#trevor groce

[junkyard-gifs]

The kittens of the City Springs 2023 production

(X X)

So, this production had four characters billed only as 'ensemble', played by musical theatre students. They were only in some numbers (notably the opening and the ball), though for a lot of therest of Act I they hung out around the edges to watch and interact in the best tradition of swing cats, and they went home at interval. (Munkustrap presumably found a babysitter for the kittens.) They also played with the audience in the auditorium before the show. Here they are!

(Note: all four are over 18. All images here are posted publically on their instas, or are part of official promomaterial from the theatre company.)

Elizabeth Windley, whose older sister played Sillabub, played a kitten who looks like a smaller version of Etcetera in the same production—though her muzzle and collar are reminiscent of a Jemima. She seems to refer to her kitten as 'Minnie'!

Here she is with Etcetera (Ryley Perry) and Sillabub (Olivia Windley) (X).

Jayla Lopez plays a kitten who's black and white in a similar pattern to Cassandra's markings. (Her wig is essentially the same as Misto's ensemble wig. Casslonzo daughter? Cassoffelees? Alonzoffelees? Headcanons are free!)

Between Tantomile (Grace Arnold) and Victoria (Caitlin Bond) (X); and with Cassandra (Erin Rawlings) (X):

Zach Feeney's kitten has some resemblance to Mungojerrie, with the sharp blacks and oranges in the wig, and some to Electra with the floofy red fur on a dark-coloured unitard. Here behind Tugger (Spencer Dean) (X):

And Trevor Groce blessed us with many impish in-costume selfies of his little kitty! I'm honestly getting Tumblebrutus vibes so, since Tumble didn't exist in this production (Plato was a tumbler, though, so we got a very flippy Macavity), Trevor's kitten can be Tumblebrutus in my heart (X X).

Kittens in the pyramid: Elizabeth and Trevor, next to Jellylorum (Meredith Crain) (X)!

And bonus: here they all are with Jacob Brent (X)!

[wutbju]

Labutius Selina (Straw) Mathews, 93, of Saint Cloud, FL passed away Sunday, May 7, 2023 at the home of her daughter and son-in-law who she had lived with the last 14 years. She was born June 14, 1929 in Towanda, PA to her late parents, George Muller Straw and Helen Lorraine Witherite Straw.

Labutius, was nicknamed “Boots”, after an old comic strip named “Boots and her Buddies”. Boots graduated from Clearfield High School, in Clearfield, PA. Labutius then attended Bob Jones University graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion. There she met her husband, William Philo Mathews. They married August 19, 1950 and enjoyed 50 wonderful years together until his death of cancer in 2001. She is survived by her children, Elisabeth Jane Daley (Mark) and William George Mathews (div. Carol) and one brother Perry Clark Straw of Oregon, IL. She was preceded in death by her brother Mervin LeVoy Straw and his wife Margrit, brother Philip George Straw, sister-in-law Lorraine Straw, and niece Naomi Dhuse. She leaves her beloved grandchildren: Janelle Holloway (Joseph), Stephen Daley (Mandy), Holly Groce (Michael), Timothy Daley (Laura), Pam Gregory (Michael), Susan Spafford (David), and Erika Christofolo (Ed). She also leaves her great grandchildren: Josiah, Aliyah, Chasen, Trevor, Andrick, Caleb, and Joanna Holloway; Anna and Jackson Buzzard; Benjamin and Nathaniel Daley; Forest Groce; and Zyla Daley; Natasha, Michael, Caleb, and Joshua Gregory; Annika, Jalyn, and Turner Spafford; and Natalie and Nathan Christofolo as well as nieces Barbara Jean Mathews, and Betsy Mathews and nephews John Mathews and Perry Straw.

Labutius (Boots) accepted the Lord as her Savior during her Uncle Rev. Walter Young’s presentation of the Gospel using a replica of the Jewish tabernacle. She came from generations of Christians with her father being a Baptist minister. She grew up in Pennsylvania and New York state. After marriage, they settled in Roxbury, CT where her husband was from. She loved music and wrote songs. She taught music to all 8 grades at Booth Free School in Roxbury and taught piano for many years. Then she became a 2nd or 3rd grade school teacher. Boots kept her class in order, created an enjoyable learning environment, and loved all her students. Former students have shared the impact she had on their lives. She taught in Washington and New Preston elementary schools and was a teaching-principal. Boots earned a Masters of Science Degree in Education from Western Connecticut State College. Boots and Bill moved to Wethersfield, CT where she taught in Berlin elementary schools. She was involved in Connecticut Education Association and NEA and was on the CEA Board of Directors. She played Lady Thiang in the Berlin Teacher’s Association performance of the King and I.

Labutius (Boots) and her husband Bill (Philo) were very involved in every church they attended, including Christ Church in Roxbury, CT, Danbury Baptist Church in CT, Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church in CT, and Berea Baptist Church in Palm Harbor, FL. She taught Sunday School and earned Evangelical Teacher Training Association credentials that allowed her to teach ETTA certified classes to other Sunday School teachers. She was a Sunday School Superintendent and Christian Education Director. She served as Pioneer Girls Chairman, New Education Building Bond Drive co-chairman, choir director, pianist, Women’s Missionary Society officer, youth leader, soloist, and choir member. They also were involved in Gideons.

Boots was involved in the communities they lived in. She was a Girl Scouts leader, in Garden Club, organized Junior Garden Club, and served on the Board of Education in Roxbury. When they retired to Palm Harbor, FL she was involved in Red Hats, Purple Ladies and with the Blue Jay Estates community. Boots sold Tupperware, Sarah Coventry Jewelry, Amway, and Successful Living Books. Bill and Boots hosted and entertained many people in their home, especially missionaries and housed young people from time to time. During retirement they travelled by RV to 49 states (48 states were visited 3 times) including a special trip to Alaska. They also vacationed in Hawaii making it all 50 states visited. They loved to travel and especially liked Bryce Canyon and the Grand Tetons. They also visited many islands and some European countries.

Boots was a friend to everyone. She showed unconditional love and total acceptance of others. She had the gift of encouragement and was loved by everyone who knew her. She loved to study the Bible and sing hymns. Boots looked forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face. She will be greatly missed.

The family appreciates the care by Kindred/Gentiva Hospice for Boots in her last months and by Osceola Memory Gardens for her body before sending her to CT.

The family will receive guests Monday, May 29th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Rose Hill Funeral Home, 580 Elm St., Rocky Hill, CT. A graveside service, open to the public, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 30th at Center Cemetery, 34 North St, Roxbury, CT.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gideons International, Jesus Project a part of Cru, or The Voice of the Martyrs.

[transaurus]

every time i see a post about the statue that was pushed into the docks I have an ‘oh right that’s his name’ moment and then forget his name immediately. because the name of a slave trader and owner is not information i want stored in my head.

i do remember important names. 

i remember Cherry Groce and Cynthia Jarrett and Leon Patterson and Joy Gardner and Oluwashijibomi Lapite and Brian Douglas and Alton Manning and Christopher Alder and Rocky Bennett and Roger Sylvester and Derek Bennett and Ricky Bishop and Michael Powell and Azelle Rodney and Jean Charles de Menezes and Mark Nunes and Habib Ullah and Sean Rigg and Seni Lewis and Jimmy Mubenga and Smiley Culture and Kingsley Burrell and Demetre Fraser and Mark Duggan and Jacob Michael and Anthony Grainger and Julian Cole and Leon Briggs and Faruk Ali and Aston McLean and Adrian Thompson and Adrian McDonald and Sheku Bayoh and Daniel Adewole and Jermaine Baker and Sarah Reed and Mzee Mohammed Daley and Edson da Costa and Shane Bryant and Darren Cumberbatch and Rashan Charles and Nuno Cardoso and Kevin Clarke and Trevor Smith and Belly Mujinga and Abigaïl Bennett. i remember the names of British POC, ESPECIALLY BLACK PEOPLE, who were killed by a corrupt and racist system.

i remember Mary Seacole and Nanny of the Maroons and Mary Eliza Mahoney and Toussaint Louverture and Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr and Kofoworola Abeni Pratt. i remember the names of people who were wronged, whose legacies are an important part of Black history and global history.

i remember Dr Shirley Jackson and Madam CJ Walker and Lyda D Newman and Marie Van Brittan Brown and Valerie Thomas and Christina Jenkins and Theora Stephens and Lisa Gelobteran and Sarah Boone. i remember the names of Black women whose inventions are an essential part of our lives today, whose names are swept under the rug and hidden by the names of their white male counterparts.

i remember Jupiter Hammon and Wentworth Cheswell and Phillis Wheatley and James Derham and Thomas L Jennings and Alexander Twilight and Macon Allen and Joseph Jenkins Roberts and Charles L Reason and Sarah Jane Woodson Early and Mary Jane Patterson and Dr Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler and John Willis Menard and Thomas Mundy Peterson and Richard Theodore Greener and Frederick Douglass and Judy W Reed and John R Lynch and Booker T Washington and Butler R Wilson and Lucy Diggs Slowe and Bessie Coleman and Josephine Baker and William Grant Still and James W Ford and William H Hastie and Crystal Bird Fauset and Hattie McDaniel and Bob Howard and Amanda Randolph and Florence LeSueur and Juanita Hall and Ralphe Bunche and Cora Brown and Dorothy Dandridge and Arthur Mitchell and Ruth Carol Taylor and Ruby Bridges and Donyale Luna and Robert Henry Lawrence Jr and Cheryl Browne and Vinnette Justine Carroll and Alan Bell and Teddy Seymour and Barack Obama and Rita Dove and Darnell Martin and Chelsi Smith and Franklin Raines and Venus Williams and Halle Berry and Sophia Danenberg and Karen Bass and Anette Gordon-Reed and Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald and Ruth E Carter and so many more. i remember the names of all the Black firsts who are forgotten, whose accomplishments are ignored.

don’t waste brain space on racists. learn from their mistakes, yes. but learn about the Black people they tried to silence for so long. because i can’t think of a better way to spite racists than by remembering the people they tried to make us forget.