Civil rights have come a long way in the past half-century. No one was more influential in the early stages of the movement than Martin Luther King Jr. However his wife, Coretta Scott King, also made a major impact on the lives of African-Americans.
A play coming to the Lincoln Theatre in March pays tribute to her many accomplishments and the lives she impacted. The Lincoln Theatre has ties to the African-American community. Many young, black entertainers like Sammy Davis Jr. got their start at the theater, Director Lesley Ferris said.
“A Song for Coretta” features just one act and lasts about an hour. It mixes humor and emotion, while at the same time providing audience members an educational account of her life.
Coretta Scott King died Jan. 30, 2006. The play picks up less than a week later with five African-American women standing in the rain outside her casket, waiting to pay their respects. Ferris added a song at the beginning that is strongly linked to the civil rights movement.
“The song is about walking and marching and obviously, in the civil rights movement, there was a lot of marching,” Ferris said.
The women standing in line range in age from 17 to 57, representing the different generations from which they belong.
Zora, 22, is a journalist reporting on the scene. She hopes that her interviews with the people standing in line eventually will be aired on National Public Radio.
“The interviews make it possible for the audience to hear stories that we normally wouldn’t hear,” Ferris said.
She meets Helen, the oldest of the five, who was a member of the Montgomery bus boycott. She talks about the impact the Kings had on her life.
Helen acts as a role model to a teenage girl waiting in line. She talks about the struggle that African-Americans faced during the civil rights movement. Helen does not feel that young people fight for rights like they did in the past.
The show has made stops to various high schools and middle schools in the Columbus area. Being in the Lincoln Theatre, however, provides more opportunities for visual effects. A screen will display photographs of Coretta Scott King and other backgrounds. The screen was not available in schools.
“A Song for Coretta” is sponsored by CAPA, a performing arts organization, and the Ohio State University Theatre Department. It will play at the Lincoln Theatre March 5 through 7. Tickets are $18 and people ages 13 to 19 can purchase tickets for $5.
For tickets, call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000.
