About 15 years ago, Missouri Western State University’s president, Dr. Robert Vartabedian, and his wife, Laurel, stopped at a visitors center in Trinidad, Colo., where a display caught their attention. It told the story of a 1913-14 immigrant coal miners’ strike in the area that culminated in what has become known as the Ludlow Massacre. Intrigued by that story, Dr. Laurel Vartabedian collaborated with her colleague at the time, Bill Evans, and wrote “American Story.”

A recent collaboration with Missouri Western’s opera program and Dr. Susan Carter, associate professor of music, has led to a concertized version of her play that will be performed in St. Joseph on Sunday, April 21. Dr. Robert Vartabedian is the director.

“The events surrounding this strike were dramatic and important, yet relatively unknown,” Dr. Laurel Vartabedian said. “That is what intrigued me about the story.”

The benefit performances, at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Spratt Hall Kemper Recital Hall, are intended to raise money to fund a trip to Trinidad to perform the play on May 10, which is close to the 99th anniversary of the massacre. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the Missouri Western box office in Potter Hall or by calling the box office at 816-271-4452. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.missouriwestern.edu/americanstory. Along with a 10-member cast, the April 21 performance will include an 11-member children’s choir from the St. Joseph community.

“American Story,” which Dr. Laurel Vartabedian calls a “folk opera,” tells the story of an Irish immigrant, Mary Thomas, and her life-altering experience of the Ludlow Massacre on April 20, 1914. Several people, including women and children, were killed during a Colorado militia raid on a tent colony of coal miners and their families.

“It is a story of both tragedy and triumph on a very large scale,” Dr. Laurel Vartabedian said. She noted that it involves “larger-than-life characters,” such as Mother Jones, who fought for workers’ rights in the early 20th century; author Upton Sinclair; John D. Rockefeller Jr., the mine owner; and President Woodrow Wilson.

Dr. Laurel Vartabedian wrote the book and the lyrics, and Evans is the composer and arranger. The play has previously been staged in Colorado, Texas and New York.

Although a directing stint is not new for Dr. Robert Vartabedian (the last show he directed was in 2007 when he was vice president of academic affairs at Eastern New Mexico University), it is the first time for him to be directing students at Missouri Western.

“The students have been delightful; the cast is very talented,” Dr. Robert Vartabedian said. “I have missed working with students on projects like this.”

It is also the first time he has directed one of his wife’s works, although they have collaborated in the past on almost 20 publications and articles. He was also an actor in one of her shows, and she was assistant director on shows he has directed.

The performance in Trinidad is sponsored by the Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre. The trip will also include a private tour of Denver Center for the Performing Arts and a performance for Denver-area alumni and friends of Missouri Western.

The cast includes:

  • Old Mary: DeeDee Squires, a community member from St. Joseph
  • Young Mary: Adrienne Collins, a junior from St. Joseph
  • Tom: Daniel Brooks, a sophomore from Kearney, Mo.
  • Lawson: Donovan Jones, a sophomore from Tarkio, Mo.
  • Sinclair: Ian Fast, a senior from Mendon, Ill.
  • Rockefeller: Thomas Delgado, a freshman from Kearney, Mo.
  • Mother Jones: Sarah Waters, a senior from St. Joseph
  • Cedi: Kaitlyn Christian, a sophomore from St. Joseph
  • Petra: Morgan Breckenridge, a senior from Cameron, Mo.
  • Billy Ivy: Jeremy Howe, a sophomore from St. Joseph

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.

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