Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company celebrated the power and importance of Black storytelling at the nation’s premier archive and site for Black narratives, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on May 6. In a celebratory fashion only arts appreciators could so boldly and beautifully execute– fully equipped with dancing, access into exhibits, an open bar, and a scrumptious, carefully crafted meal— hundreds of guests donned their “creative cocktail and formal attire,” for a commemoration honoring award-winning musical “A Strange Loop,” legendary activist and artist Rayceen Pendarvis.
“The African American Museum is the perfect location for tonight’s gala,” said Lonnie Bunch, the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the first Black man to hold his post.
“The nation is desperately in need of institutions like ours, to celebrate and support the artists and creators, who paint the full picture of the American experience in every tint and every tone. Both Woolly Mammoth and the African American Museum, embody the truth that African American history, in many ways, is the quintessential American story,” Bunch added.
Woolly’s Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes further emphasized the connection between the 43-year-old theatre and the NMAAHC.
“At Woolly we foster courageous, new work on our stages and in our broader community, all led by the belief and continued proof that theatre can be a powerful catalyst for an equitable, engaged and more creative society, and we do not walk this path alone. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is dedicated to the comprehensive, nuanced narrative of our country’s identity, a Black freedom journey connected directly to the ideals this country was founded on. Both this museum and Woolly know the crucial role in Black stories shaping America’s past, present and future,” Goyanes said.
Honoring a Groundbreaking Musical and Iconic Artist and Activist
The event honored Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning musical “A Strange Loop,” which before transferring to Broadway, graced Woolly’s stage. The show will soon premiere in London.
“It is a great honor to be able to recognize and cement ‘A Strange Loop’s’ legacy in the canon of Black Arts and Culture in this country, by letting it ring out in these hallowed walls,” Goyanes said.
“The world needed to catch up to that musical, in some ways, the world is still catching up,” the theatre’s artistic director added. “Anyone who knows the long journey of this very museum coming into existence, knows how long it can take the world to catch up.”
Woolly also recognized native Washingtonian and celebrated District artist, show host, storyteller and LGBTIA activist Pendarvis.
“We also honor someone who has been at the center of so many conversations and movements here in Washington, D.C., someone who has done so much for the LGBTQIA community— Rayceen Pendarvis,” Goyanes said.
“We can give you your flowers, literally,” Goyanes said directly to Pendarvis before the activist and artist was honored by Black in Space, an effort powered by Makers Lab to celebrate the diversity and resilience of Black LGBTQ+ communities through media, storytelling and technology. Woolly Mammoth and Black in Space collaborated in June 2020 on “Black Joy is Revolutionary.”
“I always believe that art is a form of liberation and when you have the ability to create, when you take something of your own and make it unique, and make it so that you show the beauty in everything… that inspires me,” Pendarvis said in an introductory video before accepting the award in person.
Pendarvis also issued a charge.
“I’m a lifelong Washingtonian and an activist, so politics are always on my mind. We’ve gotten too comfortable. We’ve made a little progress, but there are people who want us to have less: fewer books and less access, fewer choices and less freedom,” the activist and artist explained. “That means, each one of you now has an assignment. As your teacher and principal, everybody– minorities, marginalized people in our lives, all of you need to vote.”
After taking in the magic of the night and the museum, multi-hyphenated creator, scholar and Black in Space educator Michelé Prince shared why sharing Black stories is so important.
“I think that a lot of our history has been hidden on purpose because we’re so sparkly, we’re so golden, we’re so attractive, we’re so magnetic, when you meet us, you want to build with us, you want to create with us,” Prince said.
“I’m just ecstatic, I’m just so alive and happy to be here,” Prince added.
