Clyde Dixon Connell (1901 – 1998) ~ Born into a plantation-owning family in the Shreveport area Clyde is a spirited, wry, civil rights activist informed by her faith and her involvement in the Presbyterian Women of Louisiana and resulting trips to New York City. As she faced deprivations brought on by the Great Depression, late in life Clyde became a nationally-regarded abstract expressionist artist. Her dynamic body of work, using surface and space, reflect her commitment to social activism and to the inner life. Set in her workroom in the late 1980s.

 

Nellie Lutcher (1912-2007) a Lake Charles native and product of Second Ward Elementary School, New Sunlight Baptist Church and the rigorous the classical training of Mrs. Eugenia Reynaud, Nellie travelled the local circuits, and in the mid-1930s moved to the entertainment capital of Los Angeles. After playing local clubs for 12 years, accompanying the likes of Lena Horn, she was discovered via a Hollywood talent show. Nellie Lutcher was a roots-of-rock, jazzy, queen of scat, swing-style singer with a winsome piano style that wooed the crowds. Four of her tunes broke into the pop charts. This made her one of the few, rare crossover black musicians of her day. Later, Mrs. Lutcher was the first female African American elected to the Board of Directors of Local 47 Musicians’ Union where she labored to defend the rights of other musicians. Set in the offices of Local 47, late 1950s.

Saturday, October 3rd, 2015
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall
4020 Hodges St. – corner of Sale & Hodges
Tickets: $35, or Table of 8 for $250
Includes a 4-course meal & 2 plays