Centenary collaborates with Mahogany Ensemble Theatre for Black History Month production
SHREVEPORT, LA — In celebration of Black History Month, Centenary’s Diversity Committee is partnering with Mahogany Ensemble Theater to present a theatrical performance of "The Meeting" by Jeff Stetson. The play will be presented via live stream from the College’s Marjorie Lyons Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 19, and Saturday, February 20.
Tickets are required, but up to 100 free tickets are available for each performance. Visit centenary.edu/themeeting for more information and to reserve tickets. After all the free tickets are claimed, additional tickets will be available for $5 each.
Stetson’s play depicts the supposed meeting of two of the most important men of modern times: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The action takes place in a suite in a Harlem hotel, where Malcolm X and his bodyguard, Rashad, rest before Malcolm's fatal appearance at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. Malcolm has requested a secret meeting with Dr. King, who is also in New York. “The Meeting” centers around a spirited debate between Malcolm X and King regarding their differing approaches to improving the lot of the black man in a predominately white society.
“The Meeting” at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse is directed by Mahogany Ensemble Theatre founding artistic managing director and Centenary alumna Angelique Feaster Evans. Feaster Evans earned a BA in speech with a minor in theatre in 1995 and then earned an MA in education administration in 2007. Mahogany Ensemble Theatre is North Louisiana’s premier seasonal African American theatre company.
“In recent years, Mahogany Ensemble Theatre has been thrilled to partner with my alma mater during Dream Week and Black History Month,” said Feaster Evans. “The opportunity to collaborate on ‘The Meeting’ was a vision that finally came to fruition by working with Eliezer Williams, a senior theatre major, on his culminating project. During this unprecedented time, we pivoted primarily to a virtual process, from rehearsals to working with an awesome student-led production team, to performance via a live-streaming platform.”
The production stars Williams and local actor Jay Ward alongside Centenary’s vice president for finance and administration, Robert Blue.
“This production is significant in that it provides a unique lens and greater understanding of the perspectives and philosophies of two leading figures of the Civil Rights Movements,” explained Feaster Evans. “Although Dr. King and Malcolm X met very briefly—only once in real-life - this powerful production moves the audience beyond the familiar rhetoric to the real humanity of both men. This production is also meaningful in that this Sunday marks the 56th Anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination.”