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PROVO — "I Am Jane" will once again be presented at Brigham Young University. This is the final week of Black History Month, and the play began on Tuesday, Feb. 25, and runs through March 1 with a matinee and evening performance.
Margaret Blair Young wrote the play in 2000 and has been casting it ever since. On her blog she wrote, “This might be our most important performance ever, and perhaps our last.”
Young said she was inspired to perform the play again because for the first time in its history, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement on Dec. 6, 2013, on its website that disavows the priesthood ban for black Latter-day Saints.
The statement, approved by the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency, states:
“Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”
“It disavows the very things that kept Jane from reaching her greatest wish,” Young said. “Which was to enter the LDS temple for her endowment.”
Young wrote on her blog that when she performed the play at BYU in the past, it was met with controversy.
“One professor was concerned that his students might not be able to handle the discussion of the priesthood restriction, that they might start doubting the prophets,” Young wrote.
Today is a new day though, said Young. A new day with new challenges. This year, casting the play at BYU presented challenges.
“We have 265 students of African lineage at BYU, out of a 30,000 student body,” said Young. “Only a fraction of these 265 students have an inclination to be in a play, and of this fraction only a few can find the time for it.”
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Play honors life of early African-American Latter-day Saint
African-American Latter-day Saints are remembering an important anniversary in their faith and honoring the memory of pioneer Jane Manning James with an up-coming play about her life.Young is relying on non-students and non-LDS people like Miles Clark of Provo to fill roles crucial in the play. Clark plays “Isaac,” Jane Manning James’ husband.
“Each actor has given their time generously and without any compensation,” said Young. “Some have traveled from Salt Lake City to attend rehearsals.”
Clark said he doesn’t have a connection to black Mormon history but he’s grateful for the experience and the life lessons he’s learning.
“This is not just about being LDS stories,” Clark said. “They’re human stories.”
As audiences watch the play, the themes of struggle are evident as with most Mormon pioneer stories. But for black Mormon pioneers like Jane Manning James and her family, there’s the added struggle of living in America before the Civil War.
The story follows James, a black woman born free, who converted to the LDS faith in 1841. Later, she gathered her family and joined the trek to Utah with other Latter-day Saints.
For some students who have joined this year’s cast, the stories are personal and inspiring.
“Eliza Partridge is one of my ancestors. She's the lady that Jane gave the flour to and it saved her life,” said Adam Baird, who plays the Prophet Joseph Smith. “If Jane hadn't have done that, I don't know I’d be here today.”
Young hopes the play will help debunk myths and church folklore about black Saints, “where we recognize that things that we believed before were simply part of the culture's traditions,” Young said.
Josieanne PM plays Jane Manning James and hopes the play will encourage Latter-day Saints to delve deeper in church history.
“Just because something isn't widely talked about doesn't mean it isn't true and doesn't mean it doesn't have bearing for your life,” she said.
Others hope the play will break down racial barriers.
“ ‘I Am Jane’ really helps us to recognize where in my life am I causing divisions,” said Maryam Aurich, who plays Agnes Thomas.
Tickets are $3 a person or $5 a couple and they’re available at the Wilkinson Student Center information desk or by calling 801-422-4313.
