Houston Theater: Ensemble Theater

The Ensemble Houston theater cast of American Menu had the rare opportunity to visit the diner that inspired the play. It allowed them to take a look at the exact place that was in the head of the playwright. Their short impromptu tour even included some lunch.

Now that they are nearing their final performances. The long ride to Livingston, Texas the passionate work, and the long road it took from it's conception to the Ensemble's stage can be fully appreciated.

American Menu written by Don Wilson Glenn, characterizes a group of 5 Black women working at a Livingston, Texas diner in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, the brutal murder of a black child in their community form the backstory. The Texas playwright uses witty prose to power the dialogue and fuel the worker's conversations that are focused on prejudice, poverty and each other.

Although it's Houston theater debut is directed by a woman(Eileen J. Morris), features an all-female cast (Shirley Whitmore, Detria Ward, Rachel Hemphill Dickson, Tisha Dorn and Lee Waddell) written from a female perspective, and can easily fit into the psyche of the largely female subscriber base of the Ensemble Theater. It's not a play just for women.

Its powerful themes are strong enough for any man, who will allow the playwrights masterful work about civil rights and uncivilized wrongs a place inside their head.