lakisha_sanders__web.jpgFORT LAUDERDALE – Can a play about the power and beauty of Christian salvation prove compelling to secular audiences?  Beyond Dramatic Productions aims to prove that it can be with Soul Sistah: D.I.V.A.

On Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m., Beyond will stage its second theatrical production, Soul Sistah: D.I.V.A.: “Determined Individuals Voicing Attitude” at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in the Auditorium.
 
Written, directed by and starring local author and activist Lakisha Sanders, Soul Sistah: D.I.V.A. tells the story of a once happy and healthy clan of individuals now faced with imminent dissolution in the wake of a far-too-familiar tragedy.  In the chaos left in that tragedy’s wake, evil forces threaten to rip their tenuous union apart.
 
The play features original, gospel-style musical numbers composed by Sanders. 

“There is a popular misconception that Christian music and media are hokey and preachy, a misconception that this production handily refutes with its compelling and realistic characters, razor-sharp dialogue, and unflinching depiction of a crumbling Christian family,” Sanders said.

Sanders pulls quadruple duty as the playwright, director, composer, and one of the stars in the production.  The play also stars local talent. She is a Georgia native and a Fort Lauderdale resident with nearly a decade of high school teaching experience. 

Her book, The Secret is Out: It’s Time to Break Ground, was released in 2010, and its message of power and salvation in the face of adversity became the foundation upon which Soul Sistah: D.I.V.A. was eventually built. 

Tickets cost $20. The African American Research Library and Cultural Center is located at 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale.