Mahalia Jackson with her distinctive and powerful contralto voice is considered one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a civil rights activist.
She was the first African-American artiste to take gospel music to the mainstream. During the high point of her career, Jackson was Queen of Carnegie Hall, of television and public radio. Her destiny also crossed paths with T&T in the 1970s during the Black Power struggle.
We will never know what Martin Luther King Jr might have said at the podium in Montgomery 1963 if Jackson had not prompted him by calling out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!" It is widely believed that this encouraged him to tell the people gathered about his dream for a better society in America.
"One of the world's greatest gospel singers (was) shouting out to one of the world's greatest Baptist preachers," speech writer Clarence Jones told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "Anybody else who would yell at him, he probably would've ignored it. He didn't ignore Mahalia Jackson."
King's now famous I Have A Dream public address was delivered to over 300,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington and Mahalia Jackson, gospel music icon and avid supporter was right there along with him.
This year, JCS Entertainment pays tribute to and celebrates her life and music with its upcoming production, Mahalia: A Gospel Musical, a release said.
With book, lyrics and music by Tom Stolz, the musical features the inspirational story of the life of Mahalia Jackson as it intertwined with Martin Luther King Jr's.
The Little Carib Theatre will be the home of the Mahalia musical and will run for a weekend beginning from May 7 to 10.
JCS Entertainment, led by theatre veteran John Henry Smith III, has evolved out of local theatre company, First Instinct Productions.
Through his previous work as an executive producer, Smith has been the leading mastermind and innovator behind some of the largest musical productions in T&T over the past three years including The Sound of Music (2012), The King and I (2013), Encore–Live From Broadway (2013) and Jesus Christ Superstar (2014).
Mahalia: A Gospel Musical will be the first production of Smith's newest JCS Entertainment venture and promises to feature a powerhouse of vocal and acting talent with a cast of two different performers to play the legendary singer at different times in her life.
Casting is ongoing but confirmations to date include Conrad Paris in the role of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and young Mahalia Jackson played by Mandisa Granderson.
The musical spans Jackson's life from her youth to gospel stardom and immortality within the civil rights fight with traditional gospel songs like Deep River, Move On Up A Little Higher and the rousing, up-tempo Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.
In between the thread of Mahalia's shining gospel career, the musical interweaves the powerful speeches shared by Dr King, which called for an end to racism in the United States and inspired half a century of civil rights struggle.
For many, the soundtrack to that ongoing revolution was the powerful, soul-filled and pore-raising gospel music of Mahalia Jackson.
MORE INFO
?�2 Mahalia: A Gospel Musical, May 7 to 10th, The Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook.
�2 For more information visit Feature Production page on the Web site: jcsentertains.com or contact JCS Entertainment: 620-2244 or email us at jcsentertains.tt@gmail.com.