A costumed dramatic reading of Mississippi Land was hosted at Jamaica Performing Arts Center on January 28, 2023 to a sold out crowd of 400 people. There was also a line around the corner of 200 people that could not get in. A first in the history of the performing arts center.
Mississippi Land tells the story of the Williams , a family of sharecroppers that manage to acquire the land where their ancestors were enslaved. The play is set in 1945. The character Ethel May is the matriarch of the family and is determined to ensure the legacy and importance of intergenerational wealth. When the eldest daughter of the Williams family passes away, the next of kin is the estranged son Bobby is determined to claim his legal share of the property.
The play is written by Gina Keys and directed by Alicia Whavers. Both Keys and Whavers bring their tremendous talent that has been dedicated to exploring the representation of the African Diaspora in the United States Of America. Keys serves as an Executive Producer along with Laurelton native Dave Huie and renowned actor Leon. Leon has starred in classic films like The Five Heartbeats, Waiting to Exhale , The Little Richard Story and many more.
Huie met Keys five years ago and her production company put on an impromptu play at his offices that blew him away. Fast forward to last year, Keys approached Huie with Mississippi Land and Huie shared the play with Leon. They agreed the play was an important story to bring to the stage in different communities all the way to Broadway. Huie was told by audience members, “ Everything was quality from the Playbill to the presentation experience.”
In addition, the play stars a cast of performers with experiences on Broadway and television. Playwright Keys was inspired to write this play after tracing her ancestry in Mississippi and what she learned. The play is based loosely on her family. “ I don’t think we realize how important it is to build a legacy . People need to do more research, my family lost land in Mississippi”, says Keys. “Everything I have done in my career has been about community, I’m so excited to be in this community and this is a dream of mine”, Keys adds. Keys is humbled by her success, ” I come from very humble beginnings on the south side of Chicago…and it’s been important to me that I stand as proof, that no matter your beginning, God has a purpose for your life. It’s our job to find what that is, strive to be excellent and share it with the world. Never forget the community that held you up!”
The play features actors from the Broadway and television screen world. Gayle Samuels plays the understudy role of Ethel in the play and led the reading last night. The event served as a full circle moment for Samuels because she grew up in Queens.
” I grew up in South Jamaica by JFK. I’m proud to represent my community and my 92 year old mother still lives in South Ozone Park”, says Samuels. Samuels also echoes Keys’ words in saying, “This is all about land ownership. It is important to understand the importance of keeping it.”
Resorts World Casino sponsored this event and made it possible to provide free tickets to the community.
The event attracted potential investors and known actors to come see the play. Amir Arison ,Broadway lead of the Kite Runner and known for NBC of The Black List, shared,”The playwright has managed to create a thriller of the past. Sharing both seen and unseen trauma and still be funny”. The Mississippi Land team is looking to take the production to Broadway. Investors can reach out to VioKMarketing Group for more information.
