There is still time to get tickets for The Brothers’ Network Night at “The Brothers Size”… but not much. The October 12 event has 15 tickets available at the special $15 price. The Henry “Box” Brown Festival (a Knight Arts grantee) and The Brothers’ Network are in the midst of their month-long production of the much anticipated play “The Brothers Size,” directed by James Ijames.

Promotional shot for “The Brothers Size.” Photography and graphics by Daniel Kontz

Simpatico Theatre Project takes on the Tarell Alvin McCraney script at the Walnut Street Theatre through November 3. “The Brothers Size” is set in a Louisiana bayou at which time a pair of brothers – Oshoosi and Ogun Size – reconnect after Oshoosi’s parole from prison. Looking to start anew after his release, Oshoosi begins helping around his brother’s repair shop, which is not exactly what he had in mind.

Eventually, an old friend by the name of Elegba comes along offering Oshoosi a different path and suddenly the man is torn between his family, his loyalty, and his dreams. McCraney’s theatrical landscape draws on influences of Yoruba African storytelling, bayou rhythms, and his own brand of American mythology that he melds together for a work that the Chicago Tribune calls, “The greatest piece of writing by an American playwright under thirty in a generation or more.” “Marcus: or the Secret of Sweet.” Image courtesy playsandplayers.org

On Friday, October 18, the Henry “Box” Brown Festival will also present “Stillness in the Movement,” a free public showcase of the brilliance of African American men as composers and artists, in the context of the “Tides of Freedom” exhibit curated by Tukufu Zuberi, Ph.D., head of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. This event will occur at 5:30 p.m. at the Independence Seaport Museum at 211 South Columbus Boulevard.

Another Brothers’ Network Night performance will host the premiere of McCraney’s play, “Marcus: or the Secret of Sweet,” on October 26 at the Plays & Players Theatre. This production begins on October 17 and also runs through November 3.

Simpatico Theatre Project is located at 850 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia; [email protected]; simpaticotheatre.org.