The Old Globe presents a one-act play

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley

By Claudia Thompson

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, follows the life of the title character, as she manages the extreme challenges of being a former slave, the most talented dressmaker of the 18^th century, an employee of the Lincoln White House and the resulting tumultuous relationship with a grieving Mary Todd. 

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was created as part of The Old Globe’s Arts Engagement Juneteenth coLAB Workshop.  The coLAB Workshop brings play devising and performance producing opportunities out into the community.  The Globe’s AE department partners with several local organizations throughout the year to develop original performance pieces to present along already-established community festival events in order to unite storytelling and play-making right at the center of our community relationships.

At 1:00p.m. join us for a special conversation with playwright Claudia Thompson and historians, Frances Smith Foster and Becky Rutberg.

Claudia Thompson, playwright "Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley", Community Voices and coLAB participant  and retired teacher.

Frances Smith Foster, professor of literature at the University of California, San Diego, and well-known scholar of nineteenth-century African-American literature, is author of Witnessing Slavery: The Development of Ante-Bellum Slave Narratives.

Becky Rutberg, author of "Mary Lincoln's Dressmaker: Elizabeth Keckley's Remarkable Rise from Slave to White House Confidante."

This production of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was developed as part of The Old Globe's arts engagement program called coLAB, a collaborative art-making process between community members and artists, turning stories into theatre and developing both artist and new work.

Running time: 30 minutes.

Supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.