Unentitled

by Charles White
Negro Ensemble Company at 59E59 and the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival

2024 AUDELCO Best Revival

Legacy is not just property and prestige. It’s the relationships we build.

Frank Saunders is laid off from his law firm during the 2008 recession. In order to continue to support and protect his family’s privileged life, he plans on selling a summer home in the SANS subdivisions that has been in his family for three generations. Frank’s attempt to rewrite family legacy in his image is challenged by his wife, Deanna. The two competing visions of legacy threaten to destroy their family.

The play explores anxieties black people experience when building and maintaining legacy. 

Cast:

Reggie Wilson (Frank), Kenya Wilson (Deanna), Gil Tucker (Ben), Leah Finnie (Alice), Adrain Washington (Aaron)

Design Team:
Rhonda Lucas (Costume), Omar Jaslin (Lighting), Angel Smith & Chris Cumberbatch (Scenic - 2024 AUDELCO Nomination for “Best Scenic Design”), Twan Howard and Terrence I Mosley (Sound), Leana Gardella and Reggie Wilson (Violence), Lawrence Floyd (PSM for Rehearsals and International Black Theatre Festival), Marlon Campbell (Props and PSM for 59E59)

Director’s Note:

Legacy has two definitions:

1. Money or property left in a will

2. The lasting impact of particular events and actions of the past

I think the true meaning of Legacy is in the second definition. Core to that definition are relationships. The lasting impact of events and the people attached to them. In Unentitled it’s not just money or property that’s at stake. It’s a marriage, it’s a life-long friendship, it’s brother and sisterhood. When it comes to legacy, black people hold deep anxiety when building and maintaining the continuity of the hopes, dreams, and misdeeds of those who came before.