Stages dares to dig deep with the gripping drama "Mud Row," running October 10–November 2, 2025. September 17, 2025
HOUSTON (September 15, 2025) – This fall, Stages invites audiences to experience the emotional power and poignant storytelling of Mud Row, written by Tony Nominee and MacArthur “Genius” Grant Recipient Dominique Morisseau. Running from October 10 to November 2, 2025, on the Rochelle and Max Levit Stage at The Gordy, this compelling drama explores the weight of inheritance—both the kind we choose and the kind that chooses us.
Set in the historically Black neighborhood of Mud Row in West Chester, Pennsylvania, this riveting, humorous, and hopeful play follows two generations of sisters bound by one house and a complicated legacy. In the civil rights era, Elsie strives to uplift her community through respectability and ambition, while her sister Frances risks everything for social change. Decades later, Regine, who clings to ideas of respectability and harbors confl icted feelings about the home she’s inherited, must decide its fate, unaware that her sister Toshi, fresh from battling addiction, has been squatting there for months. As secrets surface and tensions flare, Mud Row becomes a battleground for identity, belonging, and the unbreakable ties of family.
“Morisseau’s language is alive—fi ery, lyrical, and honest,” says Derek Livingston, Artistic Director at Stages. “This play examines the fractures and love that live within families, and asks us to confront the histories we carry in our bones. It’s unfl inching and intimate, fi lled with humor, heart and truth. A story about love, family, redemption and how the legacy of having a home can both root and threaten to tear families apart.”
Mud Row—with its raw emotion, nuanced characters, celebratory moments, and diffi cult conversations around generational trauma and gentrifi cation—refl ects Stages’ commitment to producing bold, human-centered storytelling. Following select performances, Stages will hold talkbacks that invite audiences to explore the play’s deeper themes, examining how questions of home, legacy, and neighborhood preservation resonate within Houston’s changing landscape.
The production features a powerhouse cast including Kiya Green as Elsie, Mariah Baillie as Frances, Ashlyn Evans as Toshi, LaKeisha Rochelle Randle as Regine, Roc Living as Davin and Brandon Morgan as Tyriek.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Performances run from October 10 to November 2, 2025, with Opening Night on October 16. The performance schedule is:
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ABOUT STAGES
Founded in 1978, Stages makes plays and tells stories that invite everyone to live more deeply and love more boldly. Guided by core values of Courage, Intimacy, Generosity, Inclusion and Tenacity, Stages’ intimate productions forge lasting connections while holding up a mirror to the community, sparking contemplation on the question: “What does it mean to be human?”
As Houston’s sixth-largest nonprofit performing arts producer, and the largest beyond the downtown theater district, Stages produces approximately 12 productions annually, totaling 430+ performances and drawing 75,000+ visitors per season. In January 2020, Stages unveiled The Gordy, a cutting-edge three-theater venue, redefining how Houston experiences theater.