Playing May 29, 2026 to June 21, 2026
“When I go back to the dressing room, I take off the makeup and I’M NOT ‘EARTHA KITT’ ANYMORE, I’M EARTHA MAE AGAIN.”
The sharp-witted, glamorous, incomparable Eartha Kitt commands the spotlight. But backstage in her dressing room, in the quiet between songs, she peels back the glitz to reveal Eartha Mae: a girl from the South Carolina cotton fields, orphaned by her mother until an audience adopted her
Told through both story and song, Urbanite Theatre's first-ever musical production unearths the complex truth behind the icon: "I'm a dirt person. I trust the dirt. I don't trust diamonds and gold."
In WHO IS EARTHA MAE?, Jade Wheeler, playwright and performer, brings to life a powerful woman in search of happiness and the roots she never forgets.
Presented in partnership with The Hanover Theatre Repertory in Worcester, MA.
Located in the heart of downtown Sarasota, Florida, Urbanite Theatre is a professional non-profit theatre. We produce thrilling new works in the region's most intimate venue: a 65-seat fully flexible black-box theater. The result is a highly immersive experience that challenges one's perspectives and demands conversation.
