I Know I've Been Changed
Encyclopedia
I Know I've Been Changed was the first major successful play from famed playwright Tyler Perry
. Tyler was homeless and decided to give the theater scene one more chance. The play focuses on critical issues including child abuse
and rape
. The play started Tyler's groundbreaking career.
Soul musician Ryan Shaw
got his start performing in this play in 1998.
Grammy award winning vocalist Ann Nesby
of Sounds of Blackness
played a supporting role in this play/production.
), is a mother divorcing her husband after becoming a famous singer. In a bold move to persue her dreams she had to leave her daughter,(Jamecia Bennett), to be raised by her husband, Joe, (Tyler Perry
). This hard-hitting play used comedy and drama to tell a story of two adult survivors of child abuse who became the people that their abusive mother said they would be. It is also the story of how they overcame the power of God with a shocking twist at the end.
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
. Tyler was homeless and decided to give the theater scene one more chance. The play focuses on critical issues including child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. The play started Tyler's groundbreaking career.
Soul musician Ryan Shaw
Ryan Shaw
Ryan Christopher Shaw is a soul musician from Georgia, USA.-Biography:Shaw began singing in Pentecostal church at the age of three, having been raised in a deeply religious household. Shaw won a spot in a gospel musical at Georgia State University, and in 1998 he dropped out of college to take...
got his start performing in this play in 1998.
Grammy award winning vocalist Ann Nesby
Ann Nesby
Ann Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...
of Sounds of Blackness
Sounds of Blackness
Sounds of Blackness is a Grammy Award-winning vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B chart and Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play...
played a supporting role in this play/production.
Plot
Fanny, (Ann NesbyAnn Nesby
Ann Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...
), is a mother divorcing her husband after becoming a famous singer. In a bold move to persue her dreams she had to leave her daughter,(Jamecia Bennett), to be raised by her husband, Joe, (Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
). This hard-hitting play used comedy and drama to tell a story of two adult survivors of child abuse who became the people that their abusive mother said they would be. It is also the story of how they overcame the power of God with a shocking twist at the end.
Cast
- Tyler PerryTyler PerryTyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
as Joe - Shirley "Marie" Gram as Mary
- Ann NesbyAnn NesbyAnn Nesby is an American R&B, gospel, and dance music singer and actress. She is the former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness; a songwriter with credits including hits sung by Patti Labelle and Gladys Knight; plus she co-starred in the 2003 romance musical The Fighting Temptations with Cuba...
as Fanny - Latrice Pace as Ms. Millie
- Jamecia Bennett
- Chandra Currelley-YoungChandra Currelley-YoungChandra Currelley-Young is an American actress. Currelley has done extensive work with director and writer Tyler Perry, and has played many roles in his various productions. She also has appeared in several stage plays.-Life and career:...
as Emma - Ryan ShawRyan ShawRyan Christopher Shaw is a soul musician from Georgia, USA.-Biography:Shaw began singing in Pentecostal church at the age of three, having been raised in a deeply religious household. Shaw won a spot in a gospel musical at Georgia State University, and in 1998 he dropped out of college to take...
as Sam - Quan Howell
- Jasmine Ross
- Carl Pertile
Trivia
- In this play Tyler Perry portrays the character Joe, a character still being portrayed by Tyler Perry in his movies. The character is revealed in later works to be the brother of Madea (Tyler Perry's most famous character).