| Laugh to Keep from Crying | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Written by | Tyler Perry | ||
| Characters | Carol, Belinda, Floyd, Niecy, Lisa, Tony, Anna, Peter, Jane, Donnie and Eddie | ||
| Date premiered | October 6, 2009 | ||
| Original language | English | ||
| Genre | Comedy-Drama | ||
| Setting | Apartment complex | ||
| Tyler Perry Plays chronology | |||
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Laugh to Keep from Crying is an 2009 American stage play created, produced, written and directed by Tyler Perry. The show first opened in the fall of 2009. The play is set at an inner-city building in a predominantly African-American neighborhood. It stars Cheryl Pepsii Riley as Carol, Palmer Williams Jr. as Floyd and Chandra Currelley-Young as Belinda. The live performance released on DVD on August 30, 2011 was recorded live in Atlanta at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in July 2010.
The story revolves around a small group of people living in an inner-city building in a predominantly African-American neighborhood. Carol (Cheryl Pepsii Riley) is a single mother raising two teenagers: Tony (Donny Sykes), who is studious and participates in gospel choir; and Lisa (Tamar Davis), who is rebellious and refuses to attend church. She works long hours during the day, and is best friends with Belinda (Chandra Currelley-Young), their neighbor across the hall. Carol and Belinda disapprove of Niecey (D'Atra Hicks), their upstairs neighbor who is a prostitute. Peter (Wess Morgan) and Anna (Stephanie Ferrett) are a white couple who have moved into the building to save money while Peter attends law school. Anna's recently widowed mother, Jane (Rachel Richards) visits. Floyd (Palmer Williams Jr.) is the superintendent. Carol meets a police officer named Donnie (Anthony Dalton) then Niecy's pimp Eddie, (Celestin Cornielle) who is bad to everybody involved.
| Date | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| October 6, 2009 | Dayton | Schuster Performing Arts Center |
| October 7, 2009 | Columbus | Veterans Memorial Auditorium |
| October 8, 2009 | Salisbury | Wicomico Youth and Civic Center |
| October 9, 2009 | Hampton | Hampton Coliseum |
| October 10, 2009 | ||
| October 13, 2009 | Washington, D.C. | Warner Theatre |
| October 14, 2009 | ||
| October 15, 2009 | ||
| October 16, 2009 | ||
| October 17, 2009 | ||
| October 18, 2009 | ||
| October 20, 2009 | Aiken | USC Aiken Convocation Center |
| October 21, 2009 | Albany | Albany Civic Center |
| October 22, 2009 | Columbus | Columbus Civic Center |
| October 24, 2009 | Philadelphia | Liacouras Center |
| October 25, 2009 | ||
| October 30, 2009 | Baltimore | Morgan State University |
| October 31, 2009 | ||
| November 1, 2009 | ||
| November 7, 2009 | Pittsburgh | Petersen Events Center |
| November 8, 2009 | Cincinnati | Aronoff Center for the Arts |
| November 11, 2009 | Peoria | Peoria Civic Center |
| November 13, 2009 | Milwaukee | Milwaukee Theatre |
| November 14, 2009 | ||
| November 15, 2009 | Louisville | Louisville Palace |
| November 17, 2009 | Grand Rapids | DeVos Performance Hall |
| November 18, 2009 | East Lansing | Wharton Center for Performing Arts |
| November 19, 2009 | Chicago | Arie Crown Theater |
| November 20, 2009 | ||
| November 21, 2009 | ||
| November 22, 2009 | ||
| November 24, 2009 | Detroit | Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts |
| November 25, 2009 | ||
| November 26, 2009 | ||
| November 27, 2009 | ||
| November 28, 2009 | ||
| November 29, 2009 | ||
| January 10, 2010 | Portland | Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| January 16, 2010 | Oakland | Paramount Theatre |
| January 17, 2010 | ||
| July 13, 2010 | Atlanta | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre |
| July 14, 2010 |
All songs written and/or produced by Tyler Perry and Elvin D. Ross.
