The Mayor and Committee of the Township of Union celebrated their 3rd Annual Black History Month Celebration on Saturday, February 24, 2018 with a staged reading of the acclaimed play “The Amen Corner” by James Baldwin. The event took place at Central Five-Jefferson School on Hilton Avenue in Vauxhall, New Jersey.
“The Amen Corner” is a three-act play by James Baldwin, first published in 1954. It was Baldwin’s first attempt at theater following “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and addresses themes of the role of a church in an African-American family and the effect of poverty, born of racial prejudice, on an African-American community.
“The Amen Corner” takes place in two settings: a ‘‘corner’’ church in Harlem and the apartment dwelling of Margaret Alexander, the church pastor; her son, David; and sister, Odessa. It is a moving drama which examines issues of community, faith, and forgiveness, and is filled with evocative music and language to stir the soul.
The performance was directed by Vauxhall native Daryl Stewart. Stewart grew up on Hilton Avenue and fondly recalls staples of his childhood there.
“My cousins and I spent bright summer mornings at ‘The Box’ with Miss Bailey on the Central Five School playground; and on Friday nights, Joe’s Pizza was the standard and staple for dinner,” Stewart said. “Saturday nights were for skating at Skate 22 unless I had intense rehearsals for the musicals and plays at Union High School.”
According to Stewart, the Vauxhall section of Union was his hometown, but the theater was truly his home. As a result, he was proud to return to where it all started to share his craft with the community that nurtured him.
“There is not a more appropriate art form for me to serve and honor my community with than theater, and there is not a more appropriate time for this play than right now,” Stewart said.
Stewart is an actor, director, performing and teaching artist, and arts advocate. He is a theater teaching artist at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, New Jersey. There he has collaborated with several dozen schools, groups and arts organizations teaching, curating, and creating musical theater, dance, and drama programs. He also serves as a lead teaching artist for the internationally recognized Disney Musicals in Schools program.
TV/Film credits include “Lipstick Jungle” (NBC), “School Spirits” (SYFY) and “106 & Park” (BET). Stewart’s self-produced original one man show “Fully Versatile” premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizon, NYC.
(above) Daryl Stewart, Director of “The Amen Corner,” part of the Township of Union’s Black History Month Celebration.
Photo Courtesy of Daryl Stewart.
