ESK treated to ‘Jackie Robinson Steals Home’ by Word Players
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Word Players Jennifer Lyons Pagnard and Devon Thompson during Word Players’ “Jackie Robinson Steals Home” performance at ESK Tuesday, Feb. 6. - Tammy Cheek
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An ESK program cover featuring a photo of the legendary Baseball Hall of Famer. - Tammy Cheek
Episcopal School of Knoxville fifth- through eighth-graders had an opportunity to see the life of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (1947), as portrayed in the play “Jackie Robinson Steals Home,” Tuesday, Feb. 6.
As part of Black History Month observance, ESK Middle School director Mary Lovely organized the performance by Word Players, a non-profit Christian theatrical touring company.
“We definitely want to expose them to good plays and performances that deliver a positive message, and we love things that deliver historical messages, especially Civil Rights … we want them to be well-rounded citizens when they grow up,” Lovely said.
The performance is part of Word Players’ annual history tour, “where we go around school systems all ’round East Tennessee,” said Ethan Norman, WP’s artistic director and actor.
He said plays, such as “Jackie Robinson Steals Home,” “promotes the message of equality.”
Norman was joined by fellow cast members Devon Thompson, who portrayed Jackie Robinson; Jennifer Lyons Pagnard, a Farragut resident and FHS Class of 1985 graduate who portrayed an announcer and reporter; Leonard Freeny, who played multiple roles; and Jae Campbell, who portrayed Mr. Robinson’s mother and his wife, Rachel.
In the play, Thompson depicts Mr. Robinson’s start in the Big Leagues as he stood at first base, ready to steal second, in his first MLB game April 15, 1947.
Although hearing boos from many fans, he persevered.
The play took the audience through Mr. Robinson’s memories, including his mother packing for him and his siblings as they leave Atlanta and head to California. They showed his mother’s lessons on how to treat others, other people in his life who influenced him and his years in the military — where he made it to officer training school and became an officer before he was court-martialed for sitting next to a white woman on an Army bus. Eventually, he was honorably discharged.
Mr. Robinson also played football and lacrosse as a student at UCLA, and starred in the Negro League before he was discovered by Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers’ signing Robinson heralded the end to segregation in professional baseball, which relegated black players to the Negro League dating back to the 1880s.
Mr. Robinson, who played in the Majors through 1957, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He also won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star six straight seasons — 1949 through 1954 — and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 — the first Black player to do so.
Work Players, which opened at Christian Academy of Knoxville, will perform in seven counties at 16 venues.
