History Dinner Theatre

Come and join us for the fifth season of our own historic take on dinner theater. Dine on a gourmet dinner of your choosing while you are regaled by the historic tales, music, poetry, and personal accounts of some of the most fascinating historic figures in the United States. Reach for the stars with Galileo! Experience Josephine Baker’s stories of activism and perseverance. Explore the history of Pennsylvania through song and artifacts from the first people to the workers of the industrial age. View the American Revolution through the lens of an African American soldier. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote with Ida B. Well, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Alice Paul! The series runs from September 2019 to May 2020. Encounter history in a way you have never experienced it before. All proceeds benefit the McCarl Coverlet Gallery at Saint Vincent.

Single Tickets are $65 for adults. Members of the Saint Vincent College community are eligible for a discounted ticket rate of $45 with an employee ID card. Students with school IDs from Saint Vincent College and other colleges and universities are admitted for $35. Group Rates of $45 are available for groups of 10 or more.

To learn more about upcoming programming or the McCarl Coverlet Gallery contact Curator Lauren Churilla at 724-805-2188 or email lauren.churilla@stvincent.edu.

2019 | OCTOBER

The McCarl Gallery’s
History Dinner Theater
Josephine Baker
6 p.m. Friday, October 25, 2019
Fred Rogers Center
Single performance $65 per person | Children $10 | Student rate $35 |
Group rate $45 for 10 or more |
Season Tickets $245 per person
5 performances | Telephone 724-805-2177 | Tickets on sale until Oct. 18

On October 25, 2019 the McCarl Coverlet Gallery will present History Dinner Theater: Josephine Baker in the Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College instead of the previously scheduled Rosa Parks Program.

Overcoming the limitations imposed by the color of her skin, she became one of the world’s most versatile entertainers, performing on stage, screen and recordings. Josephine was decorated for her undercover work for the French Resistance during World War II. She was a civil rights activist She often refused to perform to segregated audiences, which usually forced venue owners to forcibly segregate theaters or risk losing her as a performer. Her opposition against segregation and discrimination was recognized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1963, she was one of the few women allowed to speak at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She refused to perform for segregated audiences and integrated the Las Vegas nightclubs. She adopted twelve children from around the world whom she called her “Rainbow Tribe.”

Josephine Baker will be played by Vernice S. Jackson. Ms. Jackson is the President of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of Women In History. She has guided and watched WIH grow since its inception in 1991. Ms. Jackson has found her experience with WIH quite extraordinary. “Each time I step into a costume, I open the door to the past and enable my character’s voice to be heard once again. I take pride in presenting details about her life and times that few people are aware of. I want my audience to know the woman as well as her historical contribution.” Ms Jackson’s favorite character is Josephine Baker because “she was a free spirit, who successfully reinvented herself over and over again. Obstacles were a temporary evil. She overcame poverty, lack of formal education, illnesses and racial discrimination. She was a true survivor.”

Ms. Jackson holds a BA in Communications from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Master of Science in Organizational Development and Analysis from Case Western Reserve University. She is an organizational development consultant, running her own practice, Match Method Solutions. She actively mentors students as they transition from college into business and engineering professions. Ms. Jackson has been a civic volunteer in the Cleveland community for many years. She is the proud mother of two daughters, one son, and “Grandma Niece” to two girls and a boy.

Menu CHOICE OF:
1) Mediterranean chicken breast or
2) Grilled 10 oz strip steak

Each entrée will be served with a salad, side dishes, soup, and dessert

2019 | DECEMBER

The McCarl Gallery’s History Dinner Theater
Celebrate Pennsylvania! A History In Story And Song
6 p.m. Thursday, December 5, 2019
Fred Rogers Center
Single performance $65 per person | Children $10 | Student rate $35 |
Group rate $45 for 10 or more |
Season Tickets $245 per person 5 performances |
Telephone 724-805-2177 | Tickets

Award winning performer Paula Purnell performs songs written by and about the people of Pennsylvania, in this Pennsylvania roots music program. From the indigenous people of the Eastern Woodlands to the early English settlers and on to the workers of the industrial age, Dr. Purnell invites audiences to explore how and why people of Pennsylvania have been making music for thousands of years. Sharing artifacts and performing on authentic instruments including the Native American Love Flute and the Appalachian Lap Dulcimer, Paula invites audiences to explore and discuss the daily life, toils, and triumphs of Pennsylvania’s bygone eras. Programs feature a variety of traditional folk tunes. Paula gives special attention to theme, local history, and culture.

Paula Purnell, D.Ed. is an educator and musician from Greensburg. She is the founder of Sense of Place Learning (SPL), an educational company that creates unique learning experiences celebrating the places we live through local history, ecology, and the arts. Paula holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she taught for several years before starting her business.

She has released six albums of original music, including three Parent’s Choice award-winning children’s albums. Her band, The NewLanders, researches, records, and performs regional roots music. The NewLanders released two albums and has performed regionally and internationally. Paula has presented Pennsylvania roots music programs and workshops across Pennsylvania, both as a Pennsylvania Humanities Council Commonwealth Speaker and a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Artist in Residence.

Menu CHOICE OF:
1) Herb crusted bistro filet with mushroom-shallot bordelaise or
2) Roasted pork tenderloin, with an apricot-mustard glaze with
dried fruit compote.

Each entrée will be served with a salad, side dishes, soup, and dessert.

2020 | MARCH

The McCarl Gallery’s History Dinner Theater
African American Soldiers and the American Revolution
6 p.m. Friday, March 6, 2020
Fred Rogers Center
Single performance $65 per person | Children $10 | Student rate $35 |
Group rate $45 for 10 or more |
Season Tickets $245 per person 5 performances |
Telephone 724-805-2177 | Tickets

Learn about camp life and the struggle for African inclusion in the Continental Army, General Washington’s involvement with creating an all-African-American regiment at Valley Forge and why he ordered it to be abolished in 1780. The program uses an array of techniques to tell the story in song, activity, demonstration, Q&A or with poetry. The program tells the story of these Black soldiers, free or enslaved, rebel or loyalist, and their hero, “Jack Sisson,” will illuminate their forgotten service at the birth of the nation, the reasons for the war, conditions of camp life, and their equipment.

Joe Becton, of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, was introduced to history by his father, a history and social studies teacher in the Philadelphia school system. Becton earned associate degrees in social work and social science from Reading Area Community College, and a bachelor of arts degree in history education from the University of West Florida. He has been a Marine, a park ranger, counselor, teacher and director of visitor services. Presently he is a park ranger supervisor at Independence National Historic Park, and was director of visitor services at Historic Fort Mifflin. Musically, he plays 18th, 19th and 20th century instruments from the electric guitar to the glass armonica, and leads the Cobalt Blues Band.

Becton is a member of the Association for the Study of African-American History and Life, and the Pennsylvania Historical Society. He is cofounder of the 3rd Regiment United States Colored Troops Civil War reenactors and the First Rhode Island regiment American Revolutionary war reenactors.
His research at Valley Forge helped the Delta Sigma Theta construct a monument to Patriots of African Descent in 1993. He and his wife have five children and three grandchildren.

Menu CHOICE OF:
1) Roasted vegetable wellington
2) Seared salmon with minted blood orange champagne sauce.

Each entrée will be served with a salad, side dishes, soup, and dessert.

2020 | MAY

Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells are among the suffragists who worked so hard to achieve the vote for women. The historical educators of Women in History portray these three notable American women in this centennial celebration of the Nineteenth Amendment. Ida B, Wells, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Alice Paul, were three of the most pivitol women in the fight for suffrage. In this program, these women discuss their personal lives, their challenges and their victories, the cultural and political circumstances that motivated them to fight for the right to vote in America.
Women in History educators have been portraying over 100 notable American women for over 25 years in schools, libraries, museums and civic groups throughout Ohio and beyond.

Menu CHOICE OF:
1) Santa Fe chicken
2) Roasted pork tenderloin, with a Cajun seasoning and a red onion marmalade

Each entrée will be served with a salad, side dishes, soup, and dessert