When Fannie Lebby stepped on stage to offer her director’s remarks before “Mourning Mill Creek,” she was filled with gratitude.
“I am absolutely thrilled to see every seat filled,” said Lebby, who directed the production written by Kathleen Gamble as part of the closing programming for the Mill Creek: Black Metropolis exhibition at the Missouri History Museum. The play was produced and presented by A Call to Conscience: Interactive Theater for Social Change, where Lebby also serves as executive director.
That Sunday afternoon, the Missouri History Museum was filled to capacity. The line to see the exhibition one last time stretched from the entryway, through the grand hall and out the doors beyond it. Inside the Lee Auditorium, every seat was occupied — and a line of people who hoped to get in had to be turned away.
Lebby delivered news that softened the disappointment for those who missed the July 12 performance.
“I’m thrilled to make a major announcement,” she said. “We are officially adding a second weekend of shows.”
“Mourning Mill Creek” will be presented at the Jefferson Mission Church Theater August 14–16. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m., with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday. The Whitaker Foundation and the Regional Arts Commission will fund the encore weekend.
Audiences can expect a love letter to Mill Creek Valley — and a dramatization of what happened leading up to and immediately following the demolition of the neighborhood in 1959, allegedly in the name of urban renewal.
Through “Mourning Mill Creek,” the community’s demise is told by the people who lived it. Two families and a retired woman anchor the story. At first, there is denial that their homes and the neighborhood they cherish will be taken. Then comes frustration as local politicians spar over Mill Creek’s future. Anger follows as residents are mishandled during relocation. And finally, the sadness of losing a community whose impact is still felt nearly 70 years after it was reduced to rubble.
What was just as compelling as the production itself was watching audience members whose family stories were reflected on stage.
The exhibition’s curator, Gwen Moore — the Missouri Historical Society’s Curator of Urban Landscape and Community Identity — was one of them. Her parents fought for the best outcome possible during the relocation process. Moore and her sister, Dr. Malaika Horne, who served on the exhibition’s advisory council, sat attentively. They nudged each other, exchanged glances and nodded throughout the hour-and-15-minute performance. Like most sisters, they seemed to share a quiet language of expressions that allowed them to communicate without interrupting the play.
Last Children of Mill Creek author Vivian Gibson watched from a special chair just to the left of the stage. She sat with a steady smile for the entire performance. Her parents’ story was also woven into “Mourning Mill Creek,” adapted from her critically acclaimed memoir.
As the actors took their bows, the audience rose in a rousing ovation — a fitting farewell for an exhibition that welcomed more than 150,000 visitors during its seven-month run.
Next week’s shows will serve as a reminder of the impact the exhibition had on a community that lived for decades with the pain of Mill Creek being erased from St. Louis history.
“Don’t miss out and tell people to get their tickets early, because you see what happened today,” Lebby said. “We had to turn people away. I want to thank you again for your incredible support and generosity.”
Encore performances of “Mourning Mill Creek” will take place August 14–16 at Jefferson Mission Church Theater, 2241 Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit acalltoconscience.org.