The Workers' Opera: Blue Light Special - Bread and Roses Missouri Stage Mag

Bread and Roses Missouri in partnership with the Amazon STL8 Organizing Committee and the Missouri Workers Center present The Workers' Opera: Blue Light Special

Written and Directed by Mariah L. Richardson
Music by Celia Shacklett


Starring

John Antonich Stacey Cowsette Georgia Brown-Moore	Monica Bohlen Sonja Gholston-Byrd Tema Mosby	Theotis Bohlen Arianna Kimbrough Michael J. Paplanus
Anthony Ringo Josyland Rucker Shelton Solafleur

Stage Manager: Maria I. Straub

A Note from the Writer and Director:

We have seen the devastation and cruelty of big business. We stand with all workers for better working conditions and higher wages. This is my second time with Bread and Roses to create a devised work. Eleven workers turned writer/actors came together and shared their stories of what it entails to be a worker in today’s world. We worked specifically with Amazon workers from STL8. I am used to working with community members to create a theatrical piece and I learn something from everyone I work with. This group, again, reminded that I am a worker. Subject to the same obstacles, same demand for equity, same fight for healthcare and benefits. We must join together to succeed. We forge alliances. Seeking commonalities and celebrating differences. Join us because you are us.

--Mariah Richardson

Song List

The Songs

Ella's Song by Bernice Johnson Reagon, 1988

If I Had a Hammer, Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, 1940

All You Fascists, Woody Guthrie, 1944

Solidarity Forever, Ralph Chaplin, 1915

Which Side Are You On? Florence Patterson Reece, 1912, updated 1931

Better World by Woody Guthrie

Cast

John Antonich

Monica Bohlen

Theotis Bohlen

Georgia Brown-Moore

Stacey Cowsette

Sonja Gholston-Byrd

Arianna Kimbrough

Tema Mosby

Michael J. Paplanus

Josyland Rucker

Shelton Solafleur

Anthony Ringo

Creative Team

Mariah L. Richardson

Writer and Director

Celia Shacklett

Musician

Ash Judd

Writing Assistant

Maria I. Straub

Stage Manager

Meet the Company

John Antonich

John Antonich retired in 2011 from UFCW Meatcutters Local 88 in St. Louis, where he served as Secretary-Treasurer. He then went to work for the Service Workers Healthcare of Wisconsin Union as a union rep and organizer in Madison, Wisconsin. John retired from that position in 2013 and went back to work in 2014 in Lincoln, Nebraska for the Nebraska Association of Public Employees (NAPE) Local 61, where he served the local as Executive Director until 2016, when he retired for his third time. He has been a volunteer for Missouri Jobs With Justice and currently volunteers with Missouri Healthcare For All, where he lobbies for healthcare for workers and their families.

Monica Bohlen

Monica Bohlen is a retired school bus driver and music educator. She is a wife, mother and grandmother of 12. Because of complications with lupus she was forced to retire early, and struggled with what to do with her life. She heard about the Worker's Opera when she was teaching art in Bread and Roses' Youth Initiative this past summer, and decided to give it a try. "I am so honored to share phase two of my life with the Bread and Roses family. The Workers" Opera is like therapy for me. It gives me the balance I need to be able to use my creative gift and connect with the social issues of my community. I am double honored to share this experience with my husband of 30 years, Theotis Bohlen."

Theotis Bohlen

Theotis Bohlen was born and raised in St Louis. He's a husband, father and grandfather. For the past 10 years he has been working for the Missouri Department of Transportation. He's known as "Mr. MoDot" to his fellow cast members. Says Theotis, "I love driving through the beautiful state of Missouri maintaining the roads. I thought I had the best job in the world until my wife Monica asked me to come to the Workers' Opera with her, and I was introduced to acting!"

Georgia Brown-Moore

Georgia Brown-Moore is an active member of SEIU Local One. Born and raised in St. Louis, Georgia graduated from Sumner High School. She describes herself as “a very happy Black woman, trying to help make a way so my grandchildren can have a better chance of getting good-paying jobs with a union to represent them when they become of an age to do so.” She joined the Bread and Roses Missouri Workers’ Theater Company in August 2016. After that first theatrical experience, she said her goal was to be part of the next production, and here she is again!

Stacey Cowsette

Stacey Cowsette is a member of the Amazon STL Organizing Committee. In his free time he loves to sing and do gospel shows.

Sonja Gholston-Byrd

Sonja Gholston-Byrd is an active union member, former CWA officer, and former member of the executive boards of the Missouri AFL- CIO and Saint Louis Labor Council. She previously performed in Voices of Solidarity, a spoken word musical performance produced by Saint Louis Jobs With Justice in 2009, and in 2016, Then, And Now Again, A Workers Opera, Bread and Roses Missouri’s first Workers’ Opera. She serves as the acting president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) and is a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU). Sonja is currently the Vice President of Labor Engagement at United Way of Saint Louis.

Arianna Kimbrough

Arianna Kimbrough loves theatre, pottery, and choir. She loves to sing. She’s worked at Amazon for a year now. She is leaving soon for college, but she wants her workplace to be better for those who stay, and that’s why she’s an active member of the Amazon STL8 Organizing Committee. This is her first Workers’ Opera.

Tema Mosby

Tema Mosby grew up in the union with a mother (Sonja!) who was Vice President of CWA Local 6300. She sings in the church choir. This is her first Workers’ Opera. She wants you to know she is a Type I Diabetic, is visually impaired, and is TRIUMPHANT!

Michael J. Paplanus

Michael J Paplanus is a member of The Communication Workers of America, Local 6300, serving as a union chief steward. He is also an active member of his local union Organizing, Building and Legislative Committees. Mike grew up in Lemay and is a graduate of Hancock High School. He made his first venture into theater when he joined the Bread and Roses Workers’ Theater Company in 2016, and is now a Bread and Roses board member. He can be found throughout the St. Louis area staring off into space. He is happy to be a part of the 2023 season of the Workers’ Opera.

Josyland Rucker

Josyland Rucker went to Hazelwood Central High School and was active in the theatre club, choir and took painting, pottery, fiber arts and drawing. She enjoys making all types of art. Josyland is an active member of the Amazon STL8 Organizing Committee, and is happy her organizing work led her to The Workers’ Opera. She hopes to be back again next year!

Shelton Solafleur

Shelton Solafleur is appearing in his fourth Workers’ Opera. He is also a Bread and Roses board member. "On paper I'm a student, teacher, writer, artist, butcher, and a fast food worker. In my core, I'm a black man, a husband, a feminist, an ally, an encyclopedia of music, a wrestling aficionado, hippie, a human."

Anthony Ringo

Anthony Ringo is a member of the Amazon STL 8 Organizing Committee, and has been a member of Laborers 509 and Teamsters 618. He sang in his high school glee club and church choir. He loves stories, songs and collecting hotwheels. You'll find him treasure hunting in inner city flea markets.