Cynthia Nixon directs Staceyann Chin in Motherstruck

Culture Project and Rosie O'Donell present the world premiere of Motherstruck, a solo show written and performed by Staceyann Chin, and directed by Cynthia Nixon, at the Lynn Redgrave Theater.

Previews will begin on 24 September 2015, before an official opening on 7 October, and the show is booking through to 31 December 2015.

Synopsis: "Motherstruck sets forth Staceyann Chin's personal journey to motherhood as a single woman, lesbian and activist who does not have health insurance or a 'serious, stable financial set up,' but wants to have a child. Told through Chin's uniquely personal and poetic lens, this solo show explores how the process changed her life and how she makes peace with what she learns from this profound experience."

Director Cynthia Nixon released the following statement:

"I had been a fan of Staceyann Chin's since I saw her on Broadway in Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam in 2001 and was knocked out by her incredible facility with the spoken word form and her fantastically ferocious persona. Our paths had crossed casually a number of times since then. I was lucky enough to bump into her in 2009 just as her memoir The Other Side of Paradise was coming out and thank God she handed me a copy. I promptly devoured it and sent her an ecstatic e-mail. When she approached me last year about directing MotherStruck I read it and said yes within a matter of hours. As when I read her memoir, I was stunned by Staceyann's ability to recall in such depth biographical details of her life, both recent and long ago. She is leading a remarkable life that is fascinating to hear about because of the many seemingly insurmountable obstacles she has overcome, but it is also fascinating because of the way in which she chooses to tell you about it--the humor, the drama, the poetry, the political backdrop, the jaw-dropping specificity--that compels you to listen as long as she is speaking. Staceyann is a national treasure, and I'm so proud and excited to be part of the telling of this most precious chapter in her life."

"I'm so excited about working with Culture Project on this play. Culture Project has always been a space that bellows aloud the stories of the marginalized and dispossessed. Today, Allan Buchman and his team remain committed to supporting the kind of silent voices that are missing from mainstream media and the kind of marginalized existence, which includes, but is not limited to that of a single black lesbian choosing to become a mother through artificial reproductive prophecies."