"Langston Hughes' Black Nativity gets turned into a concert," Bandele says of the play. "I really wanted to tell the story of what happens at the Nativity. And to tell it like I've never seen it done, in a way that I think would be interesting for me to watch."
Bandele's Nativity is contemporary, but he digs into the source material to tell the story of a poor carpenter, a pregnant virgin, the people who love them, the people who wonder at them, and a big bright light in the sky.
"It's suspenseful," Bandele says of a show that, for the most part, takes place in the 24 hours leading up to Christ's birth.
"It's much more about Mary and Joseph and their relationship than it is about Christ," Bandele says.
"The North Star: An Urban Nativity" at the Hattiloo Theatre, December 5th-22nd. $18-$25. hattiloo.org
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