Westerville South’ Troupe 513 is putting on playwright Kristen Greenidge’s “Milk Like Sugar.” This production follows Annie and her teenage friends who all want the same things: the hottest new phones, cute boys, and designer bags. 

Troupe member Rose Lansana said, “Collectively, we chose to put on Milk Like Sugar because it’s a show that allows us to have an all-black cast, but not capitalize on black trauma like many fully black shows do.”  

Lansana said her favorite part about being in the cast of Milk Like Sugar is the family feel. “We are all so comfortable around each other, and I think you can see our chemistry on stage. It makes acting together a whole lot easier.” 

Principal Mike Hinze said, “Troupe 513 is so talented, and I think a lot of that has to do with how close they are off the stage.”

Lansana said the play has many lessons that she hopes the audience will take away. “The surface level lesson is don’t make a pregnancy pact with your friends; but on a deeper level,  I hope young black girls that come to the play learn that they don’t have to listen to the limitations set around them.” 

She also wants people to realize that the characters that are portrayed aren’t just characters; they are real people in everyone’s everyday life. 

Lansana plays the production’s main character Annie. She calls Annie a “complex” character. “When first reading her character, I was annoyed by her frankly; but now that I play her, I understand why she is the way she is.” 

Lansana said she enjoys being a part of Annie’s growth and development as a character. 

One of Lansana’s biggest goals for the show is that she hopes people take a different view of black women. “ I really want people to realize black women are not just someone’s future baby mama or someone random from the hood, they are real women with real purpose.” 

 Milk Like Sugar will be open on March 24 at 7 p.m. and a second performance will be given on March 25 at 7 p.m., as well.