By Sean Yoes, AFRO Baltimore Editor, syoes@afro.com
“A Wonder in My Soul,” a dramatic musical currently at Baltimore Center Stage until Dec. 23, features a small talented cast that delivers powerful performances across the board. But, the play written by Marcus Gardley and directed by Daniel Bryant hits home in our city because it was specifically crafted to reflect life in an East Baltimore community.
“Upon deciding on producing A Wonder in My Soul and making it specific to Baltimore, the playwright Marcus Gardley and I talked about the best way to do that,” said Bryant, who is also Center Stage’s artistic producer and director of community programs. In building the authentic narrative for “Wonder,” Bryant explained that the play focuses on one of the pillars of Black communities across the nation, the hair salon.
“A Wonder in My Soul,” a musical currently showing at Center Stage.
“We decided reaching out to the community would be the first step, beginning with salon owners in the Baltimore area. A group of seven local beauty salon owners were curated representing a range of years in the business, from three to 45-plus,” Bryant said. The seven salon owners who provided the multi-layered foundation for Wonder are: Lois James (Lois’ Soft Style Salon); Claudia McKee (Mane Attraction); Towanda Solese (Mahogany Hair Studio); Sandra Tillman (Flair Hair Salon & Barbershop); Rachel Thompson (Salon Rache); Angeliha Wicks (Enstyle Salon) and Debbie Wiggs Gaddy (Xscape Hair Studio).
“Myself and Marcus met (the owners), asking a wide range of questions about their experiences holding down a business in the African-American community, specific challenges in the changing field of cosmetology, and the impact gentrification has had on their businesses,” Bryant said. The production team decided to draw “aesthetic inspiration” for the interior set design from McKee’s Mane Attraction salon on Mulberry St., downtown. But, the authentic East Baltimore flavor was the result of mining the wisdom of the salon owners with deep roots in their communities and others. “The historical and cultural perspective of the city and its neighborhoods was provided through individual research, conversations with both salon owners and community stakeholders as well,” Bryant said.
Wonder is a story that spans decades of Baltimore’s history and explores segregation, racism, gentrification and the enduring resilience of the Black community through it all. But, ultimately it is a story that resonates beyond our city’s boundaries and speaks to the seemingly perilous plight of urban America.
