Uncle Jed's Barbershop is a musical celebration of the only black barber in 1928 Monroe County, Arkansas, Jedediah Johnson (“Uncle Jed”).
In 1962, 43 year-old Sarah Jean Carter has returned from Detroit to her childhood home of Monroe County in order to attend the funeral of Uncle Jed, her favorite relative.
After finding herself unable to speak at the funeral, Sarah Jean encounters her nine-year-old self. Adult Sarah Jean and Child Sarah Jean embark on a journey that takes them back and forth between their shared past with Uncle Jed and the present. By show’s end, their interacting and conflicting memories of him challenge Adult Sarah Jean’s capacity and willingness to take Child Sarah Jean with her into her future. Will Child Sarah Jean even wish to join her adult self, if she is invited to do so?
The two Sarah Jeans begin their journey in 1928 Monroe County, where 45 year-old Uncle Jed’s barbershop is his customers’ porches, living rooms, shops, and sharecropped fields. Through his travels, we meet Uncle Jed’s family, friends, and members of his vibrant community. We also experience Uncle Jed’s ambition and efforts to build his own barbershop. Each time he makes headway, however, there are obstacles that set him back. These obstacles include the life threatening illness of his favorite niece, the Great Depression, resistance from friends and family, and the ongoing challenge
of being black in the South of those times. In spite of everything, Uncle Jed never gives up.
Both Sarah Jeans eventually reach 1962, six months before Uncle Jed’s passing. Uncle Jed is now 79 years old. Ironically, he and Sarah Jean Carter have become the final obstacle to opening the barbershop: The passage of time has challenged their relationship, as well as their relationship with their extended family. Uncle Jed and Sarah Jean Carter wonder,
even at this stage of their lives, if they can build a new beginning together. Similarly, Child Sarah Jean and Adult Sarah Jean, in the present, wonder how or if their relationship can endure beyond the reliving of Uncle Jed’s story.
Sarah Jean's and Uncle Jed’s stories are interwoven until his dream truly becomes a dream for both of them. Ultimately, at the age of 79, Uncle Jed triumphs. He builds his barbershop with the help of his niece and their community. Adult Sarah Jean finally reconciles her inner child with her more adult perspective, and “invites” Child Sarah Jean to return with
her to Detroit, and embark on a shared journey into the future.
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
2011 Fox Theater, Aurora, CO
Concert performances
2005 New York Musical Theater Festival
St. Clement’s Theater, New York, N.Y.
Fully produced performances
2005 Director’s Choice Award
National Music Theater Network
Winner
2005 Denver Foundation/Eulipions Fund
2005 Fox Theater, Aurora, CO
Performances
2004 Richard Rodgers Awards
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Finalist
2004 O'Neill Musical Theatre Conference
Finalist
2004 Cleo Parker Robinson Theatre
Denver, CO
Concert readings
2004 AMAS Theatre, New York, N.Y.
Concert readings
2003 ASCAP/Disney workshop
2001 Arts Alive grant
2001 Arts Alive grant
MORE AUDIO EXCERPTS FOLLOW THE SYNOPSIS
SYNOPSIS
Ken Prymus, as Jedediah Johnson
(“Uncle Jed”)-- Sharecropper/barber
Tanya Gibson Clark
Choreographer
David Wohl
Composer/lyricist
SONG EXCERPTS
UNCLE JED'S BARBERSHOP, a new musical created by David B. Wohl, Kenneth Grimes, and Susan Einhorn, is based upon the Coretta Scott King Award-winning book by the same name, written by Margaree King Mitchell and illustrated by James Ransome (adaptation rights secured).
UNCLE JED'S BARBERSHOP is inspired by the atmosphere, language and music of the late 1920's through the 1960's, evoking rural Arkansas near the Mississippi Delta.
TO LISTEN, CLICK ON A SONG
Susan Einhorn
Director
Kenneth Grimes
Bookwriter/lyricist
