On the 50th Anniversary of Eartha Kitt's infamous White House visit on January 18, 2018, Vincent Victoria Presents will be premiering the play "The Disappearance of Eartha Kitt". The two act drama is a Historical Fiction inspired by the headline making incident in 1968 when the celebrated actress was invited to a White House luncheon by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson where women from all across the country were asked to talk about juvenile delinquency. When the subject veered off topic, Kitt shocked the "ladies who lunch" by exclaiming that one of the causes of Juvenile Delinquency was the Vietnam War.The news of Kitt's stance spread like wildfire across the country and caused an uproar. Kitt was effectively blacklisted in the U.S.after that for 10 years and President Lyndon Johnson led the crusade to banish Kitt.
Says Vincent Victoria, the Producer, Director, and Writer of the piece, "Kitt was very brave to speak out against a War and a President's policies during a time when it was still not popular or expected for a woman to speak openly about her political and social positions. Because Kitt was Black it made it even more controversial. Eartha Kitt was never one to hold her tongue though and she endured the hardships of having to leave her home country to find work as a performer in Europe and in Africa but eventually made a comeback on Broadway in the musical Timbuktu"
Even though "The Disappearance of Eartha Kitt" heavily focuses on the 10 year period of 1968-1978 when Kitt was exiled in the U.S., the show will cover briefly other moments in her legendary life and career and include famous historical show business and political figures like Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Geoffrey Holder, and Melba Moore.
The show runs January 18-28 2018 at Midtown Art Center 3414 La Branch. Admission is $20 for all performances. Thursday shows are at 7:30 pm. Friday and Saturday Shows are at 8 pm and Sunday shows are at 3 pm with an additional Sunday closing performance at 7:30 pm on January 28th.
Tickets can be purchased at http://www.banksbrothersproductions.com/ or at the Box Office the day of performance. There will be a brief talk back after the opening night performance on January 18th and after the Sunday matinee shows. For more info contact the Box office at 281 832 6380.
Photo includes Jim Wyatt ans LBJ and Nyasha Rasheed as Eartha Kitt.
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