Dinner theater focuses on entertainer-activist Josephine Baker
Versatile entertainer and civil rights pioneer Josephine Baker is the topic of the Oct. 25 History Dinner Theater at Saint Vincent College.
Presented by the college’s Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery, the program will begin at 6 p.m. in the Fred M. Rogers Center on the Unity campus.
“Overcoming the limitations imposed by the color of her skin, Baker became one of the world’s most versatile entertainers, performing on stage, screen and recordings,” according to a gallery release. “Decorated for her undercover work for the French Resistance during World War II, she was a civil rights activist and often refused to perform to segregated audiences, which usually forced venue owners to forcibly desegregate theaters or risk losing her as a performer.
”She made efforts to integrate Las Vegas nightclubs and adopted 12 children from around the world whom she called her ‘rainbow tribe,’” the release says.
Baker, who died in 1975 at age 68, will be played by Vernice S. Jackson, board president and managing director of Women in History.
Jackson says Baker is her favorite character because “she was a free spirit, who successfully reinvented herself over and over again. Obstacles were a temporary evil. She overcame poverty, lack of formal education, illnesses and racial discrimination. She was a true survivor.”
The American-born singer and dancer performed primarily in Europe, and mostly in her adopted home country of France. Baker was the first African American to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film, “Siren of the Tropics.”
Jackson is an organizational development consultant who mentors students transitioning from college to careers in business and engineering. She is also a long-time civic volunteer in the Cleveland area.
Her performance replaces the originally scheduled dinner theater featuring Rosa Parks, which was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Attendees at the Oct. 25 performance can choose from Mediterranean chicken breast or grilled strip steak entrees, served with salad, side dishes, soup and dessert.
Tickets are $65, $10 for children under 12 and $35 for students with valid ID.
Details: 724-805-2177 or mccarlgallery.org/events
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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