New date for Debra Ehrhardt’s ‘Look What Fell Out De Mango Tree’
Published:Monday | December 1, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Two performances of Look What Fell Out De Mango Tree, actress and playwright Debra Ehrhardt’s newest play, have been rescheduled for January 17 and 18, 2026 at the University of Technology on Old Hope Road in St Andrew. The play stars Ehrhardt herself and Christopher Grossett.
Look What Fell Out De Mango Tree is based on Ehrhardt’s true-life story, exploring the weight of what’s unspoken, the healing that forgiveness makes possible, and the quiet power of vulnerability. It’s about parents doing the best they can with what they’ve been given – sometimes with pain and empty toolboxes in hand.
“As children we rarely see the full picture. It’s about the stories we inherit without even knowing, and the spaces left empty by things unsaid. Missing pieces of our personal histories can shape our worldview and ripple through our own relationships. In facing the past, forgiveness can unbind us and clear the path to true freedom,” Ehrhardt said in a press release.
The actress and playwright, who has made her home in the US, has performed her own stories all over the world based on her colourful and much-loved life in Jamaica. She is the recipient of several awards and has garnered rave reviews of her plays over the years. Previous solo productions include Mango Mango, Invisible Chairs, Cock Tales: Shame on Me! and Jamaica Farewell which was produced by Rita Wilson-Hanks and Garry Marshall and has been optioned for film.
She received a proclamation from the City of New York for “outstanding contribution to the Jamaican community”. In addition, Ehrhardt has performed at the storytelling centre in Jonesboro, Tennessee, the Taos Storytelling Festival in New Mexico, Ojai Storytelling Festival in California, and she was the winner in 2017 for the Best Storyteller in Long Beach, California.
Ehrhardt founded What’s Your Story Jamaica, a million-dollar storytelling competition in Kingston, a few years ago, and returns to Jamaica every year to produce and promote the competition.
“Debra maintains the fundamental belief that content is king, and, to that end, she imbues her work with tenderness, subtlety and intensity, striving tirelessly to emphasise what makes art meaningful: honest emotion,” the release stated.
Actor Christopher Grossett, who attended the Juilliard School of the Performing Arts, is known for the films Last Life, Something About a Business, and Speed of Life, among others. He was in a production of the award-winning A Raisin in the Sun at Syracuse Stage. At New York’s Lincoln Center, he performed in A Wrinkle in Time. and also performed in productions of Lynn Nottages Intimate Apparel at the Nevada Conservatory Theatre and in Shrinks at the LA Hudson Theatre.
Director Paul Williams is a composer, singer, songwriter, actor, and is known for writing and co-writing iconic songs such as Helen Reddy’s You and Me Against the World; Biff Rose’s Fill Your Heart; and the Carpenters’ We’ve Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays. Williams is also known for writing the score and lyrics for Bugsy Malone and his musical contributions to other films, including the Oscar-nominated song Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie, and the lyrics to the #1 chart-topping song Evergreen. He won a Grammy for Song of the Year for the love theme from the Barbra Streisand film, A Star Is Born, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Williams said, although he is writing two musicals and had very little time to spare, he was so impressed with the material and quality of the actors, he wanted to direct this piece.
Look What Fell Out De Mango Tree is recommended for ages 16 and over, owing to mature content.