THE HISTORY BEHIND ALABAMA STORY
Plus, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed!
Welcome to The Scene, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed. In this week’s email:
THE BIG IDEA: The Road Map for Theatre Program Fundraising Success
THE SPOTLIGHT: Playwright Kenneth Jones on the History Behind His Play ALABAMA STORY
THE BROADWAY BEAT: Lena Horne makes history as first black woman to have Broadway Theater named after her; See the Broadway shows scheduled to perform at 2022 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; Watch the cast of Broadway’s ‘Almost Famous’ perform ‘Tiny Dancer’ on the Tonight Show.
HOT TOPICS: 5 Things you need to know going into Tech Week; Celebrating the power of public-school theatre education with the Arthur Miller Foundation; Broadway On Demand partners with Stellar to make theatrical live-streaming easier and cheaper
SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW: Plays for Election Day!
The Big Idea
THE ROAD MAP FOR THEATRE PROGRAM FUNDRAISING SUCCESS – COMING IN 2023!
With around 13,000 school districts in the United States, it’s unrealistic to think that any one fundraising strategy will work for everyone. That said, it is possible to find money to support your theatre program, you just need to know where to look. Starting in 2023, The Scene will be highlighting the different paths to fundraising success, with articles dedicated to the following topics:
GRANTS – Information on writing, applying, receiving, and maintaining State & Federal grants.
EVENTS – Ideas for fundraising events and experiences that fund and build your program.
DONATIONS – Learn the ins and outs of asking for donations, the rules you need to know, and how to successfully manage the process.
COMMUNITY & BUSINESS SUPPORT - Tips for developing and maintaining relationships that can grow and support your program for years.
SCHOOL & PARENT SUPPORT – How to develop partnerships within your school to build program ongoing program support.
PROGRAM PARTNERSHIPS – Tools and tricks for working with other theatre programs to enhance your resources.
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS – New and exciting ways to use technology in your fundraising efforts.
We also want to hear from you! What fundraising successes you have had in the past? What’s working for your program? What questions do you need answered? Reach out and let us know by simply replying to this email! We look forward to hearing from you!
THE HISTORY BEHIND ALABAMA STORY
An essay by playwright Kenneth Jones
When I was in elementary school, I volunteered in the library. I loved the seemingly mundane process of re-shelving returned books. That’s how I found and fell in love with “Stuart Little,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Cricket in Times Square,” books illustrated by Garth Williams, an artist I didn’t think much about until decades later when I stumbled upon a controversy surrounding his book “The Rabbits’ Wedding.” Williams wrote the story and created the pictures for this juvenile picture book about a black rabbit who marries a white rabbit. In the Deep South of 1958, when the book was published, politicians called for the book to be banned — and burned. I was a storyteller myself when I learned about the controversial book and the librarian named Emily Wheelock Reed, who defended it — at her own peril — in Montgomery, Alabama.
I turned that history into a highly theatrical six-actor play called Alabama Story, now published by Broadway Licensing in an edition that includes the possibility for schools to expand the cast to 12 performers. In my research of the true tale, I saw obvious conflicts and contrasts, which we crave in all good drama: male and female, north and south, black and white, conservative and liberal, insider and outsider, young and old, access and obstacles.
I wanted the play to be buoyantly theatrical, like a pop-up picture book. I set Alabama Story in what I called “the Deep South of the imagination,” which allowed me to play fast and loose with form and content. There’s a narrator who plays many roles (Garth Williams, of course), a prologue, an epilogue, a flashback, a flash-forward, monologues in spotlights, a hint of a courtroom drama, a feeling of a romance, a whiff of a workplace drama, a social justice yarn. It’s a play of ideas, to be sure, but it’s also funny and heartfelt and hopeful.
Books are at the center of this play about censorship and Civil Rights. It’s ultimately a love letter to reading. Every character in the play has a favorite thing to read. What they read, and what they have access to, becomes complicated in that socially turbulent time. In 1959, when the play is set, “The Rabbits’ Wedding” is viewed by some as propaganda to promote racial integration. Garth Williams denied any political intent. By the way, this happened in the same decade that books by Dr. Martin Luther King were also on the griddle. It’s also worth noting that libraries in the Deep South were segregated at the time, further preventing access to materials.
Introverted Emily Reed, who champions the freedom to read, becomes a reluctant activist, and her journey over the course of the year in Alabama Story illustrates the quality of American character in ways that echo into the 21st century. Librarians are still champions of books and materials, and are still under fire.
“It is as old as Gutenberg,” Emily says of censorship. “I have seen this nonsense before, in other towns, in other libraries. Not everyone is going to want to read every book in a library.”
Some 65 years ago, books about racial integration were controversial. Today, books about the LGBTQ experience are the primary targets of censors, according to the American Library Association. Taking a cue from the past, those who wish books removed from school and public libraries today use words like “grooming” and “brainwashing.”
Everything old is new again. Alabama Story was not written to be an activist work, it wants to be entertainment. But I hope it stirs a theatergoer to think more deeply about how we respond to works of literature. A curated examination of controversial material is useful for young minds; that’s what librarians and schools and teachers and (yes!) parents are there for.
I hope Alabama Story is a lot of fun, but I also want it to start a conversation. And I hope it reminds you of the person — maybe a teacher or a librarian — who handed you a book when you were a kid, opening a door to a wider world.
Click here to get your own copy of ALABAMA STORY by Kenneth Jones
The Broadway Beat
Catch up on the major stories coming out of Broadway this past week:
LENA HORNE MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO HAVE BROADWAY THEATER NAMED AFTER HER - Click on the video below to see the historic moment for yourself.
FUNNY GIRL, SOME LIKE IT HOT, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, MORE TO PERFORM AT 2022 MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE - The annual event will also feature a performance from ‘The Lion King,’ celebrating its 25th anniversary on Broadway.
WATCH THE CAST OF BROADWAY’S ALMOST FAMOUS PERFORM ‘TINY DANCER’ ON THE TONIGHT SHOW - Click on the video below to see more.
Hot Topics
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW GOING INTO TECH WEEK - Don’t let Tech week get you down. Check out these 5 things to help you survive.
SASHA HUTCHINGS AND NIK WALKER TO HOST ARTHUR MILLER FOUNDATION HONORS - Celebrating the power of public-school theatre education, learn more about this annual event!
BROADWAY ON DEMAND PARTNERS WITH STELLAR TO MAKE THEATRICAL LIVE-STREAMING EASIER, CHEAPER - The exclusive partnership will reduce upfront costs and make it simpler for productions to be streamed live.
Shows You Should Know
With Election Day next week, we put together the following list of plays that tell stories centered around politicians. Some of the titles below are based on actual historic figures, others are purely fiction, but they all share a focus on the people behind the politics. Click on any title to learn more about the play.
ANN by Holland Taylor
ALL THE WAY by Robert Schenkkan
THE BEST MAN by Gore Vidal
BORN YESTERDAY by Garson Kanin
CHECKERS by Douglas McGrath
CHURCH & STATE by Jason Odell Williams
EAT THE TASTE by Greg Kotis
FARRAGUT NORTH by Beau Willimon
FROST/NIXON by Peter Morgan
KINGS by Sarah Burgess
NIXON'S NIXON by Russell Lees
THE OUTSIDER by Paul Slade Smith
STATE OF THE UNION by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
THE GREAT SOCIETY by Robert Schenkkan
ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS by Robert E. Sherwood