Nottage - By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

By the Way,

MEET
VERA
STARK

BOOKS BY LYNN NOTTAGE PUBLISHED BY TCG

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Crumbs from the Table of Joy and Other Plays

ALSO INCLUDES:

Las Meninas

Mud, River, Stone

POOF!

Porknockers

Intimate Apparel and Fabulation

Ruined

By the Way,

MEET
VERA
STARK

Lynn Nottage

THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
NEW YORK
2013

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is copyright 2013 by Lynn Nottage

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,
520 8th Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156

All Rights Reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the authors representative: Olivier Sultan, Creative Artists Agency, 162 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10010, (212) 277-9000.

The lyrics to Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer, by Wesley Wilson, copyright 1933, are used by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The lyrics to Im Just Wild about Harry are from Noble Sissle and Eubie Blakes 1921 musical Shuffle Along.

The publication of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, by Lynn Nottage, through TCGs Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Nottage, Lynn.

By the way, meet Vera Stark / Lynn Nottage.First edition.

p. cm.

Play in two acts that had its world premiere at Second Stage Theatre in

New York City, on May 9, 2011.

ISBN 978-1-55936-648-9 (ebook)

I. Title.

PS3564.O795B93 2013

812.54dc23 2013013421

Cover, book design and composition by Lisa Govan

Cover photo by Mark Glenn, featuring Sanaa Lathan as Vera Stark

First Edition, September 2013

In remembrance of Theresa Harris, Nina Mae McKinney,

Mildred Washington and all of the unsung

Black Divas of Early Hollywood

Vera Stark websites:

Herb Forresters website: MeetVeraStark.com

Carmen Levy-Greens website: FindingVeraStark.com

Contents

M ajor thanks to Jo Bonney, Sanaa Lathan, Stephanie J. Block, Kimberly Hbert Gregory, Karen Olivo, Daniel Breaker, David Garrison, Kevin Isola, ESosa, Neil Patel, Jeff Croiter, John Gromada, Shawn Sagady, Lori Ann Zepp, Carole Rothman, Christopher Burney and Sarah Steele, the wonderful team that coaxed life into By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.

Id like to thank Tony Gerber for playing a key role in my life, as well as the cinematic life of Vera Stark. I also owe a tremendous debt to Alex Rosenthal, Stephanie Gould, Travis Ballenger, Karen Evans and The Black Women Playwrights Group for creating and supporting the digital world of Vera Stark. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark would not be complete without the supreme contributions of Stuart Dryburgh, Brian Rigney Hubbard, Enis Rotthoff, Innbo Shim, Peter Bogdanovich, Mia Mask, Billie Allen-Henderson, Tom Mardirosian, Reed Birney and Martina Radwan. Additional thanks go to Violet Overn, Amber Espinosa-Jones, Afomia Haileleskel and Janielle Kastner.

Id also like to thank Olivier Sultan and Corinne Hayoun for agenting the play, South Coast Rep and CENTERSTAGE for commissioning the play, directors Irene Lewis, Liesl Tommy and Mark Rucker for developing the play and the numerous actors who helped me discover the voices of the characters in the play.

Id like to extend an extra special thank you to Ruby Gerber, Melkamu Gerber and Wally Nottage. And to Jerry Gerber for being such a huge fan and supporter of Vera Stark and the theater in general.

By the Way,

MEET
VERA
STARK

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark received its world premiere at Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) in New York City, on May 9, 2011. The production was directed by Jo Bonney. The set design was by Neil Patel, the costume design was by ESosa, the lighting design was by Jeff Croiter, the sound design was by John Gromada, the projection design was by Shawn Sagady and the film was by Tony Gerber; the production stage manager was Lori Ann Zepp. The cast was:

This production later opened at Geffen Playhouse (Randall Arney, Artistic Director; Ken Novice, Managing Director) in Los Angeles, on September 26, 2012. All personnel remained the same with the following exceptions: the production stage manager was Mary Michele Miner. The cast was:

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark opened at the Goodman Theatre (Robert Falls, Artistic Director; Roche Schulfer, Executive Director) in Chicago, on April 27, 2013. The production was directed by Chuck Smith. The set design was by Riccardo Hernandez, the costume design was by Birgit Rattenborg Wise, the lighting design was by Robert Christen, the sound design was by Joshua Horvath and Ray Nardelli, the projection design was by Mike Tutaj and the film was by Vaun Monroe; the production stage manager was Joseph Drummond. The cast was: