Rockford native’s award-winning play comes home with run at West Side Show Room
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A Rockford native’s award-winning play will start its first run in his hometown this weekend.
The West Side Show Room and Eight Fifteen Capital are bringing “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea” from playwright and screenwriter Nathan Alan Davis to the stage.
The poetic coming-of-age adventure will start its run at 8 p.m. Friday at the West Side Show Room, 1414 N. Main St., on the city’s North End. It runs through April 6.
Davis, a Rockford native now based in New York, debuted the play in 2017 and it has been staged across the country. Davis has earned multiple awards for his work, including a Windham-Campbell Prize, a Steinberg Playwright Award, and a Whiting Award.
The play’s run in Rockford will be directed by George Davis, the playwright’s father. The elder Davis is the former executive director of the city of Rockford’s Human Service Department and now serves as the director of the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette.
‘Dontrell’ tells the story of 18-year-old Dontrell Jones III as he sets out on a quest to the Atlantic Ocean in search of an ancestor who disappeared overboard during the Middle Passage.
“WSSR wanted to work with a team that knows Rockford and the community portrayed in this play,” Epic Jones, the show room’s artistic director, said in a news release. “Eight Fifteen Capital was the perfect partner to bring this vision to life, just as they were in 2022 with our production of Nathan Alan Davis’s ‘The Wind And The Breeze‘.”
Joshua Patterson and Matthew Simpson, two of Eight Fifteen Capital’s five partners, played a key role in assembling the cast. It includes 12th Ward Alderwoman Gina Meeks, who is also a singer and actress, Richard Meeks, Robbie Strader, Darby Whitmore, Jackie Rogers, Tony Laws and Sierra Goddard.
“Our goal as a company is to create platforms for people to share rich experiences and build quality relationships,” Simpson said in a news release. “We are excited to partner with Epic and WSSR again because — for years — they have been doing just that.”
The creative team also includes set design by Nathan Jalani Taylor, costumes from Cleta’s Stay and Sew, dance choreography from Fabbie Williams of FAB Dance and Fitness Studio, African drumming from Demorris Flanagan of Greater Rockford Music Academy and music by Dorthy Paige-Turner.
“We’ve engaged local businesses, artists, and organizations to really enhance the production,” Simpson said. “So the community is woven into every aspect of the stage play — including music, choreography, wardrobe, and set design.”
The West Side Show Room makes all its tickets free through its public access theater program. Anyone can reserve up to two tickets for free. Donations are accepted to support the program and the theater.
“Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea” is presented with the help of grants from Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and Rockford Area Arts Council.
“Dontrell is a world-class production. We have world-class talent right here in Rockford! I’m really excited for the community to see how we’ve brought these pieces together to bring it to life,” Simpson said.
Before you go | ‘Dontell, Who Kissed The Sea’
When: March 21-April 6 (This weekend’s showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday, March 21, Saturday March 22 and 4 p.m. Sunday, March 23)
Where: The West Side Show Room, 1414 N. Main St., Rockford
Reserve tickets: wssr.org
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
