Stogie Kenyatta brings his hit one-man show, ‘The World is My Home,’ to Princeton for fundraiser
PRINCETON, N.J. — Powerful and poignant, heartfelt and humorous, Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-bred Stogie Kenyatta celebrated our common humanity with his popular one-man show, “The World is My Home, A Tribute to Paul Robeson”, in Princeton this week.
For the first time, Kenyatta brought his nearly 20-year-old play, as a fundraiser, to the birthplace of the man whose life he celebrates. Proceeds will benefit an At the Well Conferences, Inc. program — From the Fire: Leadership Academy for Young Men.
Kenyatta wrote this entertaining and educational story about an historical African-American figure that he admires. He said Robeson is the most unique of our heroes.
“We have great academia, great athletes and intellectuals…He succeeded in all of those,” said Kenyatta.
Robeson fought globally for social justice for blacks, Jews, Welsh, and Spanish workers. Kenyatta’s play spans from the horrors of the slave trade to the shame of the Holocaust.
He uses theater as a vehicle for social change.
The play journeys from the artistic wonders of the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz-Bebop era to McCarthyism, blacklists, racism and lynching.
“This passion piece is more than a show for me; it’s a prayer for the forsaken and forgotten enslaved Africans who found enough forgiveness in their tortured souls to live, love and laugh,” Kenyatta states.
This show is about the triumph, tragedy and mistreatment of Robeson, who Kenyatta describes as an American genius.
He not only promotes diversity, brotherhood, tolerance, and education; but he challenges us to examine the notion that “if we accept the fatherhood of God; then we must accept the brotherhood of man,” Kenyatta explains.
Robeson shows us that in spite of our differences, we still have more in common than we do in conflict, he said.
Kenyatta said he titles his play “The World is My Home,” because Robeson spoke 15 different languages, and he would travel to these foreign countries and communicated in their languages.
He said like Robeson’s life, his play serves as a cultural ambassador inspiring us to greater understanding, achievements, and nobility.
“This is a spiritual mission for us. The objective of the show is to inspire. The goal is to awaken, enlighten, and uplift,” he stated.
“The World is My Home” is winner of Hollywood Beverly Hills NAACP Award for best one-man show, and number one solo show in the United States and the Caribbean.
There have been almost 400 shows, and the play has been to 16 different countries.
Kenyatta has also appeared in television, films, soaps, and sitcoms. He was classically trained at the Afro-American Studio in Harlem, Henry Street Settlement, and Al Fann Ensemble. He studied Screenwriting and Political Science at California State University, Long Beach, and privately with Ivan Markota at the Van Mar Academy.
The event was held at Nassau Presbyterian Church in collaboration with Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, where Paul Robeson’s late father, William Robeson, was the former pastor.