NORTHVILLE, MI (January 3, 2023) – Tipping Point Theatre (TPT) continues its 15^th theatrical season on January 26 at 8 p.m. with the Michigan premiere of Loy A. Webb’s The Light. TPT’s production of vibrant, culturally-significant, captivating theatrical offerings rank among some of the best professional performances offered in the state of Michigan.

Not every marriage proposal goes as planned. Loy A. Webb’s The Light introduces us to Rashad and Genesis on what should be one of the happiest days of their lives, but their joy quickly unravels when ground-shifting accusations from the past resurface in this gripping two-character drama. Can their relationship survive the growing divide between them over who–and what–to believe? Directed locally by Carollette Phillips, The Light is a real-time rollercoaster ride of laughter, romance, and reckoning that peels away the layers of truth, doubt, pain, and ultimately the power of love.

“Live theatre is my first love as an artist,” says Phillips. “There is nothing quite as exciting as being in the ‘room where it happens,’ which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to serve as the director for this production of The Light. The audience gets to be a fly-on-the-wall as a loving couple grapples with an unexpected bump on the road to their wedding engagement. Webb’s masterfully crafted play is a fun, real, beautifully painful window into the lives of Genesis and Rashad, two people who love each other very much. However, just because you love someone doesn’t mean you always agree with them or understand their perspective. You will laugh, you will cry, you will do all of the things…and hopefully by the end, some light will be shed in the darkness that many of us often suffer through silently.”

Phillips adds, “I am grateful for this opportunity to both celebrate women and amplify Black voices. Although everyone in the audience may not be comfortable because they do not see or hear someone or something that reflects their personal identity onstage, I believe there is an incredible amount of space to connect to the love, life, laughs, tears, humanity and real-world experiences woven throughout the play. You do not have to be Black or have a Black friend to see Black people as people, care about their rights as humans, or value their lives. You do not have to be a woman or have a daughter to appreciate women, celebrate their stories or stand with them in solidarity through their hardships. It is an honor to celebrate Black artists, Black narratives, women and especially Black women through this production of The Light. I hope our production will inspire people to shine a bright light in the places where it is needed the most, even when that choice may come with resistance and other risks. After all, in the words of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., ‘…darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.’”

The Light premiered off-Broadway at MCC Theater’s Robert W. Wilson Theater on February 10, 2019, with The New York Times calling it “an unexpected mix of #MeToo and rom-com,” and nods at Webb’s ability to “write great lines and great one-liners.”

TPT will host a very special opening night pre-glow reception on Saturday, January 28^th beginning at 5 p.m. in the lobby preceding the 6 p.m. performance. Cheesecake and wine will be provided free of charge to all patrons with tickets to the January 28^th performance.

Following these performances, the season continues with Robert Harling’s modern classic Steel Magnolias, and concludes with the world premiere of the Tracy L. Spada comedy Game. Set. Match!

ABOUT LOY A. WEBB

Loy A. Webb is a Chicago-born playwright, attorney and theatre journalist. Her plays include The Light (MCC Theater 2018/2019, Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play), The New Colony (2017/2018, Joseph Jefferson Award) and His Shadow (16th Street Theater 2019/2020). She was an inaugural Tutterow Fellow at Chicago Dramatists, and as theatre journalist she is a member of the Association of Women of Journalist-Chicago, a past mentor with the AWJ-Chicago/Goodman Theatre’s Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program, and a contributing theater critic for Newcity. Webb holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. She is currently a writer on the AMC television series NOS4A2.

THE CAST AND CREW

Carman Cooper, Genesis

Jonathan West, Rashad

Shawntez Prince, Understudy

Carollette Phillips, Director

Brian Taylor, Assistant Director

Kaila Madison, Stage Manager

Monika Essen, Scenic and Properties Designer

Neil Koivu, Lighting Designer

Krista Brown, Costume Designer

Joy DeMichelle, Intimacy Coordinator

Andrew Papa, Dramaturg

TIPPING POINT THEATRE’S UPCOMING PERFORMANCES AT A GLANCE

Visit www.tippingpointtheatre.com for exact performance dates and times.

• The Light:January 26 through February 19, 2023. Single tickets are available now!
• Steel Magnolias:April 13 through May 14, 2023. Single tickets available beginning at 12 a.m. on March 8, 2023.
• Game. Set. Match!: June 15 through July 9, 2023. Single tickets available beginning at 12 a.m. on May 10, 2023.