October
2002
View
from the Hill: The tale of how one pictorial
book became a Mercer County sensation
By
Brian Hill
When
approached about the exhibit, Crowns: Portraits of Black Women
in Church Hats-based on the pictorial book of the same name-initially
I did not see fully how it would play. When the Museum Society
started working with McCarter Theater, the project needed to be
kept under wraps until all of the details and commitments were
worked out and the collaboration was well on its way to being
a smashing success.
There
were countless meetings, telephone calls, e-mails, and cell phone
calls-as well as Palm Pilot beams and notes scribbled-between
McCarter Theater's Barbara Andrews, Daniel Bauer, and Brian Critchley
and the Trenton Museum Society's President Carolyn Stetson, Treasurer
Beth Feltus, Board Member Susan Fiscarelli, and me. It took about
two weeks until we all became comfortable with the layout and
production of the event and the exhibit Crowns was born. You would
think we had been planning the largest social event in Princeton
and Trenton history since the Revolutionary War! It certainly
felt like it. It happened this way …
Crowns:
Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats
Photographs by Michael Cunningham
Interviews by Craig Marberry
Back
in February, at a Friday happy hour at Utopia, I found Beth and
local hat maker Sandra King enjoying one of Boyd's specialties
at the bar, and I joined the conversation just as Sandra was espousing
the merits of the book, Crowns, as a must for sale in the store
during Ellarslie's spring fundraiser. When we at the Museum got
hold of a copy, we found the photographs of the hats and the stories
of how and why each woman values her hats to be extraordinary.
Beth came up with the name "Hattitude," and the committee
worked on all of the fundraising aspects. Naturally, we did all
we could in terms of advertising. The usual suspects were approached:
the Times and, of course, the Downtowner. In addition, the Museum
Society financed an extra ad for a new exhibit to supplement the
one we regularly run.
Then,
thanks to The Downtowner, we got a wonderful and unexpected donation
to the fundraiser. Dan Bauer, Publicity Manager for McCarter Theater,
had seen the ad, and he generously offered free tickets for the
benefit of the fundraiser. It was a gracious gesture, and, as
the relationship between McCarter Theater and Ellarslie continued,
we came to realize that Dan always is like that.
Anyway,
Dan told us that McCarter Theater was turning the book into a
play. Even more amazing is that Dan called back a few days later
to tell Beth about the exhibit attached to the book. That put
us on the trail, and after some investigation, we found that the
exhibit is a series of photos from the book accompanied by text
and quotes framed and ready to go. All of a sudden, it was obvious:
"Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" was
not just a book but also a play and an exhibit! Because of serendipity
between McCarter Theater and Ellarslie, the Museum of the City
of Trenton, we had all the makings of an exciting cultural coup.
The
Exhibit
In
a nutshell, the Trenton City Museum will be presenting an exhibit
of portraits from the book Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in
Church Hats, at Ellarslie in Cadwalader Park. The Exhibit will
run from October 4 to November 5, 2002, and include photographs,
text and, of course, hats that are pictured in the book. In addition,
several exciting events are planned to celebrate the October opening
of both the exhibit and the world premiere of Crowns at McCarter.
Public events include the reception on First Friday, October 4,
2002, from 6 to 9 p.m. and the "Tea with the Women from Crowns"
on October 19, 2002, 3 to 5 p.m., an opportunity to meet the Greensboro,
N.C. women who inspired it all. Book signings by authors Craig
Marberry and Michael Cunningham will take place at both events.
The Play
The
play, running from October 15, 2002, to November 3, 2002, is directed
by Regina Taylor. Music direction is by Linda Twine, and choreography
by Ronald K. Brown. The following is from McCarter Theater's website:
"A feisty and affectionate tribute to the unique cultural
phenomenon that fuses faith and fashion, Crowns is a stand-up-and-be-counted
celebration of black women in their church hats. Adapted from
the best-selling book of the same name and inspired by its stunning
portraiture, Crowns pays homage to a cherished African-American
custom through riveting oral histories, gospel-driven music, and
a generous dose of "hattitude."
After
seeing Loot, the current, hysterically funny comedy at McCarter
Theater, I can just imagine what Regina Taylor is going to do
with Crowns. McCarter Theater's team did a great job and is to
be congratulated for the considerable accomplishments mentioned
above.
Books
are available in the Museum Store. Proceeds will benefit the Trenton
City Museum. Thanks to our friends from McCarter, the view from
Trenton just keeps getting better and better…
#
# #
Brian
Hill is the director of Ellarslie, the Museum of the City of Trenton
