“The story of Akeelah and the Bee is inspiring and heart-warming.” -Play Off the Page

Akeelah has a passion for words, the crazier the better! Under-challenged at school and overwhelmed by her daily life in a tough, Chicago neighborhood, Akeelah is finding it difficult to try. But with the Scripps National Spelling Bee just around the corner, her community is ready to show her she has the courage and tenacity to make her dream come true.

Based on the acclaimed film featuring Keke Palmer, this play is sure to delight theatergoers from age 9 to 99. Akeelah and the Bee kicks off a spring celebration of BCS’s youth programs, culminating in the 40th anniversary of the historic Young Playwrights Festival.

What is a Preview?

Previews are an essential part of the theater-making process that allow directors and playwrights to see their plays with audiences for the first time and identify areas for adjustment. These special performances allow you to get a first look at the play and be a part of each shows’ creative journey before it opens officially. 

Cheryl D. West – Playwright

Cheryl L. West’s plays include: Something Happened in Our Town, Last Stop on Market Street, Akeelah & the Bee, Mwindo, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Addy: American Girl Story, and Pullman Porter Blues. Her plays have been seen in England, Off-Broadway, on Broadway (Play On!) and in numerous regional theaters around the country. She has written TV and film projects at Disney, Paramount, MTV Films, Showtime, TNT, HBO, CBS and is the Webby-nominated writer for the original web series Diary of a Single Mom. Ms. West is the recipient of several awards: American Alliance For Theatre & Education (AATE) Distinguished Play Award (2016), the 2016 Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award, the Helen Hayes/Charles McArthur award for outstanding new play, the Susan Smith Blackburn prize, an international playwriting award for distinguished new plays, the National Endowment Playwriting Award and the Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Best Playwright Award. As said by The L Magazine, “Cheryl L. West writes plays that often trump those of master playwright August Wilson – not only meticulous neo-realist slices of African-American life, but dense, ethereal explorations of language and the inner regions of her character’s souls. They are vigorously expressionistic, and yet remain grounded, entertaining theater.”

Jerrica D. White – Director 

Jerrica D. White is a Brooklyn-based, Cincinnati-bred director, producer, and writer examining the spectrum of Blackness with a focus on family dynamics, relationships, love, and mental health. She has worked with The Public Theater, National Black Theatre, Broadway Black, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Primary Stages, Workshop Theater, Ensemble Theater, and Cincinnati Black Theatre Artist Collective. Currently, she is a 2023/24 Writer in Residence with Liberation Theatre Company in Harlem, a Soho House Fellow, and a National Black Theatre Keep Soul Alive participant.

Jerrica believes freedom is won through vulnerability and works to give artists a sense of community and a platform to share their stories. To fulfill this mission she founded OVRZLOUS, a studio built to produce revues, reading series, and editorial content, provide strategy to creative teams, and create community. In 2019, she was on the producing team of the Broadway revival of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.

Her work is a defense for living. She desires for her community to feel seen, and encouraged, and know they are not alone. Her sound is cycles of self-love, healing, greater faith, and joy.