JACKIE

Drama
Written By: Adapted for Stage by T.G. Cooper
Directed by: Jerry Maples, Jr.
Cast: Latrice Bruno / Yvonne Christiana, Ben Collier, Curtis Allen

Synopsis:
Born in 1897 in Brevard, North Carolina, Jackie "Moms" Mable (Loretta Mary Aiken) was a cantankerous but lovable old lady of standup comedy. She was a versatile star of Black vaudeville and night clubs for almost half a century before white America discovered her through her success at Connie's in New York in 1923; recordings with Mercury Records, and finally as a regular on the Playboy night club circuit. "Moms" performed standup comedy with most of the great African American showmen such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Pigmeat Markham, and Harry Belafonte. She was responsible for the recognition of the talented Pearl Bailey. "Moms" even tried her talents in the motion picture industry and can be seen in small parts in Boarding House Blues and Eugene O'Neill's Emperor Jones. She starred as Grace Teasdale Grimes in the 1974 motion picture Amazing Grace. She was a headliner at the world famous Apollo Theatre on several occasions. Jackie "Moms" Mabley died in White Plains, New York on May 23, 1975.

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