For
those who did not have a chance to see our local production of Fiddler on the
Roof, you missed out. Sorry, but fortunately for you we have copies of almost
every play performed at the Brindley Theater. The Mid-Delta Arts Association
has been tantalizing the Delta with quality theater for over thirty-five years.
As Mrs. Marie Hemphill states in her book Fevers,
Floods and Faith, MDAA “grew out of a program, ‘A Salute to Broadway,’
staged at the American Legion Hut in Indianola by a group of musicians, led by
John Brindley.” The theater was later
named after Mr. Brindley who is still active in the theater today. Since its
inception on October 23, 1978, MDAA has highlighted local talent, while
entertaining and educating the community through the arts. The MDAA Collection at the Sunflower County
History Room begins with the production of Man of La Mancha in 1981. In an
effort to include all productions in the collection, the Sunflower County
History Room requests that if anyone has copies of earlier plays they could
share, I’d love to make copies. Most of
the older recordings are on VHS but starting in 2007, all copies are on DVD.
Theater and artistic expression is what sets humans apart, tantalizing the mind
and senses, creating an enriching
lifetime experience. I thank those
industrious individuals at MDAA for giving their time and energy with the arts,
honestly, if I had to choose, theater or the movies, I’d go theater every time!
Great Characters!
Great sets!
Great theater!
