New Play “Ella The Ungovernable” Comes to Life

POUGHKEEPSIE – Poughkeepsie Rising announced Monday that it has received $50,000 of ARPA funding from the City of Poughkeepsie toward a professional community theater production of Ella the Ungovernable, a new play by Dutchess County resident David McDonald. The play follows the life of Ella Fitzgerald from poverty and incarceration in a notorious Hudson, NY reform school to her triumphant first appearance at the Apollo Theater in 1934. Ella The Ungovernable is slated to debut for four performances at the beginning of December at one Poughkeepsie’s main theaters (details to be announced soon).

The story of Ella The Ungovernable is that of never, ever, giving up, no matter what the odds. The play provides hope and encouragement to a public demoralized by pandemics, politics and school shootings. The concept behind the play is that of creating consciousness by creating community consciousness, empowering communities through an act of group creativity. “I was interested in the idea of creating something beautiful within a community that would resonate outwards and create a shining light for the rest of America to see,” says playwright David McDonald. “Poughkeepsie will be at the forefront of that.”

One of the main priorities of the production from its inception was that of inclusion. “It was our goal from the beginning of this production to create a project that would involve and welcome every individual and civic organization that wanted to be involved,” says the play’s producer, Nicole “Sui” McArthur of The Living History Theater. “We have been delighted to see that people instantly ‘got’ what we were endeavoring to accomplish and wanted to be a part of it!”

Starting from a core group of four, the leadership team of the project has grown to include many of the bright lights of Poughkeepsie’s civic life. Some of the play’s local allies include: Tim McQueen of IllHarmonics; Chris Burney of New York Stage and Film; L’Quette Tayor, Community Matters 2; Talent Davis of MASS Design Group; Melaine Rottkamp of Dutchess County Tourism; Ondie James of Majesty 6:33 Productions; Stacey Bottoms of Beulah Baptist Church; Liz Dahmen of Hudson Valley Performing Arts Laboratory; Celebrating The African Spirit; Family Services Inc.; Kollabo Kingdom; Poughkeepsie Youth Theater; United Universalist Fellowship; Planet of People (POP) Radio; Willis Williams and Jacinta Kroner of 2B Scene; Aleria from The Art Effect and many others.

The intention from the beginning was not merely to do the play over the course of a few weekends in December, but to create a sustainable, permanent production and production entity in Poughkeepsie. “It is our hope to create a permanent cast and home for “Ella The Ungovernable” in Poughkeepsie, and if it is as much of a hit as we think it can be, even put together a Poughkeepsie-based touring production,” says McArthur. “Our hope, ultimately, is to establish a permanent theater company in Poughkeepsie and employ and train generations of Poughkeepsians.”

With this in mind, the group formed the new non-profit, Poughkeepsie Rising, a performing arts movement, whose goals combine engagement and opportunity for Poughkeepsie Youth with the City’s economic revival and cultural renaissance. Ella is the first of a proposed series of productions which will provide sustainable and long-term employment for the youth of Poughkeepsie – on-stage, backstage, management, marketing etc. The Poughkeepsie Rising organization consists of Ondie James, president; David McDonald, vice president; Jasmine Garvin, vice president; Gully Stanford, treasurer; and new board member, Tim McQueen, from Ill Harmonic.

How It All Came About
Playwright David McDonald originally approached Jeffrey Aman, Chair of The Poughkeepsie Public Arts Commission (PPAC) this past November, with the idea of using the play as a vehicle of community building and empowerment. As it turns out, the Public Arts Commission had harbored a vision of turning Poughkeepsie into a cultural destination based on the performing arts, and “Ella The Ungovernable” turned out to be the perfect vehicle to test that concept. “We were all aware of the fact that Hamilton had started out at The Powerhouse at Vassar a decade ago before moving down to the city a decade ago,” recalls Aman. “But what if…just what if…we were able to create a theatrical juggernaut like that here in Poughkeepsie and keep it in Poughkeepsie? That idea was intriguing to us.”

In April, Aman arranged for the “Ella” team to brief a meeting of the Public Arts Commission which enthusiastically endorsed the project. Strong support from city leaders came quickly, followed by support from the City’s American Rescue Plan Task Force, which approved the award. “The city’s expanding support of the arts is an integral piece of our post-pandemic economic recovery”, said Mayor Rob Rolison. “The pre-production excitement in the community is contagious, too, as the team-building and community engagement around the production is underway,” the Mayor said.

“It’s rare to see a project like this that just everybody loves,” says Poughkeepsie City Administrator Marc Nelson. “It’s wonderful when we can get together as a community and build something together that is beautiful and positive and will benefit everybody, especially our kids.”