UpStage Theatre takes on Cinderella story

• By ROBIN MILLER
• Arts writer
• Published: Oct 18, 2009

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Sometimes Prince Charming is the last thing on a princess’ mind when she’s trying to achieve the American dream.

Then again, Billie Jean never laid claim to royalty. She just wants to go to college and earn her degree in dance.

That’s the kind of salvation she seeks. No pumpkins that turn into carriages, no fancy palace balls, no fairy godmothers. Wait a minute. A fairy godmother could come in handy, maybe in the form of an advisor.

And Billie Jean has just that in her grandmother.

“Her grandmother supports Billie Jean’s dream,” Naomi Collier said.

She plays Dessie in UpStage Theatre Company’s production of J.E. Franklin’s Black Girl. The play opens Friday, Oct. 23, at UpStage Theatre.

And Collier will play Billie Jean’s grandmother Dessie.

“Oh, I’m used to playing older characters,” she said.

Collier is a student at Southern University. She was last seen as Big Mama in the university’s spring production, Shakin’ the Mess Out of Misery. Big Mama was similar to Dessie, offering advice to the main character.

“But one day, I’ll play a younger character,” Collier said.

She laughs. She doesn’t mind being cast in the older roles. It gives her a chance to flex her acting muscles, and best of all, to be on stage.

Back to Billie Jean, she’s the Cinderella in this story.

“And it is a Cinderella story,” Ava Brewster-Turner said.