It will be a star-studded affair for the St. Louis Black Repertory Company’s annual gala next month.
The event on Saturday, Nov. 11, will be held at 560 Music Center in University City, with proceeds to benefit The Black Rep’s work in the community.
“We are so thankful for the support of our education and community programs and to be able to celebrate our honorees with the community,” said Ron Himes, founder and producing director of The Black Rep.
Longtime actors Wendell Pierce (“The Wire,” “Treme” “Jack Ryan”) and Richard Lawson (“Poltergeist,” “Dynasty,” “All My Children”) will be honored with the Woodie King Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. Both recipients are expected to accept their award in-person at the gala.
In addition to Pierce’s “tremendous body of work in film and TV,” Himes notes the Tony Award-winning actor’s impact on live theater.
“This is a man who has constantly returned to the stage, from ‘Waiting for Godot’ to ‘Death of a Salesman,’” Himes said.
Pierce starred in two 2007 performances of “Waiting for Godot” set in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina. Pierce, a New Orleans native, was born and raised in Pontchartrain Park, a Black middle-class neighborhood devastated by Katrina.
In 2012, Pierce won the Tony Award for Best Play for producing “Clybourne Park.” This year, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in “Death of a Salesman.”
“His turn as Willy Loman on Broadway … I saw it – it was a mesmerizing performance,” Himes said.
Lawson, who has had a long and distinguished film and TV career, co-founded the Waco Theater Center in 2017 with his then-wife, Tina Knowles-Lawson. Both currently serve as the organization’s co-artistic directors.
“When you consider his body of work in TV and film and the fact that he has established a nonprofit theater in L.A. to promote work by African American writers and provide a platform for African American actors and African American stories,” is what makes Lawson a deserving recipient of the Lifetime Achievement honor, according to Himes.
Also being honored are St. Louis attorney Susan Block and former St. Louis police chief Dan Isom. Both are the recipients of the Frankie Muse Freeman Spirit Award.
“The criteria for the award is someone who has supported the arts and dedicated their life to social justice,” Himes explained. “Both Susan and Dan have done that. Susan has been a tremendous supporter of The Black Rep and a leading voice in the LGBTQ+ community. And what can’t you say about Chief Isom? After serving as chief of police, he went back to being an educator. Then, he was called back to serve as the city’s public safety director and is now head of security for Ameren. He’s a great, great man who loves the city.”
The featured headliner for the evening is the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir. Founded in 1886 by Booker T. Washington to lead vesper services and other special occasions on campus, the group has performed at Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Constitution Hall and the White House, in addition to radio and TV appearances, over the years. The choir was invited to sing “Glory” alongside Grammy Award winning artists John Legend and Common on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 2015, in celebration of the release of the film, “Selma.”
The Golden Voices Concert Choir is the third in a series of HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) choral groups featured by The Black Rep at the annual gala.
“I made a commitment that we would promote choral music from HBCU institutions,” Himes said. “It’s so important for The Black Rep as a Black cultural institution to be able to support the rich history of choral music in HBCUs. In many instances, it’s those groups who have helped spread the word about their school across the country.”
The Black Rep’s eighth annual gala is co-chaired by Nicole and Abe Adewale, and John and Christy Nickel.
Proceeds from the gala support The Black Rep’s education and community programs.
For tickets and more information, visit theblackrep.org.
