PLAY BALL!…SHADOWBALL

Come see this homerun of a show!  “Shadowball:  The Negro Baseball Leagues” is a one-man theatrical performance with emmy-award-winning Bobby Norfolk. Come experience history through baseball on Friday, February 28, at 7:00 p.m. at the Mineral Area College Fine Arts Theater.  Tickets are $8 adults / $5 students available on January 6 at the Mineral Area College Bookstore and on Eventbrite.com.

Norfolk’s performing began as a young child who suddenly overcame stuttering when speaking in a fourth-grade poetry recital.  He went on to win three Emmy awards as the host of the CBS TV show “Gator Tales” and had an Emmy-nominated series “Children’s Theater at Bobby’s House.”

As an adult, Norfolk begn his career as a stand-up comedian at St. Louis comedy clubs and as an actor with the St. Louis Black Repertory Co.  Concurrently, he worked ten years at the Gateway Arch as a National Park Service Ranger.  In 1979, he made his first appearance as a storyteller at the St. Louis Storytelling Festival and discovered that through storytelling he was able to combine his theatre and stand-up comedy background to become a “story-performer.”

Shadowball takes the audience on a fascinating journey through the heyday of the Negro Baseball Leagues, a time when this country was segregated by Jim Crow laws, and America’s “National Pastime” wore two faces, the whites-only Major Leagues and the upstart Negro National League.  In this powerful and riveting performance, Norfolk tells stories of exploits both on and off the field, focusing on the St. Louis Stars own James “Cool Papa” Bell, and the Kasas City Monarch’s Leroy “Satchel” Paige.  Bobby invites his audience to experience the harsh discrimination, adversity, and eventual Hall of Fame triumph for some of these players.

Historical slides and period music enhance this emotional performance, illustrating the clash of race, sports and culture.  “This event will thrill baseball fans, comedy fans, and history buffs alike!  Mr. Norfolk brings history to life in a riveting and entertaining way,” said Scottye Adkins, Executive Director of Mineral Area Council on the Arts.

Shadowball is presented by the Mineral Area Council on the Arts with financial assistance from the Missouri Arts Council.  For more information contact Scottye Adkins at sadkins@MineralArea.edu or 573-518-2125.