When We Were Colored, a Mother's Story at the Guild Theater

When we were colored, performing at the guild theater in november

“When We Were Colored, A Mother’s Story,” by local playwright Ginger Rutland, will open in preview at Oak Park’s Guild Theater on November 8. Opening night is November 9.

The play has particular significance for this city. It is adapted from Ginger’s mother, Eva Rutland’s memoir of the same title. It is the story of a well-educated middle class black woman raised in the Jim Crow south before the Second World War who moves to Sacramento with her husband and four young children after the war. What is it like to be the first black family in an all white neighborhood or the only little black girl in your third grade class? What happens when your husband enters a restaurant with his white colleagues and the waitress says “I can’t serve you.” ? It is not a play just about black grievance but about an ordinary black family living through extraordinary times in Sacramento and America at large.

Get your tickets today!

About the Playwright: Ginger is a retired journalist who began her career with KCRA TV, Sacramento, then went onto KRON TV in San Francisco as their Capitol reporter and ended my career on The Sacramento Bee editorial board. While at The Bee,  She was also a regular commentator for Capitol Public Radio.