUSICAL “CROWNS” MAKES ITS DEBUT IN DAYTONA BEACH FLORIDA

The show that glorifies hats and its heritage will be at the Seaside Music Theater from January 21 through February 10th in Daytona, Beach Florida.

Award-winning Detroit director, Janet Cleveland already put on three different productions of "Crowns," to the stage. "This is the fourth time I've directed 'Crowns,' so I've worked with different casts, sets, costumes and musicians. The thing that stays constant is the story; that won't change."

That story grew out of Washington, D.C. - based photographer Michael Cunning's 1998 book. It shows black women in their Sunday best, especially the hats that symbolize beauty, individuality and pride (and includes their comments).

Playwright Regina Taylor adapted the book to the stage, adding music and choreography. Her main character, Yolanda (Mandi Jo John), is a tough street kid from Brooklyn who is sent to live with relatives after her brother is shot and killed.

"Yolanda doesn't know anything about their traditions, the hats, the Southern way of living," said Cleveland. "As the script says, the only time the women could show off was when they dressed for church -- it was a tradition from slave days.

"But the hats are about more than just dressing up, and showing respect. It's also about feeling good about yourself. When you wear a hat, you carry yourself differently.”

"Ladies wearing hats fix their hair differently, make sure the hats look a certain way, go through the process of fixing it on their heads," said Cleveland. "And when they do that, they reclaim something that was taken from them when they came over as slaves, when they were on the Middle Passage. The hats are a way of that in their memories, of honoring their heritage."

So her fourth "Crowns" is a blend of old and new as it tells the story of a young woman who makes a connection to her past. Hats are actually hats, but also symbols of self-esteem as Yolanda makes her journey, said Cleveland. "She is trying to figure out how she fits into the world, and the individual ladies tell her about when they made their own journeys."

Those stories are told in a non-linear fashion, with flashbacks and moments that pull the audience back, she said. "What I hope my audiences will experience in 'Crowns' are memories of their own mothers. The story crosses color lines, and audience members often come up and tell me what it meant to them.”

"It's like looking at family photo albums and reconnecting, in powerful but funny ways," said Cleveland." ‘Crowns' has a universal message, and people say it empowered them; I hope it empowers its audiences in Daytona Beach, too."

The Gillespy Theater, News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach. For information: seasidemusictheater.org, or call 386-252-6200 - 800-854-5592.