Photo and story by Samantha Bumberg
In less than one week, the Historic Manhattan Casino will be filled, once again, with the music of Louis Armstrong along with a theatrical storytelling of his life.
As part of a weeklong storytelling festival put on by theatrical journalism company Your Real Stories, “Satchmo & St. Pete: A Love Story” is a night dedicated to the life and music of Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo.
Armstrong was a trumpet player from New Orleans who had a great impact on jazz music and played in St. Petersburg. Some of his most famous songs are “When The Saints Go Marching In,” and “What A Wonderful World.”
Your Real Stories specializes in turning people’s stories into scripts, which are then performed by actors. After the performance, the audience is able to ask questions of the actors and interviewees.
Armstrong, along with many other famous musicians, played at the Manhattan Casino in the past.
“How can you walk in here and not feel it?” said Dr. Lillian Dunlap, executive director and co-founder of Your Real Stories. According to Dunlap, this was the place in St. Petersburg for the black community to be themselves when the city was segregated.
It was “almost as significant as the churches would be” and “an incredible outlet for people who didn’t have a whole lot of places where they could be themselves,” Dunlap said. Artistic director and co-founder of Your Real Stories Jaye Sheldon said “this was the place where you went to hear music. The place.”
Your Real Stories interviewed Armstrong’s daughter and her mother, who live in Sarasota and created a script based on the interviews. Actors will perform the script while live music is played by members of the Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association.
The show aims to exhibit Armstrong’s impact on music, culture and the St. Petersburg area. There will also be a proclamation by the city to make Oct. 11 “Louis Armstrong Day.” Dunlap hopes people “get connected again to the power of someone like Louis Armstrong and his music.”
“Satchmo & St. Pete: A Love Story” will be on Friday, Oct 11 and is part of Story Days in Tampa Bay, hosted by Your Real Stories. Story Days in Tampa Bay is a storytelling festival taking place all over St. Pete that will include theatre, music, film, and much more. For more information, visit yourrealstories.org.
Disclaimer: Samantha Bumberg is a production assistant and volunteer with Your Real Stories.
