Shaw pays tribute
to a legend

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

She knew it was time to buckle down and get serious about where her career was going when she found herself up a tree, dressed in a ball gown and with a mask covering most of her face.
"I was playing the enchantress Nimue in Camelot with Robert Goulet. And although I did receive good reviews for the song Follow Me, I was not happy at all. I remember thinking, here I was up this tree, in a gown, with a mask making me almost invisible to the audience. I decided there had to be more than this," recalled actress/writer Vanessa Shaw, who did indeed find more.
In fact, she found more the very next day when she was out buying a cup of coffee and saw a newspaper with a blaring headline that declared Marian Anderson was dead at the age of 96.
"I opened the paper and there was this center spread featuring her 1939 concert at Lincoln Memorial with all these people surrounding this little black stick figure standing on the podium singing. And I thought, ‘That’s it.’ So I went back to my hotel room and started writing a play," Shaw said.
And the result of Shaw’s efforts was Welcome Home, Marian Anderson, set for the stage at the Bristol Riverside Theatre Jan. 22 to Feb. 10. Shaw’s play delves into many themes in American society which, she said, remain unresolved today, from Anderson being denied entrance to an all-white music high school in 1921 in her hometown of Philadelphia, to being banned from performing by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
"As an African-American, Marian Anderson eventually went on to break down racial barriers, bringing considerable pride and respect to her people," Shaw explained.
Starring with Shaw in Welcome Home are Ivan Thomas (who has performed all over the world as a singer, actor and classical pianist) and Mark Edward Lang (a classically trained actor and director/performer of The Laughing Stock Company). Together they paint a rich tapestry of contrasting characters that sets the stage of prejudice in this moving musical.
Based on Anderson’s 1939 concert at Lincoln Memorial and the events that led up to the performance, Shaw explained that "bringing the legend of Marian Anderson to the stage has been both rewarding and daunting. A native of Philadelphia, she is truly one of America’s most beloved heroines."
America and He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands serve as a rousing patriotic finale at the Memorial when Anderson sang to an audience of 75,000 people.
Prior to her writing and performing Welcome Home, Marian Anderson, Shaw played on Broadway in many shows, including Timbuktu opposite Eartha Kitt, Raisin with Debbie Allen, and Ginny in Tap Dance Kid. She also starred in several productions of Porgy and Bess, Carmen Jones, The Merry Widow and A Little Night Music among others.
"I also spent a couple of years doing the soap opera One Life To Live and really enjoyed that. In fact, I wouldn’t mind doing some more television and film work," Shaw said. "I also have an idea for another play and may begin working on that too."
In fact, now living in North Bergen, N.J., Shaw seems to have a lot of plans.
"I’m hoping to get a backer and actually do Welcome Home as a full-blown production in New York City," she said. "You know, the thing I like best about what I do is that you can do it until you drop dead — well into your sixties, seventies, even eighties. What a blessing." ••
For more information, call the BRT box office at 215-785-0100.