Love, Life and Laughter: Four Comedy Sketches by Christine M. Houston (A Fundraiser for the Production of the Stage Play, Lemon

 
Love, Life and Laughter: 
Four Comedy Sketches by  Christine M.Houston
(The Lady Behind the Hit T.V. Sitcom 227) 
 
Christine Houston, the award winning playwright, author and creator of the popular 80’s T.V. series “227â€*, has packaged four of her celebrated comedy sketches to create the funny theatrical experience, Love, Life and Laughter (LLL).
LLL, produced by Coffee, Tea & Me Productions, will play at Prairie State College, Chicago, Illinois, one day only on November 17, 2012 .… Show more
 
Ms. Houston, who has written several stage plays, has signed with Coffee, Tea & Me Productions to adapt the screenplay, Lemon Tea: The Emancipation of Liberty, written by Marcia L. Sinclair, for the stage. The Love, Life and Laughter production is a fundraiser for the Lemon Tea stage play project.
 
About Love, Life and Laughter
 
L ove, Life and Laughter touches on the comical everyday occurrences that couples and families experience.   During these tough economic times it is nice to know that through the love of life…we can find laughter.
 
Whatever Makes You Happy is a comedy sketch that follows the lives of Regina and Lynette.      Regina is a widow in her late 50’s and a mother still trying to raise her 35 year old  daughter, Lynette. Lynette decides that her 35 th birthday is the perfect time to become
independent and start acting her age.   Regina runs a tight ship and will not give up control
…even if it kills her.
 
Trust Me introduces us to wife and husband, Lisa and Larry.    After many years of marriage, Lisa is sure that Larry is having an affair.   She is so consumed with getting Larry to admit his infidelity that she has a nervous breakdown and is committed to a sanitarium.   Once Lisa returns home from the “crazy houseâ€*, it looks like their marriage commitment and trust is solid…or is it?
 
Peach of a Pair chronicles the lopsided division of power in the marriage of Janine and Kingston.   Kingston is not happy with Janine’s interpretation of what it means to be a housewife.   Janine is fine with being a wife that stays in the house.   One evening, Kingston stops off at a bar for some liquid courage and goes home to lay down the law.    Janine has a direct and memorable retort in response to Kingston’s new rules.
 
Blind Date is a hilarious and lively sketch about the arranged date hook-up for 69 year old Lucy.   Courtney, Lucy’s granddaughter, is determined to find a nice old companion for her feisty grandmother.   After conspiring with her aunt, Courtney sets up a blind date that Lucy will never forget.
 
  About Lemon Tea: The Emancipation of Liberty
 
Lemon Tea: The Emancipation of Liberty has won numerous awards including a semi-finalist placement in the prestigious Nicholl screenwriting completion, winner in the Women in Film, CineStory and the 2008 Illinois International film festival screenwriting competition. The screenplay has received much acclaim for its heartwarming family story with a message that transcends age, race, and gender. While its setting is a southern town in the seventies, Lemon Tea provides a gateway to discussion and problem solving on issues currently confronting school age children and families. View the Lemon Tea video synopsis at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYVooL-_ghg
and join the Lemon Tea Project at www.lemonteathemovie.ning .
 
About Coffee, Tea and Me Productions, Inc.
 
Coffee, Tea and Me Productions, Inc. was formed by April Sinclair, bestselling author of “Coffee Will Make You Blackâ€*, Marcia Sinclair, award winning screen writer of “Lemon Teaâ€*, and Nina Sinclair-Burns, chief executive director, CTM, Inc.   For many years, these dynamic sisters have made artistic contributions world-wide by sharing rich and beautiful stories about “everydayâ€* African American heroines.
 
 
For ticket information:   
 
Christine Houston, a Chicago playwright, is known today as the creator of the beloved 1980's sitcom "227".
“227â€* was a popular television show in the 1980’s that captivated audiences with its humor.  Most people are not aware that the show’s mastermind is a Chicago native who created the show while she was a student at Kennedy King College (KKC).
Ms. Houston decided she would write about growing up in an apartment building located on 227 East 48 th Street in Chicago.
The playwright says when she wrote the script for the play; she spelled out the words “Two Twenty Sevenâ€* as its title.   Once the play became a television show, the title changed to “227.â€*
“When Hollywood got it, they decided that they wanted to try to make it their own. So, they changed it to the numbers,â€* Houston said.
Houston won first place in the Lear competition and second place for the Hansberry.
As part of her prize for the Lear Award, Houston had to create a teleplay for the television show of her choice. She decided to write the piece for “The Jeffersons.â€* She met the cast of the show including Sherman Helmsley, Isabelle Stanford and Marla Gibbs.
Eight years later, “The Jeffersonsâ€* came to an end and TV executives began to look for a spin-off vehicle for Gibbs.
Houston had been busy touring “227â€* all over the country.  Gibbs had a theatre and decided to run the show. She also starred as the play’s main character, Mary Jenkins.
Audiences loved the play and Gibbs’ performance.  Due to the stellar response from theatregoers, Gibbs re-opened the play.  During the next run, she invited three major television networks, NBC, CBS and ABC to view the play.  “NBC saw it the first night and grabbed the option and that’s how it ended up [being] on NBC,â€* Houston said.
When “227â€* made it to television, it was updated. Houston wrote the original play set in the 1950’s in Chicago. The TV show was set in the 1980’s in Washington D.C.
Houston worked on the set of “227â€* for three years as a writer.  The show ended in 1990.
The playwright has been very busy, with a variety of projects, since the show’s ending.

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