It's the end of a long summer in Hurt Village, a housing project in Memphis, Tennessee.

A government Hope Grant means relocation for many of the project's residents, including Cookie, a thirteen year-old aspiring rapper, along with her mother Crank and great-grandmother Big Mama. As the family prepares to move, Cookie's father Buggy unexpectedly returns from a tour of duty in Iraq. Ravaged by the war, Buggy struggles to find a position in his disintegrating community, along with a place in his daughter's wounded heart.

A bold, gritty and devastating work, Hurt Village earned Katori Hall the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, given annually to an outstanding female playwright.

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Read TDF Stages' exclusive interview with Tony Award-winner Tonya Pinkins about how she created her colossal performance as Big Mama.