WINE IN THE WILDERNESS

About the show

Alice Childress's landmark play set in Harlem in 1964 examines aesthetics, identity, and social hierarchy through a deceptively intimate evening. Painter Bill Jameson invites a young woman named Tommy to model for a portrait series exploring Black womanhood, expecting a straightforward artistic transaction. As the group gathers in his apartment while civil unrest unfolds outside, conversation and drink gradually expose the quiet judgments and contradictions embedded in their interactions. The work balances sharp social critique with moments of humor and tenderness, ultimately interrogating how easily people repeat the very prejudices they claim to reject. Directed by Jordan Laffrenier, this revival brings emotional precision and contemporary urgency to a play written in 1969 that remains strikingly relevant.