Tribute musical opens with free performance
Portland Playwright Kwik Jones holds a picture of Azzie Jones, the woman who raised him as a foster parent and the inspiration for his new musical “Sweet Mama Jones.”
Adopted at three months old, Portland Playwright Kwik Jones has dedicated his new musical “Sweet Mama Jones,” to the woman he has known as mother, Azzie Jones, a former foster parent whose loving spirit inspired the show’s hopefulness of fostering children.
In the play, which debuts with a free admission reading of Act I, Mama Jones’ senses are diminished with age, but she (played by Onnie Irby) takes on two rowdy sisters (played by Charlise Paschal and Symone Embaye) to keep them from being separated in the marry-go-around of the foster care system. As uncertainty lingers, attitudes fly, and a tragedy surfaces, Mama Jones is force to make an even tougher decision: Live or die.
The performance will take place Saturday, April 7 at 2 p.m. at Ethos/Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N. Interstate Ave. For seating, call Studio20 entertainment at 503 415-1292.
