{"id":10098,"date":"2019-10-07T19:50:13","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T19:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=10098"},"modified":"2019-10-07T19:50:13","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T19:50:13","slug":"mama-i-want-to-sing-premieres-at-jsu-in-extraordinary-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2019\/10\/07\/mama-i-want-to-sing-premieres-at-jsu-in-extraordinary-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Mama I Want to Sing premieres at JSU in extraordinary fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Myah Harris<\/strong><\/p>\n

Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a production that not only reflected the woes many musicians face when getting their start in a church, but it was also a play that relayed a message that many find difficult to do\u2014to chase after your dreams.<\/p>\n

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Photos of Mama I Want to Sing premiere<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Jackson State University Theatre Department held the year\u2019s opener \u201cMama I Wanna to Sing\u201d for a five-day span. An American musical piece originally written and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, the play on the Rose E. McCoy stage was directed by Mark G. Henderson and enacted by students and featured some the Jackson Metro area’s most talented and dynamic actors, singers, and dancers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The production told the story of a talented young African-American girl, Doris Troy, who dreams of leaving her church choir to pursue a life in R&B music, despite strong objections from her mother. The set conveyed the experience of a black church in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Keitra Wilson, a senior vocal performance major from Jackson, Miss., embodied the role of Troy and stunned the audience with her vocal range and acting ability.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Along with her performance, the choir blew the crowd away with the selected gospel songs performed. It allowed everyone to feel immersed in a church down in the deep South creating a nostalgic feeling for most.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This play reflected not only the life of Doris Troy, but other African American artists, whose come-up began in church. It was embedded in the stage\u2019s scenery, as the platform for these famous artists, the radio station, took up half the Rose E. McCoy\u2019s stage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The cast\u2019s performance displayed a great deal of entertainment for the attendees that were in attendance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With the beautifully advised set, actor\u2019s Michael Barber a sophomore theatre major from Metairie, La. and Michael Taylor, a senior theatre major from Chicago, Ill. conducted the production with their roles as the DJ\/Narrator.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inside the masterful cast, included singer actress, Rhonda Chambers-Davis. Davis\u2019raw vocals, brought a soulful meaning to songs such as \u2018What Do You Win When You Win\u2019 and \u2018Know When to Leave the Party\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Actress Keitra Wilson, showed just as much passion in Doris\u2019 hit \u2018Just One Look\u2019 and \u2018Do Right Woman\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Henderson discussed the importance of showcasing this particular piece and explained the reason behind what he wanted to portray.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c[This play] is central to the idea of gospel music, however, it is the underlying belief that these emotional peaks cannot be scaled alone.\u00a0\u00a0The Black American experience has always been one of bringing the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He continued \u201cDuring rehearsals, I often reminded the cast this power and how real you have to be when you are representing it. If you\u2019re playing \u2018at\u2019 it, you\u2019re not going to get it. It\u2019s the music, coming from the heart, from the toes if you will, that touches our souls\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They ended the play with a heart-warming and inspirational message along with the recognition of where we came from as whole with bringing together the old and the new.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMama I Want To Sing\u201d conveyed just that\u2014an absolutely remarkable personality and comical relief\u00a0with smooth scene changes, a clear focus, and a cohesiveness that is both impressive and momentous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Myah Harris Staff Writer It was a production that not only reflected the woes many musicians face when getting their start in a church, but it was also a play that relayed a message that many find difficult to do\u2014to chase after your dreams.   Jackson State University Theatre Department held the year\u2019s opener \u201cMama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-variety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}