Hattie was born in 1895, in Wichita, KS, the daughter of ex-slaves, McDaniel was taught the importance of keeping your faith in God and never giving up on your dreams. She wanted to be an actress at a time when there were NO OTHER African-American actresses. Her teachers and schoolmates ridiculed and chastised her for her dreams. We follow her journey from being the first African-American to sing over the air waves of radio, toured and got an audition for SHOW BOAT and played the role of Queenie, got an audition for GONE WITH THE WIND, and became the first African-American to win an Oscar, and then face the wrath of the head of the NAACP (Walter White - who was only ⅛ African-American and had blonde hair and blue eyes), and even her own people, for promulgating the stereotype of the “mammy.”

Karla was born in 1954, in Wichita, KS, and grew up in a house just 9 blocks away from the house that Hattie had lived in, was taught the importance of your faith in God and never giving up on your dreams. Her father, a gospel and jazz pianist, passed away when she was 7. Her mother raised her, and her sister, by herself. She was the first black person to win an Olivier Award, in 1991, for her portrayal of Queenie, in SHOW BOAT. I directed her more times than I have anyone else. She asked me to direct her the 6 times of HI-HAT HATTIE and then, I cast her in the following productions of: A…MY NAME IS ALICE, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, HELLO DOLLY!, THE FULL MONTY, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, THE MUSICAL, THE WIZ, and then was asked to direct her vehicles: BURNS ON BROADWAY, and BROADWAY BOUND.

When Karla and I were together people used to ask us: “Are you her, or is she you?” Because of the way we spoke, inflections, ability to complete each others sentences, etc.

This show spoke to me because of how similar I think Karla and I were, therefore I knew the same traits within Hattie must be within me because I could see them in Karla even if I couldn’t recognize them in myself.