Face Off Theatre Company is reviving one of its foundational productions in an immersive staging of Been Lovin' You: The Works of August Wilson, opening Friday, Jul 11 at the Crawlspace Theatre in downtown Kalamazoo. Cara Lieurance speaks with managing artistic director Marissa Harrington and acting cohort member Delanti Hall.
“August Wilson is called the Black Shakespeare,” says Harrington. “His legacy continues to grow internationally because his work speaks specifically to the Black experience—and through that, it becomes universal.”
The show, devised originally by Face Off co-founder Tenisha Lynn Pyron during her time at Western Michigan University, pulls together love and relationship scenes from across Wilson’s ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle, each play set in a different decade from 1908 to 1985. “It’s attraction, it’s connection, it’s bonding—some might call it trauma bonding,” Harrington laughs. “There are breakups, cussing out, sweet moments, tender moments. It’s the whole gamut of love, from a Black lens.”
Actor Delanti Hall plays six different characters. “August Wilson’s writing connects me to everything I am,” he says. “It reminds me of my grandfather, who migrated from Alabama to Detroit for a better life. These characters—what they go through, their pursuit of freedom—it’s deeply personal.”
The immersive staging invites audiences to dress as if attending a juke joint, where the performance unfolds around them without formal scene introductions. “We’re merging generations of Black theatre artists,” Harrington says. “It’s Face Off founders, legacy performers, and new cohort members all together.”
Tickets are available at faceofftheatre.com, with pay-what-you-wish pricing until 7:00 pm; then $20 at the door. Performances run two weekends, Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 p.m., with a matinee on July 20 at 3:00 p.m. Crawlspace Theatre is located at the former First Baptist Church downtown, with ample parking by Bronson Park.
“It’s community, joy, and Black love on stage,” says Hall. “And it’s funny too—like, really funny. Come for the heart, stay for the laughter.”
