The WordPlayers presents Althea and Angela

A staged reading of this new play by Tennessee playwright, Todd Olson, will be performed on May 10 in the Square Room, 4 Market Square, Knoxville at 7:00 PM. Admission is free with donations appreciated.

In 1955, Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton were world-ranked tennis players … yet no one wanted to partner with them in women’s doubles. In fact, few even wanted to talk with them. Post-War America was still very segregated and the tennis world was still very anti-Semitic. Eight years after Jackie Robinson had broken the color line in major league baseball, the tennis world lagged behind, clinging to its country club roots. Althea, a black woman from Harlem, and Angela, a Jewish woman from Liverpool, were outcasts in two nations. So they decided to join forces outside their own country. What happened then made history.

The WordPlayers is a 501(c)3 theatre organization based in Knoxville. This play is the second in a series of three new plays sponsored by Brad Croisdale of Realty Executives. The WordPlayers' upcoming programming includes Knoxville Freedom Songs & Stories on May 20 in Chilhowee Park.

For more information, please see wordplayers.org or call 865-539-2490.


Published April 25, 2021