Shining Star Productions and American Theatre of Actors will present FOUR MEN ON A COUCH at the Sargent stage of the American Theatre of Actors, 314 W. 54th Street NYC; April 24 — May 5 (Wednesday – Saturday @ @ 8pm and Sunday at 3pm.

Acclaimed playwright Anne L. Thompson-Scretching employs biting wit in this play about what men talk about when women aren’t around! Taking a Millenial/Gen Z approach to “The Odd Couple,” FOUR MEN ON A COUCH finds three bachelors, kicked out by their girlfriends on the same night, ending up at the doorstep of Norman, whose wife and daughter left him with only a couch, a table, and three chairs.

Directed by Tippi, this 2004 Jean Dalrymple award-winning play returns to American Theatre of Actors with the following cast: Alan Walls, Kevin Leonard, Laquan Hailey, Rommell Sermons. Swing: Steven D. Clark.

Written by multi-award winning playwright, Anne L. Thompson-Scretching, whose many playwriting accolades include Audelco and Dalrymple Awards.

Visit https://americantheatreofactors.org for tickets and further info)

We asked ALL FOUR MEN ON THAT COUCH what it meant to BE A MAN nowadays… the answers may surprise you.

What is it like to be a Man in today’s society, In the second generation of the 21 century? 

ROMMELL SERMONS (portraying IRA)

“This question makes me think of W.E.B Du Bois and his famous quote  over 100 years ago. “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” 

Now don’t get me wrong we made tons of progress in the past 120 years but a decadent veil still remains, so thin that it can no longer hide the contradictions this country was founded on.

You see for most of my life I had to grow up wearing the mask of double consciousness because the majority of society denied that my reality  existed.  Our political and social conflicts have made these contradictions more visible and as a Man you can either face the truth or continue to live in a delusion.

But like Du Bois my perspective is on a new horizon, where my son’s and daughter’s reality are just as valid and tangible then the sheer veil I had to wear to keep from becoming ostracized, by the decadent class. They will live in a different world just as Du Bois lived in a different time and place. I feel my job as a Man is to keep my hand on the plow and only look back to be sure the seeds I leave behind aren’t trampled. For “Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.”

ALAN WALLS (portraying NORMAN)

“I have always maintained that embracing the legacy of one’s upbringing and the lessons taught about how to be a man, specifically a Black Man, should be the basis of your guiding principles as you navigate the histrionics of living in the 21st Century. I was taught basic principles of being a Man by my father and his cohort of friends which I value tremendously to this day. Those principles include: maintaining the strength of your family; uplifting others; nurturing the younger generation; always contributing to the health of your community; and embracing one’s own definition of a leadership role. Being a man in the 21st Century is a standing which is replete with complex challenges: socio-economic, financial, mental, physical & emotional health, relationships. Having a strong sense of one’s own identity is essential in leading a substantive existence. Objectively understanding and being interested in the world at-large and its circumstances allows for a fundamental basis for establishing one’s own path. Then…make a statement and abide by it!”

 KEVIN LEONARD (Plays SIDNEY)

An individual who communicates candidly. The central figure in a child’s universe. Setting a precedent for exhibiting integrity in both behavior and actions. Proficient in identifying the internal battles of self-awareness, identity, and moral values, within the context of society.

A man, is one who is in control of the full spectrum of his consciousness, in his relation to the world.
That man is a man.”

 LAQUAN HAILEY (portraying JESSE)

“This is a really great question, it honestly had me stuck on how to respond to it. But to me being a man in the second generation of the 21st century. Means to be brave, to not let fear hold you back, to be vulnerable and open with emotions. To break free of all the stereotypical biases that are out there for us men. Above all to me it means to be who you are and to be proud of that, to not run or hide behind the past anymore.”