The Maggie Walker Story at Virginia Rep

Sarah Cole

It’s no secret that Richmond has a lot of history. Sure, you can read about it, or learn about it in school, but there is nothing quite as engaging as seeing it live, right in front of you. Virginia Rep’s Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn is engaging kids in the compelling drama, The Maggie Walker Story for a lesson in Richmond history that won’t be forgotten.

Written by Bruce Craig Miller, The Maggie Walker Story is based on the true story of Maggie Walker, the great American woman from Richmond, Virginia who helped organize an early civil rights strike by black students and became the nation’s first woman bank president. The Maggie Walker Story is part of the Acts of Faith Theatre Festival. A talk back will take place on Sunday, February 8 after the matinee. The show lasts about one hour and is best enjoyed by children seven years and older.

Jessi Johnson returns to Virginia Rep in the role of Maggie Walker.

Director John Moon helps bring this story vividly to life revealing Maggie Walker’s early childhood influences and hardships and her determination to overcome injustice and make a better life for herself and her people. While speaking about the show, Moon said, “Maggie Walker exemplified the best in the human spirit. In spite of spending much of her life in devastating poverty, she managed to elevate her family through education and determination while founding one of the most influential black newspapers of her time and becoming the first woman bank president in the country. She proved that hard work and a belief in basic human dignity always triumphs over hardship and despair.” John Moon is a long time director of children’s theatre. He has recently directed several tour productions with Virginia Rep’s Theatre IV on Tour such as Buffalo Soldier, I Have A Dream, and The Wright Stuff. His directing credits on the Signature Season include The Music Man.

The Maggie Walker Story opens on Friday, January 30 at Virginia Rep’s Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive.
The show will run through February 15, 2014 with public performances running for three weekends and school matinees running through February 13. School matinees will also run at Hanover Tavern on January 20, 21, 22 and 23.