As she dies, Aunt Len recounts her life through the dolls that populate her Harlem brownstone. She and they inhabit the world premiere production the doll plays, running Jan. 11-March 10 at Actor's Express in Atlanta. The new Alva Rogers play runs in repertory with Thomas Gibbon's Bee-Luther-Hatchee, performing Jan. 10-March 16.

Peter DuBois directs the doll plays, inspired by the true story of Lenon Holder-Hoyte, a private collector of dolls, whose collection became one of the largest in America until it was dismantled at her death in 1994 and sold through Sotheby's and various antique dealers. Rogers, who received a $20,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation for doll plays, is also the author of the whole wide world and Stained.

At the center of Bee-Luther-Hatchee is Shelita Burns, an African American book editor who receives a Civil Rights era autobiography from the South that illuminates her mind and causes a controversy that may end her career. K. Elizabeth Stevens directs this play by the author of 6221 and Black Russian.

Tickets are $20-$25. Actor's Express is located in the King Plow Arts Center at 887 West Marietta Street. For reservations, call (404) 607 SHOW. Actor's Express is on the web at http://www.actorsexpress.com.

— By Christine Ehren