The cast of Garrett Davis's "Unforgettable." (Photos courtesy of Gdavis Productions and Films, LLC)
Playwright, film director and producer Garrett Davis is touring his production of "Unforgettable" throughout the United States.
The 2024 tour kicks off in Miami at the Lyric Theater on Saturday, March 16 in a free-admission professional production that features American Idol finalist Scott Savol, LeJuene Thompson from Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers and Yessie Rodriguez from the drama series "My Family." A free community concert with saxophonist Adrian Crutchfield is Friday, March 15, also at the Historic Lyric Theater.
miamiartzine.com talked to Davis about the reason he wrote the drama that deals with the effects of Alzheimer's on a loved one and their family. This is Davis's second play that combines a theater production setting with a script to inform the public about a health issue.
His play, "Forget Me Not," traveled to 27 cities and invited the audience into the life of an African American family showing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on primary caregivers, family and friends.
miamiartzine.com: You and I both have experience in dealing with caring for someone with Alzheimer's and dementia. My mother passed away in 2019 and your inspiration for writing your play was your own experience.
Garrett Davis: Yes. I first wrote a play called "Forget Me Not." That was a therapeutic play for me because I was dealing with the passing of my grandmother from Alzheimer's disease. I got involved with the Alzheimer's Association and got involved with advocacy because I was in search for more about this disease that took Goodness away from me.
Playwright producer Garrett Davis and Lejuene Thompson. (Photos courtesy of Gdavis Productions and Films, LLC)
maz: And then you were approached by the Alzheimer's Association to work with them on "Forget Me Not" to use it as a vehicle to help educate populations about Alzheimer's and other dementias.
GD: When I was approached by Dr. (Carl) Hill, Ph.D., MPH (chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Alzheimer's Association) and Beverly Berry (director, diversity, equity and inclusion at the Alzheimer's Association), I wasn't opposed to doing "Forget Me Not," but I thought maybe it was time for a more diverse cast. That had an all African-American cast. It dealt with a charismatic father who had Alzheimer's disease and his wife had cancer and all the attention was on his wife. No one noticed all that was going on with the father.
maz: "Unforgettable" is a tribute to your late grandmother, Goodness. I read that your experience inspired the story of the Davenport-Rodriguez family, who makes a plan to care for matriarch Mama D. after her Alzheimer's diagnosis.
GD: "Unforgettable" feels like a continuation and the cast is more diverse and we have an African American male who is married to a Hispanic female and a white best friend. I wanted to have all races involved in this particular piece and bring it up to date and talk about clinical trials and things of that nature. So that's how "Unforgettable" came to be.
A scene from Garrett Davis's play "Unforgettable" about a family dealing with a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. (Photos courtesy of Gdavis Productions and Films, LLC)
maz: You make sure that the play is accessible to all cost wise. There is no admission charge. People can see it for free, correct?
GD: So, this is something I've been doing, going back to the days when I did my first theatrical piece for AARP called "Mama's Girls." And the model was to present these productions for free. Because, you know, we do not want to have people have to pay to get educated and informed. And so we've been doing this model for as long as I've been doing theatrical productions with a theme of health awareness.
maz: And it is cast with professional actors.
GD: Yes, actors I have worked with previously from my AARP play "Daddy’s Boys," including Dartez Wright and Kenneth Pierce. American Idol finalist Scott Savol, LeJuene Thompson from Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers and Yessie Rodriguez from the drama series "My Family are in it." And the "Unforgettable" theme song was written by songwriter and vocalist Blanche McAllister, one of the lead singers from the Grammy award-winning group Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers.
For this particular piece, I wanted to have a cast that had experience with Alzheimer's, either directly or indirectly. So pretty much everyone in this piece has experience taking care of someone or watching someone taking care of someone affected by Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. So it this is a real piece for them as well.
maz: What can audiences expect?
GD: When you hear us advertising these plays, you don't hear us talking about "this is an Alzheimer's play, or "this is a caregiving play." It's a professionally staged production, Broadway-type piece. And so we get people who are theater lovers and art lovers who come to enjoy a play. But then when they get there, there's a theme. And then before they know it, in addition to being entertained, they've been educated. And by the time they leave, now they want to get involved. It's a move to action.
maz: There's also another component you've added this year. A free musical performance the night before.
LeJuene Thompson as Mama D in "Unforgettable." (Photos courtesy of Gdavis Productions and Films, LLC)
GD: Yes, saxophonist Adrian Crutchfield, known as the last horn-man to perform and record with Prince and the New Power Generation. So, he is heading up the Community Concerts, a live free performance on the night before the show. And this is to show how music is involved with Alzheimer's. My mother is dealing with Alzheimer's and she may not know who her nephew is, but if you put on a certain song, she can sing every note and say every word. So "Adrian and Friends" will be in each city that we go to with a free concert on the night before each performance with "Unforgettable" this year. We are just trying to raise the awareness in many mediums in as many ways as we can.
maz: In response to the demographic that you are hoping to reach with "Unforgettable," the play is for everyone, but there's a specific message for some ethnic groups. Black families? Hispanic families?
GD: I mean think about it from an African American's perspective. In general, they don't trust big government. Look at what happened with Tuskegee. It hasn't been easy to get a group of people to trust a system that hasn't always been faithful to them. But that system has keys and avenues to help you for a better quality of life, but you're afraid to take it because you don't trust, right? The thing that I do not like, personally, just for me is that why is it that when you try to reach our community . . . you can't send Oprah and Jay Z and Beyonce into my community every time. It is nothing against those three that I named, it's just that our communities are more than that. I'm not a celebrity, I'm just a guy whose grandmother died of Alzheimer's disease who's trying to raise awareness. I take my brand very seriously. And when I tell someone, it's okay to trust, I mean it because I'm not telling them to do something I haven't done. I've done clinical trials, for instance. And so, it starts with if everyone can do something, then we begin to build that trust back. I think it's all about trust.
"Unforgettable" is at the Historic Lyric Theater, 819 NW Second Ave., Miami, with a free community concert Friday, March 15 and the play Saturday, March 16. There is no charge to attend. To RSVP for the play and the community concert and find out more, go to https://www.unforgettableplay.com/
