HEAL THIS Playwright

A scowling man stormed toward a woman in a sparkling pink suit and struck her across the face. She fell to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

The man leaned down and whispered, “Are you all right?” “Yes,” said the woman. “Go on.”

And so the rehearsal last week of “Women Shoptalk While Real Men Wait” continued.

The play — a semiautobiographical work written by Carolyn Moore, the woman who lay crumbled onstage — will open tonight at Colorado College’s Armstrong Hall.

Set in a beauty shop like the one Moore used to run, the play traces the lives of four sisters, integrating gospel music and dance into the production.

Moore does not actually perform in her own play.

During this rehearsal, however, she was filling in for one of the stars of the show.

The cast, comprised of a mix of amateurs and professionals, includes such headliners as Anthony Price of the Broadway production of “Dreamgirls” and Crissy Collins, who recently toured with Beyoncé.

Moore said she secured such star-power through persistence and patience. At 44, the mother of 11 is pursuing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where she produced the play as an independent study.

“It’s about victims of domestic violence,” she said.

“I’m actually a survivor. It’s my personal story. It’s my way of healing.”

More than ten years after breaking from her alleged abuser, Moore says she is ready to share her tale to benefit others.

A portion of the show’s proceeds will go to TESSA, a nonprofit organization that helps victims of domestic violence and adult sexual abuse in El Paso County.

“It took me years before I would come out and tell my story. I was very afraid for a very long time,” said Moore, who is now happily married to an Iraq War veteran. “But there is life after abuse.”

Indeed, two actors in the play say they realized this truth through their performances.

Terry Woods, a 38-year-old railroad conductor who plays a flamboyant hairdresser, said the role has helped him overcome being molested at a young age.

“It was a healing process to become something I loathed at one time,” he said, explaining how he embraced the part and came to have fun with the character.

“That’s been a big victory for me.”

Mel Davis, 42, who plays a violent husband, said he himself was once abusive.

“I had to go through anger management. I had to learn to understand about love,” he said, explaining that he was finally convinced to act in the play because of its positive message. “I wanted to show real men you don’t have to be this way, live this way.”

The show was originally scheduled to open at the Pikes Peak Center, but the theater bumped the play last week just 10 days before opening night.

The cancellation came amid contractual disputes and sparked allegations of racism from the mostly black cast.

After that cancellation, Moore secured a new venue: Colorado College’s Armstrong Hall.

details

“Women Shoptalk While Real Men Wait,” by Oasis Productions

What: 8 p.m. today

Where: Armstrong Hall, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado College

Cost: $20; 761-6143 or 321-9155