August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

June 20, 2026

The Ensemble Theatre
3535 Main St., Houston, TX 77002

Directed by Steve Scott

Join us for a staged reading of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, presented as part of the NEA Our Town grant.

Set in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, the play follows Herald Loomis, a man searching for his wife and rebuilding his life after years of forced labor under Joe Turner. As Loomis encounters a vivid community of travelers, workers, dreamers, and seekers, Wilson paints a powerful portrait of Black life after Emancipation, filled with humor, music, memory, and spiritual longing. Directed by Steve Scott, this special reading brings one of Wilson’s most moving works to life in collaboration with The Ensemble Theatre, Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum, and the City of Houston.

This project is supported by an Our Town award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

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Elia Adams

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Elia Adams (Reuben Mercer)

Chase G. Alexander

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Chase G. Alexander is an actor, writer and director. Select credits include: The Wiz (Houston Center Stage Theatre), Hairspray (Applause Theatre), Origin of a Jealous Woman (MATCH), Disaster Relief (48 Hr. Film Project: Audience Award Winner) and Bracketbrain (ESPN Commercial). He’s excited to return to his theater roots!

Alric Davis

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Alric Davisis the Founding Artistic Director of The Sankofa Collective. B.F.A. Howard University Acting credits: The Three Musketeers, The Color Purple, Phenomenal Woman: Maya Angelou, Trouble in Mind, Alley Theatre’s Guardian of the Gods performed in Sweden, Turkiye and America with Unga Klara. Directing credits include Lotus and the Unlikely Crew (Off-Broadway at A.R.T.), Sister Act, and The Light in The Piazza. His play Bashful and the Noize for the Kennedy Center. Upcoming: A Streetcar Named Desire for Sankofa Collectice. IG: @GodisGodandIamNot

Foster Davis

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Foster Davis (Rutherford Selig) The Ensemble Theatre – The Lawsons, Love and Southern Discomfort, Phenomenal Woman, Camp Logan. Other recent local credits: Stages & Main Street Theater. Off-Broadway/New York: Classic Stage, Cherry Lane, Irish-Arts Center, McGinn-Cazale Theater. London: New Globe, Brixton Shaw. Edinburgh Fringe – True West @ The Zoo. Regional: American Shakespeare Center, Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Michelle Elaine

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Michelle Elaine is a Resident Acting Company Member. Michelle originated the role of Miss Scarlet in the First National Tour of Clue: A New Comedy. Favorite Alley Theatre credits: Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d, Primary Trust, Noises Off, A Christmas Carol, Clue, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Sense and Sensibility, Sweat, and Quack. Michelle was awarded the Houston Press Awards Best Supporting Actress for her role as the title character in Clyde’s at The Ensemble Theatre. Stages: POTUS. Check out Michelle’s web series @castmedammit on YouTube! @michelleelaineofficial

Timothy Eric

Gabriel

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Timothy Eric was the Houston Press Awards Best Actor of the 202 3–24 theatre season for his performance in Main Street Theatre’s world premiere of Stagolee & the Funeral of a Dangerous Word by Thomas Meloncon. In 2024–25, he shared the honor with Brandon Morgan for 4th Wall Theatre’s Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, which won Best Play.

Shawn Hamilton

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Shawn Hamilton has recently starred as Bert Williams at The Illusion Theatre in Minneapolis. He has recently done voice work on Rick and Morty and as Mike on Ninja Kamui both on HBO Max. His movie Trap Door At The Edge Of The Universe can be found on YouTube. He is a proud member of Actors Equity.

Crystal Rae

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Crystal Rae is a writer, performer, and puppeteer. Rae’s play Tied was named Best New Play by the Houston Press in 2023 and had an award-winning premiere in NYC in 2025. Rae’s book Harlow’s Harmonica received a Kirkus starred review. She directed the film Making Elijah, now in post. www.crystalraeproductions.com

David Rainey

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David Rainey is in his 25th season as a Resident Acting Company Member and his 106th production for the Alley. He’s also performed on Broadway with The National Actors Theatre, and nationally with the Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Berkeley Rep, Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, among others. He received the Juilliard Drama Division’s highest honor, the Michel and Suria Saint-Denis Prize, and he also owns Studio for Actors Houston.

Raven Justine Troup

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Raven Justine Troupe is excited to be participating in another production with the Alley Theatre! Previous Alley credits include: Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium (Laurencia), Seascape (Sarah); Amerikin (Chris); A Christmas Carol (Belle/Mrs. Fred), Sophia (Xerxes, Alley All New Festival 2019), and Skeleton Crew (Assistant Director). Other credits: Sanctuary City (4th Wall Theatre Co); Rent, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Elf the Musical, Spring Awakening, Seussical the Musical, Mamma Mia, The Wiz (TUTS); Little Shop Of Horrors (Stages); For Colored Girls… (Obsidian); and Funny Girl (Art Factory).

Krystal Uchem

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Krystal Uchem (Molly Cunningham)

Bria Washington

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Bria Washington (Zonia Loomis)

Yunina Barbour-Payne

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Yunina Barbour-Payne is an interdisciplinary artist and Rising Scholar at the University of Virginia in the Department of Drama. Her dramaturgy credits include Blood at the Root (Live Arts), En Route (Bates College), Sheepdog and Babel for The Contemporary American Theatre Festival. Additionally, she is the company dramaturg with Gesel Mason Performance Project’s Yes AND, a dance-based collection of performance experiments that centers Black womanhood in its creative process.

Curmira A. Bill

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Curmira A. Bill Stage management credits include: Main Street Theater for Youth: (Stage Manager) Elephant and Piggie’s “We’re In A Play”, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, Cinderella, Last Stop on Market Street, Dragons Love Tacos, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, A Little House Christmas; Ensemble Theatre/Alley Theatre: (Stage Manager) Radio Golf (Staged Reading); Ensemble Theatre: (Stage Manager) Pullman Porter Blues, Phenomenal Woman Maya Angelou (Houston Premiere); Lionwoman Productions TX: (Stage Manager) Playhouse Creatures.

Steve Scott

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Steve Scott is a multifaceted talent, boasting roles as an actor, director, producer, and educator. Currently serving as the Youth, Education, and Outreach Director at The Ensemble Theatre in Houston, Texas, Steven received his college education at Prairie View A&M University. Steven’s star shines brightly, as Mr. Moody on The Wannabes an American sitcom broadcasted on ABC3 Disney Asia, Starz Kids, and Amazon Prime. His theatrical endeavors include over 60 plays and musicals, in some of the most prestigious theatre houses across the nation, including a national tour of Set it Off Live, part of Warner Bros. Pictures film onstage series, alongside Da brat and Keshia Knight Pulliam. Steven has notable collaborations spanning across renowned platforms such as DreamWorks, VH1, HBO, CBS, Netflix, Amazon, and Starz, and he has earned acting honors at The Ensemble and The Kennedy Center of Performing and Visual Arts. As a director Steven’s expertise shines through in more than twenty-five plays, seven films, and three music videos. Steven’s passion lies in crafting impactful, meaningful art that leaves a legacy of positivity and inspiration.

August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone

The Ensemble Theatre 3535 Main St., Houston, TX 77002

The Ensemble Theatre
3535 Main St., Houston, TX 77002