Jackie Robinson Remembered with One-Man Play at Tryon Palace

NEW BERN, NC March 19, 2013 – Tryon Palace continues its 2013 African American Lecture Series on Thursday, March 21 with “Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart.” This one-man play by Mike Wiley Productions is provided to the community at no charge and will take place at Cullman Performance Hall in the North Carolina History Center.

Wiley’s performance strives to deliver a powerful lesson of courage through the eyes of African American athletes that pushed the color barrier to its breaking point. “A Game Apart” portrays the dedication and leadership of role models from the outfield, the backcourt, the track, the ring, and the blacktop — all pouring out the sweat and tears of a bygone era of separate unequal locker rooms, whites-only hotels and restaurants with only a back door through which colored athletes could enter.

Led by actor and playwright Mike Wiley, Mike Wiley Productions spans the worlds of Emmett Till, Henry “Box” Brown, Jackie Robinson and more. Each work in the company’s repertoire is designed to inspire audiences to examine America’s racial history, teach the lessons of the past and encourage the application of these truths to the present. Wiley has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the 2010 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to his numerous school and community performances, he has also appeared on the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and the National Geographic Channel. Regionally he has also been featured in Our State magazine, PBS’ North Carolina Now and WUNC’s The State of Things.

“Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart” is free and scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Food inspired by the ballpark will follow so attendees are encouraged to bring an appetite.

Special hearing devices are also available if needed. Contact Tryon Palace 48 hours in advance of the performance to make arrangements. For more information visit Tryon Palace online or contact Sharon Bryant at (252) 639-3592.

Tryon Palace is a unit of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on North Carolina’s arts, history and culture visit Cultural Resources online.