Wikipedia

I Know I've Been Changed

I Know I've Been Changed was the first successful play from playwright Tyler Perry.[1] The play focuses on issues including child abuse[2] and rape and how they can be overcome by a strong belief in God.

I Know I've Been Changed
Written byTyler Perry
CharactersJoe, Mary, Fanny, Ellen, Sam, Mitch, Sister Lewis, Millie, and Lequita
Original run1998-2000
Tyler Perry website Official site

Soul musician Ryan Shaw got his start performing in this play in 1998. The play received its first staging in Atlanta in 1992.[3] The play toured from 1998 to 2000.[4]

Grammy award winning vocalist Ann Nesby of the musical and instrumental group Sounds of Blackness played a supporting role in this play/production.

Saycon Sengbloh would later become the first Black stand-by and then principle lead for the role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical WICKED.

Plot

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This hard-hitting play used comedy and drama to tell a story of two adult survivors of child abuse who became the people that their abusive mother said they would be. It is also the story of how they overcame, by the power of God, with a shocking twist at the end. Mary, the lead character, married and had two children before she had the opportunity to become an adult herself. Emotionally and spiritually irresponsible, she sought the succor of drugs to alleviate the pressure of rearing her children. This drug abuse manifests itself in verbal, emotional and physical abuse toward her children. She is unable to see the beauty of her own children, and, while addicted to drugs, is unable to alter the destructive path she has embarked upon. Compounding an already dysfunctional family situation, the husband is abusive to his wife and children as well, molesting his older son, which results in a dramatic plot twist later in the play. Fanny, is a mother divorcing her husband after becoming a famous singer. In a bold move to pursue her dreams she had to leave her daughter Ellen, to be raised by her husband, Joe.

Cast

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  • Tyler Perry as Joe
  • Shirley Marie Graham as Mary
    • Sheila Stroud (1995)
  • Ann Nesby as Fanny
  • LaShun Pace as Sister Lewis
  • Jamecia Bennett as Ellen
    • Saycon Sengbloh (1995)
  • Chandra Currelly as Millie
    • Latrice Pace
    • Bernadette Grant
  • Ryan Shaw as Sam
    • Darnell Harris (1995)
  • Carl Pertile as Mitch
  • Jasmine Ross as Lequita
    • Sylvia Cannon
  • Quan Howell as Reverend

Shows

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Scheduled shows
Date City Venue
March 12, 1998 Atlanta The Tabernacle
March 13, 1998 Atlanta The Tabernacle
March 14, 1998 Atlanta The Tabernacle
March 15, 1998 Atlanta The Tabernacle
April 27, 1998 Rochester Rochester Auditorium Theatre
April 28, 1998 Rochester Rochester Auditorium Theatre
April 29, 1998 Buffalo Kleinhans Music Hall
April 30, 1998 Pittsburgh Benedum Center
May 6, 1998 Columbus Palace Theatre
May 12, 1998 Baltimore Lyric Performing Arts Center
May 13, 1998 Baltimore Lyric Performing Arts Center
May 14, 1998 Baltimore Lyric Performing Arts Center
May 15, 1998 Baltimore Lyric Performing Arts Center
May 16, 1998 Baltimore Lyric Performing Arts Center
May 17, 1998 Baltimore Lyric Performing Arts Center
June 21, 1998 Manhattan Beacon Theatre
October 2, 1998 Chicago Avalon Regal Theater
October 3, 1998 Chicago Avalon Regal Theater
October 4, 1998 Chicago Avalon Regal Theater
October 11, 1998 Oakland Paramount Theatre
November 10, 1998 Dorchester Strand Theatre
January 12, 1999 Miami Olympia Theater
January 13, 1999 Miami Olympia Theater
January 14, 1999 Miami Olympia Theater
January 15, 1999 Miami Olympia Theater
January 16, 1999 Miami Olympia Theater
January 17, 1999 Miami Olympia Theater
January 26, 1999 Dallas Dallas Convention Center Theater
January 27, 1999 Dallas Dallas Convention Center Theater
January 28, 1999 Dallas Dallas Convention Center Theater
January 29, 1999 Dallas Dallas Convention Center Theater
January 30, 1999 Dallas Dallas Convention Center Theater
January 31, 1999 Dallas Dallas Convention Center Theater
February 5, 1999 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
February 6, 1999 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
February 7, 1999 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
February 25, 1999 Indianapolis Old National Centre
March 26, 1999 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
March 27, 1999 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
March 28, 1999 Memphis Orpheum Theatre
April 22, 1999 Kansas City Kansas City Music Hall
April 23, 1999 Kansas City Kansas City Music Hall
April 24, 1999 Kansas City Kansas City Music Hall
April 25, 1999 Kansas City Kansas City Music Hall
September 28, 1999 Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
September 29, 1999 Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
September 30, 1999 Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
October 1, 1999 Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
October 2, 1999 Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
October 3, 1999 Detroit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
November 18, 1999 St. Louis Fox Theatre
November 19, 1999 St. Louis Fox Theatre
November 20, 1999 St. Louis Fox Theatre
November 21, 1999 St. Louis Fox Theatre

Musical Numbers

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All songs written and/or arranged by Tyler Perry and Elvin D. Ross.

  • "Overture" - Band
  • "I Know I've Been Changed" - Mary
  • "Just Because God Said It" or "Don't Be Discouraged" - Sister Lewis
  • "More Than Just a Sin" - Ellen
  • "I Should Have Been There" - Mary
  • "If I Knew What To Do" - Mitch
  • "I'm Still Wearing Your Name" - Fanny
  • "Gotta Move Blues" - Joe
  • "Old Time Mix" - Millie, Mary, Ellen
  • "She's Gonna Live" - Ellen and Johnny
  • "He Will Take Away All Your Pain / I Know I've Been Changed" (Reprise) - Company

Trivia

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  • This is the debut play of Tyler Perry.
  • In this play, Tyler Perry portrays Joe, a character still being portrayed by Perry in his movies (as the brother of fan-favorite character, Madea).
  • While existing as one of Perry's first plays, it is one of the very least few that is not available on DVD.
    • The show was later supposed to be taped in 2002, and then in 2003. The plans wouldn't follow through for unknown reasons.
  • "More Than Just A Sin" would later be included apart of the filmed version of "Why Did I Get Married? in 2005.
  • This arrangement of the "Old Time Mix" would later be reused in 2002's "Madea's Family Reunion.
  • Chandra Currelly, Ms. Millie in the show, subs in for the voice of Sister Lewis on the play's soundtrack recording, performing the show original "Don't Be Discouraged" in place of LaShun's "Just Because God Said It."

References

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  1. ^ Andrews-Dyer, Helena (May 30, 2018). "Fans love it. Critics don't. After Tyler Perry, can urban theater cross over?". Washington Post. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "Tyler Perry". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  3. ^ Britannica online article
  4. ^ Play synopsis on Tyler Perry website
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