GREGALAN WILLIAMS' 1534 CLEVELAND is an intimate look at family, self-image and community during the '60s and '70s. The name of the production is taken from the street address in Des Moines where the Emmy award-winning actor, author and educator GregAlan Williams spent most of his formative years.
In the fall of 1998, Williams was asked to write and perform an original work about growing up in Des Moines for the 1999 "I'll Make Me a World in Iowa," an annual event celebrating the African-American presence in the state. 1534 CLEVELAND, which includes recollections ranging from Bill Riley's televised talent shows to a tense encounter in a Washington, D.C., ghetto in 1968, was met with tears, laughter and standing ovations by the diverse audience of Iowans who attended the work's premiere performances. While introducing Williams at a Des Moines performance, First Lady Christy Vilsack called Williams "one of the best storytellers I have ever heard." After seeing the "I'll Make Me a World" performance, Iowa Public Television Producer/Director David Miller and IPTV Program Director Dan Miller realized the story needed to be told to a larger audience. David Miller, Williams and IPTV joined forces in January of 2001 to turn the stage production into a television event. In February of 2001, GREGALAN WILLIAMS 1534 CLEVELAND was broadcast to Iowa audiences.
GREGALAN WILLIAMS' 1534 CLEVELAND is the product of Dave Miller's vision and IPTV's ongoing effort to celebrate Iowa's diversity and to be a resource for Iowa's future. The program is about growing up African-American in Iowa, but its contents reveal a rich and insightful view of the common experiences, joys and disappointments that touch us all.
For more information about African-American history visit:
The African-American Historical and Cultural Museum
For more information about the arts in Iowa, visit:
The Iowa Arts Council
