Productions & Events featuring Charles Andrew Gardner

An historic night at the Oscars.
A dream of what could have been.

Set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood.

IT IS FEBRUARY 29, 1940, the night of the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. Bartender Arthur Brooks, an ambitious Black man from rural Alabama, dreams of becoming a movie director. His best friend, Dottie Hudson, is a maid at the Ambassador Hotel who finds herself to be a cynic of all dreams. When the actress Hattie McDaniel stops in at the bar and decides not to attend the biggest event in show business, Arthur and Dottie do everything in their power to convince her to go and claim her historic win—while confronting their dark past and making their own dreams come to life.

This play about race, class, gender, and the ever-changing landscape of Hollywood has previously had public readings at The Echo Theatre Company (featuring TimeLine Company Member Mildred Marie Langford) and Morgan-Wixson Theatre’s New Works Festival. TimeLine’s production is its world premiere.

Boulevard of Bold Dreams runs 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission

Although TimeLine’s production of Campaigns, Inc. has been postponed, we can still start the conversation!

Set in 1934, Campaigns, Inc. follows The Jungle novelist Upton Sinclair as he is challenged in his bid to be the first Democratic governor of California, exposing a timely true story about the power that persuasion, deceit, and perception hold in the U.S. electoral system.

This live virtual event will feature playwright Will Allan, dramaturg Maren Robinson, and special guest speaker Jessica Lee (Snopes.com) in a panel discussion exploring a notable early example of “fake news” and how we got from there to today’s political climate. Introduced by director Nick Bowling and moderated by TimeLine Company Member Anish Jethmalani, the event will also feature scenes from the play performed by cast members Charles Andrew Gardner, Terry Hamilton, Larry Baldacci, and Tyler Meredith.

This FREE & one-night-only event will be presented live on YouTube.

If you want to let us know you plan to watch, you can still register via the “Buy Tickets” link below. But there are no tickets required to watch the livestream. Just settle in via your preferred viewing platform before 7:30pm (CDT), and enjoy!

Watch the Livestream

Kill Move Paradise closed its theatrical performance run on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the incredible cooperation of artist unions, Dramatists Play Service, and playwright James Ijames, we can now offer a limited number of opportunities to see the show from the comfort of your home, with a week to watch at a time convenient for you, by streaming a previously filmed performance, edited to provide close-ups and full coverage of the staging. If you are a TimeLine Subscriber, you can use your FlexPass admissions as usual for remote viewing. A limited number of remote viewing tickets are also available for the general public.

About Remote Viewing

Described by playwright James Ijames as “an expressionistic buzz saw through the contemporary myth that ‘all lives matter,’” this The New York Times Critic’s Pick play is a powerful and provocative reflection on recent events, illustrating the possibilities of collective transformation and radical acts of joy.

Torn from the world they know without warning, Isa, Daz, Grif, and Tiny discover themselves stuck in a nebulous waiting room in the afterlife. While balancing the reality of their past and the uncertainty of their future, their souls try to find peace from senseless action and hope in the life they left behind.

Inspired by the ever-growing list of slain unarmed black men and women, Kill Move Paradise is a portrait of those lost—not as statistics, but as heroes who deserve to be seen for the splendid beings they are.

“We all got sadness. But I like to turn mine into fire, baby. What you do with yours?”

A dynamic and jazz-infused drama about what’s at stake when building a better future. In Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood in 1949, a gifted trumpeter and troubled owner of the Paradise jazz nightclub is contemplating a buyout offer for the city’s urban renewal plan. As the inhabitants of the famed but faltering jazz club ponder their options and dream of a better life, they must decide whether to fight to save what’s theirs or risk it all for a chance at redemption.

This latest from Dominique Morisseau’s widely acclaimed cycle of plays about Detroit once again proves why she’s one of America’s most urgent playwrights.

PLEASE NOTE: Peanuts will be consumed onstage during the show, and the production includes scenes of violence, multiple gunshots and strong language, as well as the use of e-cigarettes and haze.