Coppin Rep Continues New Theatre Season with New Play by Josh Wilder

BALTIMORE - Coppin Repertory Theatre at Coppin State University will continue the 2025-2026 theatre season with SHE A GEM, a new play by Josh Wilder. Performances are scheduled for November 12-23, 2025 in the James Weldon Johnson Auditorium, located on the North Avenue side of campus, as follows:

Show times:

Wednesday, November 12 & 19………………………………10:30 a.m.

Thursday, November 13 & 20………………………………….10:30 a.m.

Friday, November 14 & 21……………………………………….10:30 a.m.

Saturday, November 15 & 22.……………………………………3:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 16 & 23...……………………………………..3:00 p.m.

In Wilder's SHE A GEM, Krystin, Jaleesa, and Amber form a double-dutch team in inner city Philadelphia to compete in their neighborhood pageant. If they win, they'll receive a special prize: their futures told by Ms. Mary, the local psychic. Will they become a famous singer? A hair dresser? Or maybe a "gem," a special leader who cares for the neighborhood? Then they meet a pregnant teen from North Philly who can jump double-dutch almost better than any of them. Just as the girls anticipate learning about their futures, they'll learn something important about their past that affects them all.

Playwright Josh Wilder, a native of Philadelphia, is a playwright, actor, director and producer. He received his BFA in Performance at Carnegie Melon and his MFA in Playwriting at the Yale School of Drama. His work

has been developed; commissioned; and produced at various regional theaters and festivals across the country including The Fire This Time Festival, Classical Theatre of Harlem, New York Theatre Workshop, True Colors Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 2015 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, PlayPenn, Company One, InterAct Theatre Company, and Yale Rep. Past awards include the Holland New Voices Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Award, The Rosa Parks Award, and The ASCAP Cole Porter Prize. Josh is a former Jerome Fellow and the first national recipient of the Jerome Many Voices Fellowship at The Playwrights' Center. He has been in residence at The Royal Court Theatre; Sundance at UCross; and served as Co-Artistic Director at The Yale Cabaret for its 50th season and Co- Founder/Producer of the New Griots Black Arts Festival in The Twin Cities with Jamil Jude. Currently, he's the Director of Performance at Coppin State University in Baltimore, MD.

Coppin's production will be directed by guest artist Rain Pryor.

The cost of admission is $20.00 for the general public, $15.00 for seniors and non-Coppin students, free for Coppin students with ID. Group discounts for parties of 10 or more are also available.

Tickets can be purchased online at

https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/team.asp?SponsorID=19474

For additional information, call or email Dr. Garey A. Hyatt at (410) 951-3369 or [email protected]