Theatre Pick!: Ayanna Gregory’s Daughter of the Struggle

Theatre Pick!: Ayanna Gregory’s Daughter of the Struggle

Daughter of the Struggle
August 10th, 2013 at 8pm
The Metro Stage
1201 N. Royal Street
Alexandra, VA 22314
Tickets: $20 in advance here | $25 at the door.

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Ayanna Gregory in Daughter of the Struggle

Every so many years there is a call for entertainers to become more socially active. Noted humanitarian Harry Belafonte called out celebrities over not shining light on economic inequity, and called out Jay Z and Beyonce by name. The usual camps arose – some say that no artist has a responsibility to be an activist or a role model, and others argue that once one achieves a certain level of fame and success the platform requires social involvement. The debate isn’t new, as Dream Hampton pointed out in an interview with Tom Joyner. Sidney Poitier was more inclined to write a check than march on Selma. However, as much as there is outcry over the ones that aren’t vocal, there have been entertainers willing to risk it all – their careers, lives, and even their families in the name of justice. The names that are often mentioned are the likes of Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown, but another that should not go unheralded is living legend Richard Claxton Gregory, aka Dick Gregory, who thanks to his daughter’s one woman show Daughter of the Struggle can be properly celebrated not just a father, but as a representative of the ideals of uplift he continues to fight for.

Ayanna Gregory begins Daughter of the Struggle not on the stage, but on the floor near the audience. In a way even the beginning of the show displays humility and desire to connect with people. Gregory is not performing for you, she is telling her story with you. Her set is simple. There is a small couch covered with what looks like the crocheted shawl that nearly every black grandmother has to keep her furniture looking nice. Coffee and end tables are also included along with a book that reflects the inspiration of the civil rights movement – the writings of Mahatma Ghandi. The audience is ready to receive Gregory’s powerful words after her beautiful dance, and what did we get? Comedy! Ayanna Gregory is hilarious. She tells not only her story, but the story of her ten siblings, in seamless vignettes that actually cracked us up – in between the pain. Gregory discusses the deep reality of knowing that your family’s beliefs can kill you in a way that is not hyperbolic or self-congratulatory, but instead beautiful.

Gregory’s one woman show is not a simple rehashing of marches and hunger strikes. It is a tale of family life and the sacrifices of the few for the many. Gregory’s mother Lillian is also a featured subject of the play, and Gregory reminds us that none of the prominent men of the struggle did it alone. Whether women were at home raising families or out front leading marches they were there and they were important. When you go you’ll hear about how Lillian Gregory’s fearlessness allowed her, and not her husband, to be the one that would carry back from Europe back to the U.S. evidence of the My Lai Massacre where the United States murdered unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during the war.

What is poignant about Gregory’s work in total is that she consistently includes the audience throughout, and even goes off script occasionally like a black Southern preacher reacting to the crowd. By the end you feel that you are with her in the struggle, and that is where she deftly begins to sing about our responsibility to carry on her father’s work for economic and social justice, healthy living, and teaching our youth right into your ears and soul. Gregory’s message is that the struggle isn’t only for great men and their families, but is the responsibility of every single one of us right now. Considering that the show is at Metro Stage in Alexandria, VA, where one gubernatorial candidate is campaigning on his desire to continue to roll back civil rights, Gregory’s point cannot be more important.

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Carolyn Griffin, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Gregory, Ayanna Gregory and Lillian Gregory

The last show of this run of Daughter of the Struggle is on Saturday, August 10, 2013. I encourage you to buy tickets for you and your family now. This show WILL sell out. Even former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi came to pay her respects to Dick Gregory, who served alongside her brother in the army. As Ayanna Gregory astutely pointed out, neither Martin, nor Medgar, nor did Malcolm ever got to hear their children speak about them. You absolutely shouldn’t miss Gregory speaking about her family and the legacy they’ve left us.


Shonda Goward
 is one of our resident culturalists and a foodie with an interest in entertaining, and a know-how about all things domestic, aesthetic and tasteful. Got a LSP Pick!? Contact Shonda here or on Twitter at slg_on_kellyst and check out her blog 3154Kelly for more of her adventures.

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