Two Trains Running
The Acting Company

Wednesday, February 26th, 2025

7:00 p.m.

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Wise County Performing Arts Center at J.W. Adams Combined School

10824 Orby Cantrell Hwy, Pound, VA 24279​

Tickets: $15 at the door

Children and students admitted free

From the author of The Piano Lesson and Fences comes the story of Memphis Lee, a diner owner in a historically black neighborhood in Pittsburgh at the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Lee must decide if he should allow the government to take over his building or sell the property to a ruthless businessman. Full of vivid characters, joy, hope, love, and perseverance, this Tony-nominated play celebrates the spirit, laughter, heart, and resilience of the people who make our country great–even when faced with overwhelming odds.

Lili-Anne Brown, a Chicago South Side native, works as a director, actor and educator, and has performed in, directed and produced many award-winning shows in Chicago and nationally. Recent directing credits include: The Nacirema Society…, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play and the world premieres of Ike Holter’s I Hate It Here and Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre).

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She has received a Helen Hayes Award, 5 Jeff Awards, 2 BTA awards and one African American Arts Alliance Award for excellence in directing. Lili-Anne is a 2021 recipient of the 3Arts Award for Theatre and the 2023 Zelda Fichandler Award Finalist.  She is a member of SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and a graduate of Northwestern University.

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The Acting Company develops actors by touring professional theater across America. Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley with the first graduating class of the Drama Division of The Juilliard School, The Company has launched the careers of some 400 actors, including Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Mary Lou Rosato, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, Lorraine Toussaint, Frances Conroy, Harriet Harris, Lisa Banes, Jeffrey Wright, Hamish Linklater, Jesse L. Martin, Roslyn Ruff, Jimonn Cole, Kelley Curran, among many others, while bringing sophisticated theater to hundreds of communities from coast to coast.

Among many accolades, The Acting Company won the 2003 Tony Award for Excellence in the Theater, and recently won the 2019 Audelco Award for Best Play for its production of Nambi E. Kelley’s Native Son directed by Seret Scott.

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Pro-Art partners with a variety of venues, therefore individuals with accessibility needs or general questions are encouraged to call (276) 376-4520 or email the Pro-Art office at pro-art@uvawise.edu. For evolving conditions related to weather cancellations, or similar unforeseen circumstances, patrons are encouraged to check proartva.org for up-to-date information. 

Pro-Art is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the C. Bascom Slemp Foundation, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Mountain Empire Community College, the Columbus Phipps Foundation, and the Lee County Community Foundation.

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