By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
In July 1967, Lela Pierce Thompson made history as the first African American woman to graduate from Wilmington College, now known as UNC-Wilmington, following its integration.
After graduating from the formerly all-Black Williston High School in the early 1950s, Lela Thompson initially worked at a local laundromat. Following a severe burn that left her hospitalized, she chose to pursue higher education instead of returning to her job.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in education and dedicated 30 years to teaching in New Hanover County schools, including Williston Middle School and Wrightsboro and Snipes Elementary Schools.
In 1974, her long-dormant interest in theater was rekindled when she saw an audition notice in the Wilmington Journal, reigniting her passion for the stage. Thompson was most renowned for her contributions to the Willis Richardson Players – the first theater troupe in the port city that regularly performed plays by Black authors and featured predominantly Black casts.
Founded in Wilmington in 1974 by Peter Smith, Gloria Ramos, Jim Johnson, and others, the troupe is named after Wilmington native Willis Richardson, the first Black playwright to have work produced on Broadway with his 1923 play “The Chip Woman’s Fortune.”
Thompson was involved in the troupe from its inaugural production at the Community Arts Center on Second and Orange Streets. Alongside her husband, Melvin Thompson, who passed away in 2015, she played a central role in the troupe for over two decades, directing and performing in various plays and musicals.
Starting in the late 1970s, the Willis Richardson Players began staging their productions at Thalian Hall, a historic city hall and theater built before the Civil War, thanks to the support of Tony Rivenbark, the hall’s long-serving executive director who passed away in 2022. The group was known for its diverse repertoire, ranging from serious dramas like Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” to lively musicals and variety shows.
The Players embraced various styles, drawing inspiration from Broadway with productions like an all-Black version of “Hello, Dolly!” and the Fats Waller revue “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” which Thompson particularly cherished. While most of their shows featured predominantly Black casts, the troupe also collaborated with white actors and directors throughout the years.
In a 2011 interview with the StarNews, Rivenbark noted that while Kay Swink had been involved in some of the first integrated theater in Wilmington during the 1960s, it was under Lela Thompson’s leadership that the Willis Richardson Players significantly advanced diversity in the local theater scene.
Although Kevin Green’s Techmoja Dance & Theatre Co. has continued the legacy of showcasing work by Black writers and providing opportunities for Black performers in recent years, the Players were the primary Black theater troupe in Wilmington throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and into the 2000s.
Thompson said the mission of the Willis Richardson Players was “to involve and educate the public and explore the Black experience.”
In 2012, Thompson was honored as the first recipient of the Lela Thompson Enduring Contribution to Wilmington Theater Award during the inaugural StarNews Wilmington Theater Awards at Thalian Hall.
Since the award’s inception, eight other Wilmington actors have received the Lela Thompson Award, including Maxwell Paige in 2020. Paige, who performed in and directed shows for the Willis Richardson Players in the 1980s and ‘90s, notably led a production of “The Wiz” in which Thompson played the Wicked Witch of the West.
Thompson was also a dedicated member of St. Stephen A.M.E. Church, a historic African American church founded in 1865, which she attended for many years before passing away at 87 in 2022.
